Source: Google Images

In every organization, there is a culture that plays an important role in shaping the beliefs and behaviours of the organization.  We have learnt in class that organizations can have a dominant culture – which are core shared values, and also subcultures.

I personally think that having a very strong positive organizational culture is very important – where employees within that organization are given recognition and are valued for their contribution, and where there is emphasis on open communication between different hierarchy levels.

Another point I would like to add is that, I think that organizational cultures should be dynamic and constantly changing.  As an organization grows, there are bound to be changes in the management and employees.  With those changes, it is important to note that the culture of the organization has to change in accordance to ensure stability or further growth in the organization.

I found this article by Michael Watkins in the Harvard Business Review, though it is a few years old, I still think that the content is very informative and relevant to what we have learnt in our COMM 292 classes.  In the article, Watkins shares different perspectives of what an organizational culture is, from information he gathered through a discussion he set up on LinkedIn.

A particularly interesting point and a new perspective to me in the article I found was when he mentions that organizational culture works like the human immune system where it “prevents wrong thinking and wrong people from entering the organization”.  It appealed to me because I have not thought about organizational culture in this way, I have always thought of organizational culture as only what already happens within a business.

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Sources:

“What is Organizational Culture?  And Why Should We Care?”  Harvard Business Review.  15 May 2013  <https://hbr.org/2013/05/what-is-organizational-culture>

Source: Google Images

In class, we learnt about four different styles of communication which are action oriented, process oriented, people oriented, and idea oriented.

I think the communication style that I fit into the most is being people oriented.  People oriented communication is where people talk about relationships between individuals, needs, awareness, feelings, and valuing team spirit.  I highly value the human connection I get when communicating with others.  I also enjoy the idea of working in teams.  When I am put into a group, I always try my best to establish a team spirit because I believe that when a team spirit is establish, a common goal is as well, the group as a whole would be more motivated to achieve the best they can and the group can be more effective when trying to reach their goals.

However, I feel like my style of communication also fits into the action oriented category because I am a very driven person with a strong personality.  I like to be given a clear set of objectives and I enjoy carrying out my responsibilities efficiently.  One of the best parts about working in teams for me is when every individual member carries out their responsibilities and we are able to see clear results.

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Before coming to Sauder and learning about human resources and managements, I have always assumed that a leader and a manager do the same thing.  But, after learning and reading more into the subject, I have learnt that they play completely separate roles.

The main takeaway I had from the lecture on leadership in our class was that managers are people who set day to day objectives and goals, delegate workload, and maintain a good workforce environment, whilst leaders are people who are innovative and unique, who have vision for the future, growth and development of the organization.

I also came across a very informative article on Forbes that outlines “9 Differences Between Being a Leader and a Manager”.

In my opinion, one of the best points in the article was, “leaders are change agents, managers maintain the status quo”, where it says that leaders are “proud disrupters” and can “accept the fact that changes to the system often create waves”.  I really enjoyed this because I personally adopt the mentality that well planned and well executed change, no matter of what magnitude, can bring about better outcomes, even if there are many road bumps along the way.  To me, the hard work and struggles are what make the process of me doing any task worthwhile, and also makes me feel more accomplished at the end of the day.

The rest of the article basically implies that managers are more systematic people whilst leaders have a voice and are more outspoken.  Having said that, I do think that both leaders and managers are essential for any organization to be successful.

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Sources:

“9 Differences Between Being A Leader And A Manager.”  Forbes.  15 Nov, 2016.  <https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2016/11/15/9-differences-between-being-a-leader-and-a-manager/#799193bf4609>

Source: Google Images

After reading Kexuan’s post on teamwork, I do agree with her on the point that group members should have effective communication and problem solving skills.  Additionally, I think that each team member should be responsible and accountable in completing their delegated tasks and be willing to go further if it were needed.  It is essential that team members establish a common goal so that the whole team would be more motivated to work towards achieving that common goal – since higher motivation levels would lead to higher quality performance.

From reading the article on Forbes about teamwork linked on Kexuan’s post, I would say that my team type is a “real team”, where teams establish a culture of their own and they perform tasks in a way which are most effective for each member.

I have always preferred working in teams over individual work because I think that working in a functional team produces the most efficient results as tasks are delegated to each member according to their own individual strengths.  Furthermore, a group of people working together is more likely to produce more innovative and creative ideas as people come from different backgrounds with varying perspectives.  I also think that working in a team is good because team members can provide each other with support and guidance whenever they encounter hardships.  However, I do also believe that certain projects would be more efficient if they were to be completed individually.

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Sources:

Romero, Luis E.  “What Everyone Should Know About Teamwork.”  Forbes.com.  20 Jan. 2016.  <http://www.forbes.com/sites/luisromero/2016/01/20/what-everyone-should-know-about-teamwork/#55c5fbe21663>

I personally think that one of the key factors in having a successful company is to have a diverse workforce and an understanding management team.

To me, a diverse workforce consists of people from different cultural backgrounds, genders, interests, sexual orientations and so on.  When a diverse group of people come together in a group, it would be highly beneficial to the company as the workforce can attend to a larger clientele effectively as the differences in each individual member’s perspective can aid when trying to produce a creative or unique idea, ultimately improving the whole team’s performance.

Other than that, I think having a diverse workforce is very important because the world is becoming more integrated as more and more cultures are given exposure.  However, every situation has its drawbacks.

I came across an article in the Economist that talks about the “diversity fatigue” which outlines the challenges of diversity in the workforce.  One particular statement I found interesting in the article was quoted by David Livermore who said diverse groups are “more likely to produce truly innovative ideas, but they are also more likely to fail completely,” linking it to how trust is the biggest challenge in diverse groups.

Perhaps some groups fall apart because some of the group members may think that their fellow members’ methods of performing certain tasks are skewed or incorrect because they are from a completely different background and are not used to the way things are being done differently.

Overall, I still think that diversity should be highly valued in the workforce and additionally, I think having a high cultural intelligence – a term introduced by Elaine Mosakowski of the University of Colorado which basically means that a person is able to work effectively across cultures, is essential for building a diverse team.

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Sources:

“Diversity Fatigue.”  The Economist.  11 Feb, 2016.  <http://www.economist.com/news/business/21692865-making-most-workplace-diversity-requires-hard-work-well-good-intentions-diversity>

Source: Dan Pink

Many research studies have been conducted in attempt to analyze what motivates workers.  Traditionally, pay and benefits were considered to be the most important factors for motivating employees.  Nowadays, work enjoyment, challenges and recognition are some of the many factors frequently quoted by employees when asked what keeps them motivated.  I came across a very interesting article on ideas.ted.com summarizing seven insightful studies that outline the non-financial factors of motivation.

One point that stood out was: “The promise of helping others makes us more likely to follow rules”.  What stood out to me wasn’t the concept of helping others but rather how effective the study was – by putting up signs at a hospital’s hand-washing stations, doctors and nurses used 45% more soap or hand sanitizer in the stations with signs.  It was surprising to me because I personally don’t respond to signs that much.  I guess every person responds to a motivation factor differently.

However, I can definitely relate to the point: “The harder a project is, the prouder we feel of it”.  Every time I finish a challenging task, I feel incredibly proud because I feel like I have gone through the worst and as a result, I am motivated to work even harder on future projects.

I think that the fourth point: “Knowing that our work helps others may increase our unconscious motivation”, is tied to McClelland’s motivational needs theory under the “n-achievement” in which a person is motivated by the need for a sense of accomplishment through seeking challenging goals and there is a constant need for feedback regarding process and achievement.

After reading through the various factors of motivation, I would definitely like to find out more about what motivates my friends or the people around me to work hard.

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Sources:

Gross, Jessica.  “What Motivates Us At Work? More Than Money.”  Ideas.Ted.Com.  21 May, 2015.  <http://ideas.ted.com/what-motivates-us-at-work-7-fascinating-studies-that-give-insights/>