Description of Module
For anything to be accomplished in an organization people must use both power and politics. While often looked at as negative aspects of organizations, both power and politics are the means by which organizations and individuals get objectives accomplished.
Managers in organizations need to be able to effectively deal with conflict and to negotiate with people inside and outside of the organization. These two skill sets are critical for managerial success.
Required Readings
Textbook, ch. 12 -13
Discussion Question
DQ 11: What are the ways to use political behavior effectively?
Post your initial response (100 words minimum) and respond to two student postings. Initial responses should contain substantial content and incorporate concepts, terms, and theories from the learning material.
Due Date: Due on Wednesday Dec 11, 2013
Post your initial response (100 words minimum) and respond to two student postings. Initial responses should contain substantial content and incorporate concepts, terms, and theories from the learning material.
Due Date: Due by on Thursday Dec 12, 2013
DQ 12
ReplyDeleteThere is no necessity to negotiate and resolve all conflicts. Moreover, some of them could be fruitful for individual and group performance and help to keep a group viable, self-critical and creative. For example, members of group could conflict about a certain task’ fulfillment, what might result in the generation of creative idea of its solution. Thus, such conflict gives positive contribution to group functioning and leads to improvement of employees’ job satisfaction and productivity.
Among three types of conflicts (functional, relationship and process conflicts), relationship conflicts are the most disruptive (dysfunctional) conflicts, which just hinder group performance. However, the low level of task and process conflicts could be constructive and positive influence for group functioning. In the case conflict improves the quality of decisions, stimulates creativity and innovation, encourages interest and curiosity among group members, fosters working environment of self-evaluation and change, there is no need to negotiate and resolve it (functional outcomes). The only exception is that task conflicts can provide positive outcomes only when all members share the same goals and have high levels of trust.
In some cases management could make an attempt to sustain certain conflict level in working environment in order to enhance group’s efficiency by rewarding dissent and punishing conflict avoiders.
Very good, Daria.
DeleteDQ 11
ReplyDeletePolitical behavior refers to activities that are not required as part of one’s formal role in the organization, but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization. In order to use it effectively there are several approaches that could be applied:
• Consideration of organizational factors that favor politicking actions. A person wishing to use political behavior should consider such aspects of organization as its cultural issues, company’s structure, internal relationships among employees and managers, and level of trust within an organization. In case the characteristics of the company favor political behavior (for example, low level of trust within organization), such behavior is more effective, than in the case when organizational environment interferes with politicking.
• Effective usage of individual traits. In the case a person obtains favorable instruments for politicking such as certain level of power and high level of self-monitoring, his or her political behavior could be effective.
• Effective usage of power tactics. Among different tactics (legitimacy, pressure, rational persuasion, coalitions, inspirational appeals, consultation, exchange, personal appeals, ingratiation), soft tactics are more effective than hard ones. Usage of rational persuasion, inspirational appeals and consultation power tactics leads to more effective result in political behavior. Moreover the combining of tactics would increase their effectiveness.
Note that political behaviour is based on what type of Organisational Culture the employees are working in and the leadership style of the management, as well as the composition of staff of that organisation.
DeleteDQ 11
ReplyDeletePolitical behaviour is an informal part of power in the organisation which completely depends on the culture of given organization and its goals. There are three types of power: coercive (which complies from fear of negative results), reward (complies from desire for positive benefits) and legitimate (from formal authority).
Political behaviours in organizations cannot be eliminated since power is very connected to politics. Therefore, you need to manage it successfully along with company's structure, culture and employees.
There are some strategic ways to manage political behaviour. The most popular among them are:
- consultation by involving people in order to make a decision or bring a change into organization
- rational persuasion by convincing others using information, logics, benefits exposure etc.
-inspiration: supporting your arguments using other's inspiration to achieve higher goals and dreams
The least effective strategy is pressure since whatever the individual was forced to do is never positive. Effectivenes modifies according to each organization depending on its direction, individual skills of employees and structure. Mixing different strategies is a key to achieve better results.
DQ 12
Conflicts in a workplace are not a rare issue. Some conflicts are "good" and some are "bad". Having said this, it is necessary to get away from perception of a conflict as a negative only and see some advantages in a situation when conflict happens. There are functional and dysfunctional conflicts.
Functional conflicts support the goals of the group and increase its performance, while dysfunctional ones only damage the results and working process. Therefore, functional conflicts should not be always negotiated and resolved since they help to improve positions of team members by increased group performance and quality of their decisions; boost creativity, interest and innovation and stimulate problem-solving, conflict resolution and self-assessment skills.
Dysfunctional conflicts usually need some help to be resolved because their outcomes are not positive. They serve as a disturbance and slow-down, reduce effectivenss and cut communication.
Here is what I propose as reply to this question:
DeleteThere are many types of conflicts. My answer will address to the conflicts that arise mainly due to mis-communication, or misinterpretation of the message from the message issuer.
Here are some barriers to effective communication:
Filtering
Selective
Perception
Information Overload
Emotions
Language
Communication Apprehension
Implications for Managers
Removing the uncertainty leads to greater satisfaction:
Communicate via multiple channels
Reduce distortion and incongruities for clarity
Use electronic media wisely and carefully
Cultural communication barriers can be overcome with understanding
Lessons learned
Each communication direction has its own challenge that must be overcome
Each form of communication has an optimal purpose and specific limitations – use appropriately
Communication barriers often retard or distort communication
To avoid conflicts at the workplace, managers need to reduce the barriers to effective communication.
DQ11
ReplyDeletePolitical behaviour in organizational terms means “Behaviour designed to benefit an individual or group at the organization’s expense”. Nevertheless, all organizations have certain political behaviour depending on their inner structure, company members incorporated culture, and it would be difficult to eliminate this behaviour since it is a human nature to be better than others. In order for political behaviour to effective, certain tactics need to be in place. Some of them are negative and some are positive:
1. Legitimacy: good tactics to rule political behaviour, because power is coming from formal authority to control and use organisational resources.
2. Rational persuasion along with expert-referent power: rational persuasion is based on logical outcomes, and along with expert-referent power which comes as a result of expertise, knowledge, skills combined with charisma, constitutes a good mix to be able to achieve persuasive goals
3. Inspirational appeals: inspiring others by their own goals to higher achievements
Along with these tactics, it is useful to consider organizational structure as a whole: manipulate in legitimate way with personal skills and traits of employees, incorporate strong organizational culture which is aligned with goals, manage workforce successfully and establish trust in different levels of organization, trying to avoid pressurizing techniques.
DQ12
Conflict is inevitable in the workplace, different personalities and groups will always oppose each other due to different characteristics. Before resolving a conflict between your employees, it is necessary to understand its origin and to determine its type. Normally, there are two types of conflicts: functional and dysfunctional.
Functional conflicts are referred to positive conflicts because the outcomes of them do not impact the working process in a negative way. This type of conflicts usually supports organizational goals and increases performance. Sometimes it is even productive to stimulate functional conflicts, since this will help team members to oppose each other constructively giving arguments based on facts and not their personal preferences. Therefore, creativity, thinking out of-the-box, compromising, defending and innovation factors are stimulated and lead to increased performance and interest for a certain task. There are two methods to spread the activity among the team members: devil’s advocacy, when one person becomes a critic and questions every idea team generates, and dialectic method, when all advantages and disadvantages are discussed at a round table to arrive to common conclusion.
Dysfunctional conflicts are not as friendly and helpful as functional: this type of conflicts is useless for the organization and only disturbs the team. They are usually based on personal interest opposition or unwillingness of some team members to work together. These conflicts are dangerous for company activity and, if not resolved in timely manner, can seriously harm productivity and cohesiveness at the workplace.
Very good.
ReplyDelete