PPA 660: Organizational Theory
PPA 660: Organization theory presented me an understanding of why organizations behave in a specific manner as well as why the individuals in those organization behave as they do. While some of the topics discussed in class seemed rudimentary at the time of lecture, such as Fayol’s principles of management and Gulick’s POSDCORB, ultimately I came to realize that this is only because these are the practices I am accustomed to observing. In hindsight, the concepts and ideas presented by Fayol and Gulick in their era were groundbreaking. At the end of the course, I was able to take away concepts of organizational culture, leadership, power, authority, motivation, group behavior and decision-making. The following are specific areas of organizational theory that I consider as my strengths of the topics discussed however, they do not represent my entire understanding of the subject matter.
Leadership. A leader in an organization can be described as an individual who influences and directs others to take specific actions in order to reach a goal. A leader is someone who possess integrity, fairness, a sense of humor, cares about people, etc. While leadership appears to be fluid and easy to express, there are multiple theories of leadership that are
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One of the more interesting topics discussed in PPA 660 was group behavior. Group behavior by definition is the formal and information associations between two or more individuals. I found this as an interested topic for group behavior is a concept we are exposed to at a young age but not much thought or discussion is ever been presented. Through the professor’s lectures on group behavior, I learned about group attributes (roles, social identity, norms, conformity and cohesiveness), process of forming and socialization, group decision making, conflicts within group and different group dynamics. One of the more interesting group behavior topics discussed was the concept of
In this level, we are switching from individual behavior to group behavior. A group is define as two or more individual, interacting and interdependent who are initially coming together to achieve particular objectives (Stephen P.Robbins, Timothy A.Judge, 2014). There are two types of group which are formal group and informal group (Stephen P.Robbins, Timothy A.Judge, 2014). Group can bring a lot of advantages to all the group members. For instance, work as a group is able to generate positive synergy through coordinated effort that allows organization to increase performance.
Hatch, M. J. (1997) Organization Theory. New York, Oxford University Press. Mullins, L. J. (1996) Management and Organisational Behaviour. 4th Ed, London, Pitman.
What is a leader? A leader is someone who takes command and leads an organization or group to success. Anyone can be a leader but in order to become a great leader you have to have to possess certain characteristics. I will be using Odysseus from the Odyssey isas an example of a leader who has suitable characteristics. You also have to know what harmful characteristics a leader may possess to determine if they are good leaders or not.
According to Business Dictionary.com, leadership is defined as the individuals who are the leaders in an organization, regarded collectively. It also can be define as the activity of leading a group of people or an organization or the ability to do this. Leadership involves the establishing of a clear vision, sharing the vision with other so that they will follow willingly, providing the needed information, knowledge, and methods to realize the vision and coordinating and balancing the conflicts interests of all members and stakeholders.
(2014) is “the way in which leaders interact, make decisions, and influence others in the organization” (p 237). The culture needs to foster cooperation from all areas of an organization, while providing the ability for adaptation and growth. Not all organizations culture will be the same, there is not a correct one that can blanket all organizations to cozy success. (3) Talent Systems. Human capital drives all organizations, the right people need to be in the right jobs with the correct opportunities for growth and advancement. There must be a constant search for strategic thinkers and leaders able to step up with called upon. The authors mention “Talent Sustainability” (p. 248), there must be enough qualified employees ready to move up so the organization will not stall while searching for others to replace others due to attrition, or other opportunists. (4) Organizational Design, must take a number of variables into account while providing structure to an organization. Hughes et al. (2014) state “the design of the organization is a trade-off between options, each with advantages and disadvantages” (p 253). The correct design can help clear the hierarchy of an organization and the proper channels for
Gibson, J.L., Ivancevich, J.M., Donnelly, J.H., & Konopaske, R. (2009). Organizations: Behaviors, structure, processes (13th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
A leader is described as a person who guides others and has authority and influence over others. They work to influence others into meeting certain goals. There is no right or wrong definition of a leader and there is no recipe that ensures effective leadership. Successful leaders have a good balance of vision, influence, and power. Leaders gain their authority from their ability to influence others to get the work done; because of this, anyone has the potential to be a leader. (Finkelman. 2012, p15)
The term leadership often brings to mind people like George Washington, Ghandi, Dwight Eisenhower, or current day military or political figures. These people represent certain strengths, character, and moral behaviors that we attribute to the concept of leadership. At its core, leadership is the ability to influence others to work toward and achieve a common objective or goal. An individual can exhibit leadership at any level of society, not just high profile positions. In fact, leadership can even be witnessed among children and young adults.
As many people help others in life, they can be known to have the potential to be an outstanding leader. Leadership is the act of motivating ordinary people to do extraordinary things. It includes having a strong, positive, inspiring attitude that others will believe in. Leadership is having clear communication so that others will work their hardest to achieve whatever is given to them. Leaders make an impact on others hearts with their ultimate passion which leads to making a difference in people’s lives.
Miles, R. (1975) Theories of Management: Implications for Organisational Behaviour and Development. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Ivancevich, John, Knopaske, Robert, Matteson, Michael, Organizational Behaviour and Management (10 edition (January 30, 2013). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin
To me, leadership is the ability to inspire the people around you in any situation and under any circumstances, to work or live for a common purpose, and to be able to handle anything that comes your way. The actual definition of leadership seems so unclear because of the many responsibilities one person has to hold and attain as part of being a leader. Leadership is essential to any group of people or organization. Some of the major characteristics of being a leader are: confidence in your self and others, able to keep calm under stress, dedication, pride, setting a Christian example, inspiring, strong willed, always honest, committed, able to communicate with others, and open minded. There are a lot of people who are smart and have good ideas but they can not lead. Having a good idea that is worth following is not enough. Someone might want to lead the world to think a certain way or another person might have ideas to make a failing ...
What is leadership? Leadership is defined as a process by which a individual will influence others to obtain goals. Leaders will guide, direct motivate, or inspire others. Leadership is defined by not only traits but actions as well. Leaders are inspirational, trustworthy and charismatic. Many people may think a manger is leader. Although leadership and management go hand in hand, they are not the same. Everyone has their own beliefs about what characteristics an effective leader should have. To me, communication skills, critical thinking skills, and having a vision are few characteristics of becoming an effective leader. A leader is not only born, but made. Some are born as leaders or some are made to be leaders.
Many people believe that leadership is simply being the first, biggest or most powerful. Leadership in organizations has a different and more meaningful definition. A leader is someone who sets direction in an effort or task and influences or motivates people to follow that direction. The power point presentation explains leadership is the influence that particular individuals exert on the goal achievement of others in an organizational context.
Several experiments and researches have been conducted that have focused on how people behave in groups. The findings have revealed that groups affect peoples’ attitudes, behavior and perceptions. Groups are essential for personal life, as well as in work life.