Principles of Organisational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Critically evaluate the following statement: "An organization’s effectiveness depends on the successful interplay of individuals, groups, and the organization as a whole.”
Your Name
N1062 (N1585)
Principles of Organisational
Behavior and Human Resource Management
Professor
UNIVERSITY
4TH AUGUST 2018
Introduction
This assignment sets out to critically evaluate the statement that, “An organization’s effectiveness depends on the successful interplay of individuals, groups, and the organization as a whole.” Organizations comprise of systems, individuals, and groups with differing structures and values. This conflict of interest between individuals and groups can lead to conflicts due to competing interests. In a competitive environment, conflicts could emerge hence leading to group dysfunction, hostility and communication breakdown. The assignment will critically evaluate the above statement about the individual, groups, and organizations. The paper will also discuss how different theories from each topic determine organizational effectiveness and the role of human resource management in the attainment of organizational effectiveness. Finally, the paper will discuss the approach taken in completing the group project.
The Role of Individuals
Individual employees play an important role in organizational effectiveness. It is true that organizational effectiveness is predicated on the successful interplay between individuals. Workplace interpersonal relationships and behavior provides an ideal atmosphere for the development of isophormic relationships at the organizational level (Derue et al., 2011). These interpersonal relationships between senior management and their subordinates are critical to the achievement of optimal organizational performance. Still, spontaneity and well-being being of individual employees determines individual commitment to the achievement of the organizational objectives. The organizational goals are best achieved when individuals have a collective vision and work collaboratively toward this end. (Validov&Pulaj, 2016). Interpersonal relationships largely determine the performance and effectiveness of teams. Interpersonal relationships are essential in team cohesion and hence performance. Strained interpersonal relationships can lead to group dysfunction and hence ineffectiveness in meeting the desired objectives. Organisational politics play an important role in determining performance effectiveness (Avolio, Walumbwa& Weber, 2009). However, this depends on the individual personal attributes. Individuals who are extroverts will most certainly have a different impact on the organizational performance as compared to those who are introverts. Still, attributes such as openness, mutual respect, and trust can drastically boost workplace interpersonal relationships, team performance and hence organizational effectiveness as it eliminates stress and unnecessary suspicion (Cherry, 2014).
More importantly, individual flexibility is an important factor in determining the effectiveness of highly dynamic organizations. At the group level, individual openness and active participation are critical. More importantly, the emotional expression is important, particularly in the formation of group identity and bonding between individual members (Dinh et al., 2014). Although the openness of individuals in their organizational relationships and expression of personal attributes is critical toward the attainment of personal wellbeing, it can also be linked to increased productivity. Therefore, organizational effectiveness largely depends on the successful interplay between individual group, team and organizational members. Improved interpersonal relationships create an atmosphere that is conducive for productivity and hence optimal performance. It also determines the effectiveness of teams, since teams comprised of individuals who are put together with the view of accomplishing a specific goal.
The Role of Groups/Teams
The effectiveness of an organization partly depends on the successful interplay between diverse organizational groups. Typically, the organization is comprised of departments, whereas departments function through different groups which are assigned distinct functions. Due to the inter-relatedness of different organizational functions, different departmental functions overlap and so are group functions (Avolio, Walumbwa& Weber, 2009). The relationship between different organizational functions suggests that the overall success and effectiveness of the organization largely depends on the effectiveness of the organizational teams. Hence there is a need for group cohesion which is necessary for the exchange of ideas since all organizational teams work toward the attainment of a shared vision (Dinh et al., 2014).
Group Theory: Tuckman’s Teamwork Theory
Tuckman’s teamwork theory is the first theory that describes the importance of the interplay between diverse teams. This theory elucidates different group development phases. The first phase is an orientation which is largely a testing phase that is prawn to great conflicts. However, these conflicts gradually dissipate and thus paving the way for a more highly cohesive phase where there is an enhancement in the interplay between group members. The next stage is a functional stage that is largely characterized by role relatedness. Tuckman’s teamwork theory comprises of four group formation stages, namely forming, storming, norming and performing (Arnold &Loughlin, 2013).
Tuckman’s four-stage theory graphically depicts an association between group relationships and task focus. This performing stage is attained after a successful formation of relationships between individual members. Nevertheless, Tuckman’s theory suggests that group formation takes time and hence optimal group performance and productivity can only be attained at this level (Huang, 2015). According to the theory, the initial stage of group formation (storming and forming) is usually characterized by numerous pitfalls and drawbacks. According to Tuckman, the forming stage is characterized by increased bonding since, during this stage, the group members get preoccupied with positioning and relationship formation (Validov&Pulaj, 2016).
On the other hand, the storming stage is where group members develop partial relationships and begin to shift their focus toward task completion. This stage can pose a challenge to the group leader since it is prawn to internal conflicts and confrontations (Dinh et al., 2014). Subsequently, the group can easily deviate from its core objective thus compromising its performance and effectiveness.
Norming is the stage when group members have already developed interpersonal and functional relationships and can now focus on the development of group work processes, rules, and precepts that guide the group toward its common objective (Avolio, Walumbwa& Weber, 2009). This stage is characterized by improving individual relationships and a sense of togetherness. Lastly, the performing stage is characterized by an increased focus on the task rather than on relationships (Cherry, 2014). The groups begin to be effective and function optimally due to improved individual productivity. Organizations are entities in which individuals interact and work interdependently within certain structures with the view of achieving a common goal. Organisational structures are varied and as such there goals and objectives are manifold (Dinh et al., 2014). As a result, individuals and teams may not share a common goal. To understand how individuals and teams work toward organizational effectiveness, various theories have been postulated to explain the interplay between the organization, individuals, and groups.
Thus, organizational behavior plays a critical role in the attainment of the organizational, group and individual objectives. This is because organizational effectiveness is tied to interpersonal relationships between individual, organizational members (McCleskey, 2014). The foundation of organi...