Organisational Behaviour Unit 2 Mid Term Exam Submitted 19th October 2008

Contents Responses to the following Questions. Q1. The Vidsoft Triangle case study incorporates learning from Unit 1 & 2. You will find the case study under COURSE/SYLLABUS/MIDTERM EXAM Write a brief summary of your assessment of the situation at Vidsoft and answer the following questions: How can this situation be best resolved? Your response must include at least the following: Could this situation have been avoided by Babatunde? If so How? What can the Company do to avoid this type of situation in the future? Q.2. What are the principal distinctions between transactional and transformational leadership? How does transformational leadership create a higher level of moral aspiration for followers and leaders alike? Is there a link between transformational leadership and Emotional Intelligence? Explain your understanding. Q3. We see a lot of organization using teams to achieve goals. What makes teams so successful? Are teams always the correct answer to organizational effectiveness? Since we are such unique individuals with so much diversity between us, how do you motivate a diverse team to achieve results? Please provide an example. Bibliography / References

Case Analysis Vidsoft Triangle Introduction Alaji Babatunde faced an uncomfortable review of his long deliberated decision to promote an internal candidate to a management role. He was faced with a situation which he himself had created but had not predicted. The issue with a disgruntled employee who was refusing to accept the new reporting structure had serious implications for the interpersonal relationships within both teams. Babatunde has to deal with a situation which could conceivably spread beyond his departments. A badly handled grievance from an employee can escalate if it is not dealt with swiftly and effectively by the immediate line manager; this of course, would reflect very badly on his personal judgement. This conclusion is supported by the following statement: If grievances are not dealt with quickly or handled with care, they are likely to fester and harm employment relationship by causing, inter alia, low employee morale, poor performance, high labour turnover, increased absenteeism and resistance to change (Gennard & Judge 2002, p404) Vidsoft The traditional Vidsoft company preference is to always look internally for any candidates when looking to promote through the ranks. The obvious method is to look at the people who excel in their own specific field, however, an assumption which predicts success as a manager based solely on the previous specific skill sets of an individual, is a very precarious one. Whilst this gives some credence to the argument that respect is immediately given by former colleagues because of the undisputed recognition of specialist departmental performance it can in no way serve as an absolute guide to the more complex pattern of behaviour when faced with decisions which may affect former colleagues careers and lives. Examples of this type of promotion may be found in sports organisations such as Soccer. If an exfootballer is enticed to go directly into Management on the basis of his outstanding performances as a player, he will risk losing that hard earned admiration if results of the team are consistently negative. Some of the more astute young managers have chosen a route of formal management / business training before embarking on a Team Manager role. Invariably, it is these managers who progress with distinction, as opposed to the ex-players who choose to bypass the training which would give them a much better understanding of the dynamics of teams. This assessment seems to be supported by the following statement: There is a significant correlation between managers who have followed the route of taking coaching and Management qualifications and those who have gone into their jobs with little preparation for the challenges ahead. Whilst the lower rate of dismissals from the Premiership compared with lower leagues may be explicable by a range of factors including financial resources and length of manager experience, preparation of younger managers through coaching and Management qualifications increases their chances of success and may go some way to reducing the current levels of instability and churn in football management (Bridgewater, 2006. Warwick Business School) The natural conclusion to draw, is that it can be very difficult to predict the success or failure of an inexperienced and unqualified manager, but the balance of probability is certainly tipped in favour of success, if managerial training is given at a very early stage, or even prior to the appointment into that role. Jenna Li is a devoted and hardworking team player this is very clear. As to whether she posses the attributes to become an effective manager, this is worth further consideration. Although the style of management is not clearly apparent, it is accepted that both her team of engineers and managers (Babatunde and White) had become used to it and were working with her, apart from Hsu, of course.

If we explore the main influences on employee progress through Vidsoft, we can assess whether Li has the traits which would make her a safe bet. Vidsoft encouraged its managers to hire people better than themselves Babatunde acknowledges Lis superior experience at managing customer relationships. Teamwork was highly encouraged at Vidsoft Li had been awarded best team player twice in two quarters. The culture was to be customer focussed, .do whatever was necessary to deliver customer satisfaction (Keith Nash) Li excelled in this field, attaining consistently high customer satisfaction scores. The above analysis suggests that she is a very close fit to the desired profile of a Vidsoft employee as envisaged by the CEO, and therefore it is no surprise that Babatunde and White felt comfortable with her promotion. Hsus resentment is likely to be a jealous reaction to Babatundes decision to promote Li over him. This is possibly made worse by the vacancy left in the other department which also sends the message to Hsu that he is not in consideration for any forthcoming career progression as this can only now be filled by someone from outside of the existing team. This must have been a severe blow to him as he is driven by a determination to succeed as evidenced by his conviction to become an engineer despite his lack of natural mathematical ability. He has demonstrated a desire to progress through his structured logical thinking which he believed would assist his journey up the corporate ladder. Hsu was also someone who was uncomfortable in a team environment and did not show any enthusiasm for deeper collaboration with his colleagues. In this regard he would not have matched the typical profile of a Vidsoft employee. Vidsoft actively encouraged and rewarded collective responses to give customers the maximum possible satisfaction. It is quite clear that Hsu does not participate in the nonwork related activities regularly enjoyed by the other employees. By not interacting with other team members it is an obvious consequence that he will become somewhat isolated from everyone else. How could this have been handled better? Babatunde may have made a mistake in recruiting Hsu in the first place, he has shown a commitment towards following company principles on most occasions (promote from within, hiring people better than oneself). In relation to the appointment of Hsu, he seems to have consciously departed from the accepted norms at Vidsoft. Team player was not one of Hsus strengths. This was apparent to Babatunde, who was concerned enough to have initial reservations about his ability to work within a team culture. In relation to the promotion, Babatunde could have invited internal applications for the roles to flush out the engineers who were keen to progress. The interview process would have served as a very useful tool in analysing his staff potential and whether his original instincts about Li were correct. By adopting an interview process it would have also protected him against any potential accusations of favouritism towards Li. He could have set strict criteria in the vacancy advertisement in order to filter out undesirable applicants. It would also offer the opportunity for candid feedback sessions for all unsuccessful internal candidates. This would provide a means to clearly communicate the areas where the staff may not have scored highly enough to be rewarded with the role. This could then have been followed up by a positive flow of advice and guidance for future development training for staff to reach the necessary standard. These feedback sessions can often prove to be a huge incentive for people who feel they will be supported in their ambition to further their careers and train against clear and unambiguous targets. He may also have found he was pleasantly surprised by one or two internal candidates that he had not previously considered. In a situation where he believed Li alone would be suitable, with no other immediate options for the second management position, it would have been a perfect opportunity to assess the suitability of any external applicants. The sensible decision to appoint two managers was

his alone, with support from James White, who had allowed Babatunde free reign to organise his departmental affairs, unfortunately it seems that although he had three months to contemplate his move he still acted prematurely and should have at least given himself some options. Without those options in place he can now be challenged for having a lack of vision for both departments. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail (Benjamin Franklin) He should have filled both roles simultaneously not left a group feeling they had a less important contribution as they had a layer between them and the Senior Manager whilst the other group (at least for a while) had direct access. Once Hsu had made his discontent obvious to him, Babatunde should have seen the complaint for what it really was. His issues with Li were not about poor operational efficiency, lack of direction, loss of team morale; these would have given Babatunde real cause for concern. It really seems to boil down to Hsu having problems with Li based on petty jealousy and serious qualification snobbery. Selfishly, he also believed he had been deprived of a personal mentor for his own career development. Once this had been understood, he could have been far more direct with Hsu. He should then have informed Li of her predicament and resolved to support and advise her as much as possible in the background. By discussing this in a 3-way group, Hsu could easily draw the conclusion that he had an equal level of support as Babatunde seems to have maintained a largely neutral stance during these sessions. Recommendations Alaji Babatunde must back up Li as he was well aware of her lack of experience and technical shortcomings. If he is seen to accommodate Hsu then he will be tacitly admitting a failure in his own judgement. He must invest a large part of his own time and energy to become a reliable mentor for Li. As she has had no previous managerial experience his support and guidance will be critical in forming the platform on which she can build her own individual approach to becoming a manager. He will of course need to be very careful about the type of support / training he will offer to Li. He would firstly need to assess his own style of leadership and decide whether his own experience would be relevant to Li. He has acknowledged an understanding of her different style of leadership, and will need to clarify whether she is a transactional or transformational leader. This will guide his methodology for developing Li as both a manager and leader for the group of engineers under her influence. As Lis fragile confidence has been rocked by Hsus request, Babatunde needs to move quickly to address her self doubt before it becomes a corrosive influence on her performance as team manager. If Li was to resign or be removed from her position, it would surely have far reaching consequences for all parties; Babatunde would undoubtedly feel a measure of guilt about prematurely overpromoting Li, by causing such a negative impact on her confidence. Im sure questions would also be asked about the process used to promote Li; these are questions which Babatunde would probably find difficult to answer in a positive manner. It would most certainly ruin his relationship with Hsu who could claim to have shown better judgement than he, as he repeatedly told Babatunde about his concerns! The stakes are indeed high. He simply cannot allow her to fail in her new position for his own sake as much as hers. In relation to Hsu, Babatunde should explore (with James White if necessary) any other alternative positions within the organisation which would be more suited to Hsus more individual style of working, and still retain his skills within Vidsoft, e.g. a field based service engineer. This offer would be conditional on the agreement that Hsu would work with Li and the team for a minimum specified period, with no evidence of controversy. This would serve as both a cooling off period, giving Hsu a possible opportunity to gently re-consider his request, but also serve as a time buffer for Babatunde to re-allocate him to a more suitable position outside of his teams. If this was not an option, as a last resort, he should explain clearly to Hsu that his refusal to work for Li, and collectively with his colleagues, would be a constant source of aggravation for both himself and Hsu. He should then inform Hsu that if there was a noticeable deterioration in his performance then he would find himself under pressure. In order to conclude on a positive note, however, he should give Hsu his personal assurance that, if he were to develop in the best possible manner, against some well defined and agreed targets, then he would be given every opportunity to progress within the company in future.

To protect the company from future pitfalls of this nature, a clear, logical, transparent selection criteria, and procedure should be drawn up. This should then be trained against, and implemented as managerial best practice when recruiting both internally and externally. Job descriptions should also be made clear with relevant qualifications and specific key personal attributes forming a prerequisite for the application. Another option would be to actively encourage a Vidsoft sponsored training programme geared towards developing potential managers. This offer could be made on a part-time or distance learning basis. Due to the high level of personal commitment required for completing these types of courses, it would serve as a natural filter to leave those who really do have an ambition to progress into management. Q.2 What are the principal distinctions between transactional and transformational leadership? How does transformational leadership create a higher level of moral aspiration for followers and leaders alike? Is there a link between transformational leadership and Emotional Intelligence? Explain your understanding. Principal distinctions transactional and transformational leadership The personality of the leader in question must be the main basic difference when examining the styles used for leadership. If the leader who has a transactional style is compared to that labelled as a transformational leader it is likely that they will have very different personality traits before becoming a leader. Can these styles be learned? A transactional leadership approach is one which can be said to be more suited to management by numbers, a style which is more rational and rigid, and based largely on the achievement of clearly defined goals. In this sense it is a more mechanical methodology which should be able to be formulated into a stiff, defined training programme. In a summarized description a transformational leaders, they are typically blessed with a natural charm, allied to a driving entrepreneurial sprit with a positive attitude towards the recognition of the need for change. Whilst elements of these characteristics such as communication techniques, can be instilled into individuals it is more difficult to train someone to be naturally (and consistently) charismatic. A major trait difference can also be seen in the way transformational leaders tend to value their team members more, and always look to support them emotionally and intellectually as they strive towards the their goals, whereas their transactional counterparts accentuate efficiency and control it by sometimes adopting negative feedback to bring the performance back to expected target levels. This can be expanded to describe transactional leaders as largely focussed on the importance of skills, specific assignments, and largely motivated by the potential or promised rewards for their achievements, whereas transformational leaders are seen as more creative, visionary, and being enthused by intellectual challenges involved with the situation facing them. When considering the following statements, the following responses demonstrate the key differences between the two styles: (source University of Kansas) Leaders source of power Follower reaction Time frame Rewards Supervision Counseling focus, Where change occurs Where leadership found Transactional Rank, position, Compliance, Short term, Pay, promotion, etc, Important, Evaluation Follower behavior Leaders behavior Transformational Character, competence Commitment Long term Pride, self-esteem, etc. Less important Development Follower attitude, values Followers heart

Moral Aspirations When considering if transformational leadership can create higher moral aspirations, the answer has to be most certainly, as there is an understanding that transformational leaders have a real heartfelt passion about what they want to achieve they would more often follow their hearts in pursuit of a particular vision. If this passion is transmitted effectively to the team or followers involved, then that leader could be viewed as having an unswerving conviction about what they want themselves and

the team to achieve. This could be interpreted as a moral cause, and in some cases spiritual. It is likely that this level of enthusiasm for the task could only be maintained by a consistent level of arousing and inspirational communication. High standards of personal conduct would be expected at all times. Transformational leadership and Emotional Intelligence If we examine some of the characteristics attributed to transformational leaders, Idealised influence, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, individualised consideration (Bass & Avolio, 1994) We can see the correlations between the descriptions of transformational Leadership and Emotional Intelligence are intrinsically linked, the terms in which transformational leader attributes are described also those used for leaders with high emotional intelligence such as, self awareness, ability to empathise with team members, both sets of descriptive terms can be interpreted as being from the very same set of principles. A very good example of a transformational leader with high levels of Emotional Intelligence is Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) who led the struggle for Indian independence from British rule in the early 20th Century. His campaign of non-violence was another outward demonstration of his high level of Emotional Intelligence, this type of leadership was not based in authority, as he was not initially bestowed any, he simply became the focal point of the struggle because of his strength of character and conviction to the cause. He managed to create a huge following because of his demonstration of his ideals and high moral courage. He brought about wholesale change because he was prepared challenge the norms, and create a vision of independence based on peaceful protest rather than becoming associated with the conventional struggle for independence which would typically have led to armed rebellion. His leadership can also be described as inspirational, charismatic and visionary. Q3. We see a lot of organization using teams to achieve goals. What makes teams so successful? Are teams always the correct answer to organizational effectiveness? Since we are such unique individuals with so much diversity between us, how do you motivate a diverse team to achieve results? Please provide an example. Success If a business is to prosper it must recognise its most important assets, these are of course the people who populate the organisation (human capital). To maximise the full potential of its employees it is crucial that the company adopts a policy of knowledge sharing. To promote a culture of knowledge transfer between team members, a secure environment is a pre-requisite for the optimum results. If individuals are in any way insecure they may choose to hold back and not give their full input by withholding their hard earned best practices, tips, tricks or fixes that they have acquired through experience and training for fear it will make them less valuable as an asset, this may lead them to concentrate on more selfish goals. Another dynamic of being part of a team is the need for individuals to contribute; this pressure can be implicit within teams as there may be no compulsion for any individual to make a defined contribution. Nonetheless this pressure is nearly always present in any collective this may diminish with larger groups if people feel uncomfortable about their input they may believe they can simply sink into the background without being noticed. In small groups, it is far more difficult to shy away as the division of resources will be more focussed to specific tasks, and the composition of the team will be specifically formulated to cover particular skills and knowledge required for completion of the task. A successful team is one which has delivered universally acceptable results against a clear and well defined objective or set of objectives. A major factor in that success has to be the confirmation of the teams understanding of the target they are all aiming at. If a company can illustrate the expected outcome (beyond any doubt), then a team can pull together to try and accomplish the shared goal. If the expected end result is unclear, then different, individual interpretations of those objectives will lead to non productive conflict about direction, diverting collective energy away from the task at hand.

Are teams always best answer? There are however many reasons for not choosing to employ teams for certain work based situations. The following points would have to be considered when contemplating the use of teams for a given task: Cost It is generally accepted that the use of teams is more expensive. This may be due to the fixed allocation of key people into the teams; their everyday roles may have to be covered by external or premium cots resource. Resources If extra resource is not affordable then teams may be chosen by using people who have full time activities within their existing roles this could be resolved by posing the question is the loss of productivity compensated by the benefit of the team results? Time Any team, regardless of the task will expect to debate elements of the project, a problem to solve, or the improvements to be designed and implemented. The very nature of these discussions, whilst it may bring about a very worthwhile outcome will invariably add time to the process. Therefore, any issues which may be particularly pressing may not be suitable to tackle with a team, most certainly not a large team. Complexity If a task is complex then a team approach may be appropriate in order to bring diversity and shared knowledge into the solution, but if a problem is relatively straightforward then a team could simply bring unnecessary complexity. Simple tasks that dont require diverse input are probably better left to individuals (Robbins, p.289) Diversity and motivation in teams If a team has a diverse, but complementary set of skills and knowledge pertaining to a given task or project, then it will have the ability to deal with a very wide span of circumstances. It is imperative to carefully assess the type of team required to complete a given task, for instance there would be little point in having a sales professional on board a team which was attempting to solve a complex electronic engineering problem. Of course, if that was part (sub-group) of a new development design initiative, then a sales professional would be very appropriate for the team. A team which is composed of diverse individuals can of course lead to tension, as differing personalities and priorities will be at play, although if handled correctly this can be a very productive state, Essentially, diversity promotes conflict, which stimulates creativity, which leads to improved decision making. (Robbins, p.281) If tensions are accepted as being part of the team dynamic then the leaders of those teams need to recognise this early, and adopt a motivational theory based around unlocking the potential of the diverse individuals for the benefit of the team. Tell the team clearly why the team is so diverse; explain the rationale behind this decision specialist skills, personalities, experience, background. As the team should have been intelligently selected for those reasons anyway, this openness should reduce potential suspicion and animosity. An example of diverse teams in action can be found in Senior Management Teams, these can be composed of Operations, Commercial, Logistics, and Finance heads of departments. The interactions between the characters in this type of team, needs to be focussed ultimately on the singular measure of the business profitability. In order to determine the best possible means to achieve these profits, a management team must be motivated and aligned towards the targets in a concerted effort to over perform. Each will naturally have a separate agenda which will be biased toward the performance and expectation of their own area of influence, the skill of the leader is to be able to encourage individuals to transcend this instinct and to contribute ideas which may be beyond their original scope of departmental responsibility. If, for example, the challenge is to increase profit margins of specific products, then this does not have to rest solely with the commercial team going out to negotiate better prices in the market, there may be an operational solution by reducing the

amount of raw material used in the product, or a logistical solution by using groupage transport. Another possible scenario could be the team being called to collectively discuss a declining sales trend, it is feasible for ideas to be generated from within the team, such as the use of telesales, or direct marketing over the internet, these initiatives would not have to be suggested exclusively by the commercial department to make them any more valid or any more worthwhile. Once this diversity has been established, then a helpful guide to ensuring a consistent level of motivation towards the shared goal would be to adopt one of four possible strategies, Adaptation (acknowledging cultural caps openly and working around them, structural intervention (changing the shape of the team), managerial intervention (setting norms early, or bringing in a higher level manager), and exit (removing a team member when other options have failed) (Brett, Behfar and Kern). If a high degree of camaraderie can be established within a team, motivation can become self generated through each members effort being focussed on consistently meeting and beating challenging targets, therefore becoming part of a successful team. Success usually breeds success. Who really wants to be part of a losing team?

Bibliography / References
Books Bass, B. & Avolio, B. 1994, Improving Organizational Effectiveness Through Transformational Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Gennard, J & Judge, G 2002, People and Organisations, Employee Relations Third Edition, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Enterprises Ltd. Robbins, S.P., 2005, Organisational Behaviour Eleventh Edition. Pearson Education, Inc.,New Jersey Internet Resources Bridgewater, Dr. S, 2006, An Analysis of Football Management Trends 1992 2005 in all Four Divisions Warwick Business School publication. (http://www.wbs.ac.uk/downloads/research/football-managers-0106.pdf) (Accessed 14th October 2008) Franklin,B Failure to prepare is preparing to fail Attributed quotation. (http://findquotations.com/quote/by/Benjamin_Franklin) (Accessed 15th October 2008) http://www2.ku.edu/~kunrotc/academics/401/Lesson%209%20Class.rev01.ppt#6 University of Kansas, http://www2.ku.edu (Accessed on the 16th October, 2008) http://www.mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org/ (Accessed on the 17th October, 2008) Publications Brett, J, Behfar, K and Kern, M.C, 2006 Managing Multicultural Teams Harvard Business Review