Portfolio Project paper

 Portfolio Project paper

Organizational behavior (OB) is a discipline that focuses on identifying and managing the actions, behaviors, and attitudes of individuals and teams. It mainly deals with how members of a team can be motivated to be productive in the organization, how to make people active in teamwork, how individuals can effectively accomplish their tasks, and how employees can be more innovative. These are some of the attitudes and actions that help managers to identify problems and determine how to change employees’ behaviors in order to increase their performance and the overall effectiveness of the organization (Das & Panda, 2017). On the other hand, organization development (OD) describes efforts put forward by an organization to ensure that the proposed change is more effective and productive. Organizational development becomes necessary when a gap exists between what an organization needs to do and what is actually being accomplished. OD tries to create a connection between human processes such as communication, leadership, and decision-making and organizational outcomes such as efficiency and productivity. Therefore, the portfolio project will use Jasmine’s scenario to elaborate on the impact that OB and OD initiatives, theories, and practices have on organizational culture and change efforts.

Part One

Based on Jasmine’s scenario, there several OB and OD issues that are at play. For instance, communication is one of the issues that are evident in Jasmine’s case. Accurate and effective communication skills determine a successful and efficient leader. Managers must be convincing communicators for them to achieve professional success. In addition, managers and team members need to develop excellent communication as this will help to improve employees’ performance, which in turn promotes the growth of the organization. According to Luthra and Dahiya (2015), an effective leader can direct, take charge, stimulate, and encourage others. A leader with excellent communication skills can develop a better understanding and inspire other people.  However, in the absence of good communication, as portrayed by Jasmine, employees become less motivated, and their morale goes down. For example, some employees have complained about Jasmine’s use of humor and sarcasm, which hurts them.

Another issue that is evident in Jasmine’s scenario is decision-making. One of the key characteristics is a great leader is decisiveness. Employees do not expect their leaders to be unclear and uncertain. Instead, they view them as people who can make decisions within the shortest time possible and communicate their goals to others. Sometimes leaders have to make difficult decisions on the direction the company should move. Great managers should be able to balance emotions with reasons and make decisions that have a positive impact on themselves, employees, and customers as well. Additionally, these leaders understand when they need to make quick decisions and situations where they have to take time to gather information before making the final decisions (Kase, 2010). In relation to Jasmine’s case, she involves her team members in making decisions. This acts as a motivation for them to be innovative and creative. However, as a leader, she has the authority to make the ultimate decision and be more direct.

Part Two

Jasmine has several strengths in her leadership approach. Some employees stated that she notifies them about changes or plans made from the corporate office. This attribute is essential as it keeps employees informed and updated about events or plans proposed by the head office. Communicating key issues to employees helps them to identify problems that can hinder their performance. When employees are informed about current trends in the business, they can be able to use the information to improve their job performance. Employee engagement is another crucial aspect that constitutes Jasmine’s strength (Malone & Sutch, 2019). For instance, Jasmine often asks employees to volunteer to participate in system redesigning. This gives employees a sense of ownership and also feel that they are part of the organization. The involvement of employees in decision making is another strength for Jasmine. Employees state that Jasmine asks for their input, which influences the decision made by the corporate office. This aspect makes employees feel that they are part of the organization’s success.

However, there are areas that Jasmine seeks to improve. As a leader, she should be able to control her emotions. The scenario indicates that Jasmine tends to be defensive when employees give negative feedback regarding her leadership. Moreover, Jasmine needs to improve her communication skills. Some employees feel offended when she makes fun of them in front of their peers. Being able to communicate effectively helps to improve the relations between a leader and employees (Hsieh & Huang, 2018). Also, Jasmine needs to improve the ability to make decisions. Even though she engages employees, there are situations where she needs to make the final decision and advise the team on the way forward.

The main goal of collecting information is to help Jasmine improve her leadership approach. Therefore, the best way to present the information is to keep it short and straightforward. This means that it will focus on the main message and key points (Ritzman, 2016). Additionally, the presentation would be organized and structured in a way that she will be able to follow and understand. Also, visual aids would be essential in illustrating trends and comparisons.

Part Three

The data responses provided by the employees are beneficial in various ways. For instance, the information gathered can be used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of Jasmine. Different employees have various encounters with Jasmine. Therefore, the data collected via interview will provide different views and opinions regarding Jasmine’s leadership (Pieterse et al., 2019). The feedback provided by the employees is essential in establishing areas of improvement for Jasmine. It will also help in determining the change that is needed to strengthen Jasmine’s leadership.

However, the data responses may have some setbacks. For instance, biases may be the major drawback of the interviews. Some team members may hold back information that may be crucial in evaluating Jasmine’s leadership. Also, an interviewer may have limited knowledge about the working environment and the organization at large (Salas et al., 2015). Therefore, the questions asked during the interview may not cover the key areas that are essential in understanding Jasmine’s leadership.

More information should be collected to provide a deeper understanding of Jasmine’s leadership. Information on motivation, accountability, and Jasmine’s ability to delegate tasks should be obtained. As a leader, Jasmine has the responsibility of motivating her employees by building their self-esteem through awards and recognition (Doyle, 2019). Additionally, she should be able to identify the skills of her team members and assign them tasks based on their skill set while at the same time, being accountable for the work done by the team.

Part Four

Behavioral Theory of Leadership would be the most appropriate theory to address Jasmine’s weaknesses. This theory focuses on the observable reactions and actions of leaders in a particular situation. Behavioral theory helps to understand how leaders behave and assume that learnable behaviors define successful leaders. The behavior of a leader is the best predictor of his leadership influence as it also determines his or her success in leadership (Pieterse et al., 2019). This means that the behavioral theory concentrates on what leaders do instead of their qualities. Patterns of behaviors are observed and then used to categorize the leadership of an individual.

Furthermore, the behavioral theory is based on the principle that behaviors can be controlled in a manner that one can respond in a specific way to particular stimuli. Through this theory, leaders study their behaviors in response to different situations as a way of assessing their leadership styles. Therefore, this theory can help Jasmine to assess her behavior in various situations to determine her weaknesses (Sarin & O’Connor, 2009). In addition, Jasmine can be able to understand the appropriate leadership style that she should use in various situations. This would help her to work on her weaknesses and improve her performance.

Part Five

Several individual interventions can be used by Jasmine to improve her leadership skills. Jasmine should learn how to listen effectively. With effective listening skills, she will be able to get feedback from her team members and understand the challenges they encounter in their day-to-day activities (Pieterse et al., 2019). Listening is one of the critical aspects of communication that requires one to maintain eye contact and avoiding distractions in order to respond appropriately.

Motivating others is another crucial intervention for Jasmine. She should be able to influence and energize her team members. When employees are motivated, they improve their job performance. Therefore, Jasmine should be able to give her employees the required recognition so that they feel motivated to do better (Sarin & O’Connor, 2009).

Jasmine should know how to delegate. Successful leaders do not micromanage. Instead, they delegate work to their subordinates and make them feel empowered. This makes employees feel involved and have more opportunities to acquire new skills (Doyle, 2019). Also, delegating tasks will help Jasmine to have more time to deal with other essential matters.

Conflict resolution is another important intervention for Jasmine. She should be able to handle conflicts among employees and between employees and customers. From the interview, one of the employees indicated that Jasmine never assists her when dealing with angry customers (Sarin & O’Connor, 2009). This shows that Jasmine needs to develop conflict resolution skills.

Part Six

There are various ways of ensuring that Jasmine recognizes the need for change. For instance, unsatisfactory performance among the team members. The organization has its objectives, and every employee has to work towards meeting those goals. One of the main goals of an organization is to be financially stable and survive on its own. Therefore, if an organization does not make money, it is probably underperforming (Steckler & Fondas, 1995). Therefore, Jasmine should recognize the need for change if the organization is not performing as desired. She should rectify the situation and elevate organizational performance.

Similarly, Jasmine should recognize the need for change when she realizes that competitors are doing better. Every company desires to become a market leader. Therefore, if rivals outperform the company, it means that the firm is not doing its best. The organization should ensure that it survives for a long time in the market, which means that the leaders should strive to improve its market position (Steckler & Fondas, 1995). Therefore, Jasmine should evaluate the market share for the organization and take decisive actions as early as possible. Focusing on both immediate competitors and the wide business sector will help Jasmine to realize the change required to keep the organization competitive.

Furthermore, the existence of inefficiencies in an organization calls for change. Inefficiencies make a business to be less competitive and profitable. Jasmine should realize that any inefficiency is a problem that should be rectified for the business to remain competitive. According to Shmula (2017), for an organization to remain successful, it must be efficient than its competitors.

Part Seven

Addressing the issues of unsatisfactory performance, competition, and inefficiencies would significantly impact employees, teams, and the organization. Evaluating the performance of employees and teams will help in identifying strong and weak links. This will help Jasmine to identify employees that outperform expectations and those that fall short (Travis et al., 2017). The organization will then be able to manage exceptional employees through additional responsibilities and promotion, and the underperformers may be demoted or terminated.

Also, measuring employee and team performance will help Jasmine to ensure that employees are working at an efficient and productive rate. Performance measures such as quarterly quotas and annual reviews will help Jasmine to ensure that the team members work efficiently to achieve organizational goals (Yun, 2017). Poor performing employees may be subjected to further coaching and training.

Moreover, when the leader has the ability to measure employee efficiency, identify the strong and weak team members, and encourage them appropriately, then the organization will be more productive and successful. Other employees and teams will be motivated by those who consistently receive promotions and pay rise (Travis et al., 2017). On the other hand, employees might look at their peers who have been terminated or demoted and consider them as cautionary tales.

Part Eight

Resistance is one of the challenges that might be encountered when assisting Jasmine to improve on her areas of weakness. Naturally, people resist change because they are accustomed to the security provided by the current situation. It becomes difficult for an individual to grow in the future when he or she gets comfortable in the present. For instance, Jasmine might be comfortable with her current leadership style. Therefore, it is anticipated that she might resist some of the proposed changes to her leadership. According to Smith (2018), resistance should be addressed on a psychological level to eliminate behavioral barriers that prevent individual development. However, providing Jasmine with reassurance and new training will give her the time she needs to adapt to the new changes.

Another challenge is that Jasmine may not be committed to the plan intended to improve her areas of weakness. A plan of action may be of no use if Jasmine is not fully committed to the change. Therefore, it is crucial to encourage Jasmine to embrace the new philosophies in order to break down the barriers that may occur during the change process (Smith, 2018). Also, by showing her how the change will improve her leadership approach, will help in motivating her to embrace the change.

Moreover, a lack of communication and cooperation may also affect the improvement of Jasmine’s area of weakness. Communication is essential in the execution of any plan. Therefore, effective communication and cooperation should exist between Jasmine and me. Transparent and honest communication is a necessary step in any change process (Salas et al., 2015). Lack of communication may affect the plan put in place to help Jasmine in improving her leadership style.

Part Nine

Various measures can be used to determine and ensure that Jasmine makes the necessary changes. Measurement of individual performance will help in determining how Jasmine is progressing through the change process. Additionally, it will help in determining whether she has adopted the proposed leadership approaches and how effective they have been in impact her overall leadership style (Yun, 2017). Some of the individual performance measures include adoption metrics, usage, and utilization reports, compliance and adherence reports, proficiency measures, and employee feedback. These measures would help to identify Jasmine’s position in the change process. The methods used to gather these measures include observations, surveys, performance evaluation, and assessment.

Moreover, business objective metrics can also be used to measure the progress made by Jasmine in implementing the necessary changes. Business objectives metrics are important measures as they demonstrate the impact of the change against organizational goals. The common business objective is usually growth (Luthra & Dahiya, 2015). Therefore, it is expected that when Jasmine improves her leadership style, there will be more productivity among the team members, which will, in turn, lead to organizational growth. Also, these metrics will assess transition performance against market share, market penetration, brand strength, market position, and customer satisfaction.  Therefore, through effective leadership, Jasmine will be able to propel the organization to enter new geographic markets. The results from various measures will help Jasmine to see the need for implementing the changes.

In conclusion, organizational behavior focuses on the actions, behaviors, and attitudes of individuals and teams. On the other hand, organizational development describes organizational efforts to ensure that the intended change is more effective and productive. The key OB and OD issues from Jasmine’s scenario are communication and decision-making. Some of the strengths that Jasmine has in her leadership is that she notifies her team members about changes and plans made from the corporate office, and engages her employees in making decisions. However, there are areas that she needs to improve, such as controlling her emotions, decision-making, and communication style. Moreover, the data responses provided by the employees will help to identify areas of improvement for Jasmine. However, the data responses may have some setbacks, such as bias responses, and the interviewer may have limited knowledge about the organization. The best theory to address Jasmine’s weaknesses is the behavioral leadership theory since it focuses on the observable reactions and actions of leaders. As a leader, Jasmine should be able to communicate effectively, motivate her team members, and delegate tasks. Some of the measures that would be essential in ensuring that Jasmine makes the necessary changes are individual performance and business objective metrics.

References

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