Free Open Communication Environment Essay Sample
The major problem in this scenario is that there is lack of open communication between the analysts and their supervisor/manager. Therefore, as a manager, the first thing that I would do is to create a favorable environment for communication between the analysts and their supervisor. I would start by arranging a meeting with all the analysts to discuss the problems that they might be facing or the difficulties that they may be encountering in their respective departments. Before the meeting, I would request all the analysts to prepare lists of problems that they encounter in their jobs. I would then allocate enough time for the meeting such that every analyst would have time to present the problems related to his/her work. After all the analysts have presented their problems, I would engage them in a discussion to identify the possible solutions to these problems. The discussion would be as open as possible to allow the analysts to provide solutions, which they think might be more suitable to their work problems. After the meeting, we would agree on the most suitable solutions to all the identified problems. All the analysts would be required to implement the appropriate corrective measures when performing their duties.
According to Keefe, a manager should have technical skills for performing the job, which he/she supervises. This is very essential in encouraging open communication between managers and subordinates. As a manager/supervisor conducts routine check on how employees are performing their duties, he/she can demonstrate his skills and knowledge to them. The skills are also essential when giving job instructions to the employees. This encourages dialogue between managers and subordinates (Keefe 3). Therefore, as a manager/supervisor in this scenario, I would then start conducting routine supervision of the analysts as they prepare reports. I would also observe how they perform their duties and assist them in areas where they have difficulties.
Last summer, I volunteered in an organization within my home city. I noticed that the general manager of the organization was very ineffective. He depended so much on his coercive power. Coercive power is type of leadership power where a leader has the ability to punish employees whom he supervises. Punishment can range from verbal reprimands to pay reduction or actual dismissal. In the organization where I had volunteered, the general manager would reprimand subordinate employee even when they did very minor mistakes. In some instances, he would impose pay reduction on employees’ wages arguing that they were penalties for their mistakes.
Despite his overuse of coercive power, he lacked enough power to influence other employees in the organization. This is because he did not have the expertise to perform any particular job in the organization. He did not possess expert power nor reward power. Employees in the organization always complained of poor pay. They also complained of lack of an expertise who would guide them in some technical areas. The general manager had no expertise skills related to the kind of job that employees performed in the organization. The reprimanding behavior of the general manager was not appropriate because it caused the organization to experience high employees’ turnover. The organization incurred huge expenses in recruiting and selecting new employees every month.
In my opinion, the leader in this organization was task-oriented. His leadership approach only assisted in getting things done correctly, but did not contribute in improving organizational performance or the morale of the employees. The only step that the leader took to motivate the employees was to provide continuous training and development to employees who recorded good performance. This step was inappropriate because it was biased. A good leader should offer training to his followers as a team and not as individual members. This installs a spirit of belonging among the followers, and motivates them to work towards achievement of the leader’s vision. The leader in this scenario did not show any signs of being a transformational leader.
Back in my hometown, I was once a member of an informal group. The group’s main activity was to raise money to build a home for the street families in our town. The group members were motivated towards the achievement of the group’s goal. This is because all members showed a lot of determination in raising the required amount. There was harmony in the group, and every individual was optimistic towards the project. The group had 100 members. Every family in the neighborhood was represented in the group. Group roles were divided according to age groups. The youths were to solicit funds from other community members and leaders, while the adults were to identify a suitable location for building a home for the street families as well as budget for the money collected by the youths. The group’s norms included conducting weekly meetings where every sub-group was to report its activities to members of the other group. All members were required to be present during the weekly meeting and observe time. All members conformed to the norms and there were no deviance whatsoever.
There was high level of cohesiveness in the group. This is because all members were focused at achieving a common goal. Moreover, every sub-group had set specific targets, which it aimed to achieve by the end of the project. This level of cohesiveness encouraged teamwork among the group members. In fact, there was no social loafing in the group. This is because every sub-group had specific responsibilities to fulfill. Besides, the targets set by every sub-group made the group members to concentrate on their tasks, thus, there was no time for social loafing. However, the group leader in liaison with the group members would have divided the group into smaller teams in order to increase effectiveness of every group member. Smaller teams encourage interaction among members, hence increasing the level of commitment (Leon). They also have a greater chance of becoming more cohesive (Leon).
I interviewed a friend who works as an accountant in a pharmaceutical firm. Recruitment and selection of new employees is done once every year. The human resource personnel, in liaison with departmental heads first identify all the vacant positions as well as areas where additional employees are required. Then, they identify the suitable sources of candidates for the vacant/new positions. This is then followed by advertisements, depending on the selected candidates’ source. The recruiting team receives and assesses all the applications from potential candidates. Selection is done based on merit. The procedure followed by this organization is effective because it allows the organization to hire the most suitable employees in an unbiased manner.
Successful candidates undergo one-month induction, where they learn about the organization’s policies, procedures, and standards. The induction also includes on-the-job training where new employees are assigned to older employees who take them through all the processes involved in their specific jobs. Besides, the organization sends a group of employees to different colleges for further education, once in every year. This is very effective because employees are equipped with skills to meet the organization’s short-term, as well as long-term needs. Furthermore, it is a form of motivating employees to continue working for the organization, because they are able to achieve their personal career goals while working in the organization.
Performance appraisal is done on annual basis by departmental heads. During the appraisal process, every employee reviews his/her performance with the respective departmental head. This provides instance feedback to the employee concerning his/her performance. This encourages employees to improve their performance to avoid instances where they review negative performance for themselves. Apart from monthly salary, employees receive rewards depending on their performance. Only the top three performers in every department receive performance rewards. However, the rewards received are equal for all employees regardless of their positions in the departments. At the end of every year, all employees receive bonuses depending on the amount of profit recorded by the organization during the year. This system of rewarding and providing benefits to employees is appropriate because it is unbiased. Employees are rewarded equally for their contribution to the organization. This motivates all employees to improve their performance towards attainment of organizational goal.
Last semester I experienced ineffective communication with my classmates. We had formed a discussion group, where we would meet frequently and discuss various topics that we had learnt in class. One day, one of our instructors gave us a research assignment. We met as a group to research on the topic assigned. As we were finishing our discussion, some members suggested that I was to compile the points that we had discussed, and present them to the group during the next meeting. However, I was to update them about the progress before the actual meeting date. This was to enable them determine whether all the points were included in the final paper or they need to add some. However, I did not contact them until the final day, which in deed was the day when we were supposed to submit the assignment. During the meeting, my classmates discovered that I had omitted numerous key points in the assignment. This was disappointing because we had less time to revise the paper before the deadline.
In this incident, my communication ineffective was lack of feedback. I did not provide any feedback to my classmates, as we had agreed. This caused our group to lose marks in the assignment. Feedback is the last stage of the communication process. It forms a very important part of communication, specifically in intragroup form of communication (Levels of Communication Process). Without feedback, communication cannot be said to have taken place. This is because, the receiver of information has to indicate to the sender whether he/she has understood the information communicated or not. From the scenario described above, the stage of communication, which was problematic, was the feedback stage. Even though no distortion of information occurred during the communication process, the communication would have been effective if I had provided feedback to my classmates.
One of the organizations that I am familiar with is Hyundai Motors. The organization produces motor vehicles ranging from cars, vans, to mini buses. Production is conducted in many of its factories located in the USA, Japan, and China. The production system at the assembly point is automated and it requires minimal human labor. All the required parts for making a vehicle are first manufactured individually, and then they are taken to the assembly plant where they are assembled to make the required vehicle. Product attributes that Hyundai’s customers desire include quality, durability, reliability, and uniqueness. Over the years, Hyundai has managed to produce quality vehicles using its production system. There are no instances when Hyundai has been reported to produce low quality or unreliable vehicles in terms of fuel efficiency or distance coverage.
Nevertheless, Hyundai can boost its responsiveness to customers, quality, and efficiency by completely automating its production system (Automated Production Reporting). Manufacturing of some body parts for vehicles involve human labor. The organization can employ modern state of art technology, which is currently being used in vehicle production to manufacture the body parts. The technology is more efficient and cost effective. This would allow the organization to increase its responsiveness to quality, customers’ attributes, and production efficiency.