Introduction
Organization is a collection of diverse people with varied attitudes, emotions, personalities, values, religious, and political orientations, who share a common working environment and pursue similar organizational objectives. Diversity among organizational members and management strategies shapes organizational culture and behavior, which subsequently determines the realization of the stipulated objectives.
The prime objective, of an organization or a team, is to achieve certain goals by effectively mobilizing diverse individuals with different attitudes, emotions, personalities, and values. Thus, diversity amongst members within an organization compels the management to build organizational culture and behavior, which are imperative in achieving desired goals and objectives.
Smith (2009) argues that, organizational culture or behavior is its lifeblood for it determines both short-term and long-term development goals in an organization (p.1). Therefore, management has to recognize the diversity of organizational members and devise a plan that influences the development of organizational culture and behavior positively.
Since organizational members have diverse attributes, how do emotions, personalities, and values influence behavior, and how can managers plan to utilize these attributes effectively in influencing motivation, satisfaction, and performance of a team?
Attitudes and Emotions
Attitudes and emotions are underlying attributes among team members since each member has unique preferences of working environment and form of tasks. Fundamentally, the nature of attitudes and emotions that team members have determine relationships within a team and subsequently influence team’s culture and behavior, which are critical factors in enhancing the effectiveness of performance.
According to Harris (2005), effectiveness of a team depends on social processes that enhance positive attitudes and emotions, and improve capacity of team members to perform tasks cooperatively (p.2). This means that social processes are integral in defining relationships among team members, which constitute team behavior.
A team consists of members with diverse attitudes and emotions that need harmonization through social processes, which recognize and integrate these attributes into team’s culture and behavior.
Since social processes determine the harmonization of varied attitudes and emotions among team members, poor management strategies that do not consider social integration influence development of team’s culture and behavior negatively.
Team’s behavior intricately links with individual attitudes and emotions. Relationships among team members reflect how managers have integrated diverse attitudes and emotions in shaping a team’s behavior or culture. Ashraf (2010) argues that, attitudes and emotions are some of the factors that influence groups’ dynamics and eventually determine organizational behavior (p.158).
Organizational behavior is a product of varied attitudes and emotions of organizational members, who interact cooperatively, while pursing common objectives. For an organization to perform effectively and efficiently, it must consider integrating varied attitudes and emotions of its members in development of organizational behavior.
In this case, a team’s behavior is a product of diverse attitudes and emotions of the different team members. Thus, individual attitudes and emotions considerably determine a team’s behavior through the complex social interactions that occur within a team.
Personality and Values
Individual members of a team have different personalities and values, which determine their contribution in a team. Given that an organization or a team has common objectives to achieve, different personalities and values of members hamper the cooperative achievement of the desired objectives.
According to Smith (2009), personalities and values, that individual members of an organization possess, reflect the overall behavior in an organization (p.4). Since members of a team have varied personalities and values, the management teams have a considerable responsibility of ensuring that appropriate personality attributes dominate organizational behavior.
Personalities and values shape a team’s behavior significantly because attributes that managers uphold form the basis of an organization’s behavior. Managers need to act in accordance to policies stipulated in vision and mission strategic plan to achieve organizational goals.
Since managers are leaders in shaping organizational behavior, they act as role models. A leader should have leadership personality; moreover, s/he should set out essential values for subordinate members to follow, hence building organizational behavior. Harris (2005) explains that, organizational behavior consists of values, beliefs, experiences, and norms that determine how organizational members interact (p.4).
Therefore, leadership personality and organizational values have significant impacts on shaping diverse personalities and values of organizational members, and ultimately determine development of organizational behavior.
Plan for Positive Influence
Team members have different motivational needs as reflected in varied satisfaction and performance under different management styles. According to theory Y of management, human resources are invaluable resources that an organization can optimize through motivation. Application of theory Y in the management of the team will create an enabling working environment, where team members feel motivated and satisfied.
Ashraf (2010) argues that, management has considerable effects on the working environment and in shaping organizational behavior (p.162). As a leader of a team, it is imperative to ensure that management style motivates and enhances satisfaction and performance of the team members throughout.
In addition to motivating employees through application of theory Y, team leader can also enhance cooperative performance of project tasks. For team members to cooperate while performing various tasks of the project, they should share common values, attitudes, emotions and beliefs, which are central in building a team’s behavior.
According Harris (2005), vigorous relationship among organizational members is integral in leadership development and cooperative participation (p.8). Leadership development, among team members, enhances delegation of responsibilities thus alleviates management burden of the team leader.
Therefore, to enhance concerted efforts of team members, a team leader needs to ensure the harmonization of attitudes, emotions, values, and beliefs as factors of team’s behavior. Hence, vigorous relationship is a fundamental requirement in enhancing the effectiveness of the team.
When a team has appropriate leadership that creates a contributive working environment and vigorous relationship among team members, the rewarding of individuals is particularly beneficial. Rewarding of individuals is motivating because gifts are specific to roles played by individuals. Naturally, individuals, who have broad responsibilities, need more rewards as compared those who have fewer responsibilities.
Smith (2009) argues that, managers need to identify employees’ needs, interests, and values so that they can customize ways of rewarding their performance (p.5).
Rewarding team members in this manner motivates them and enhances their satisfaction and performance. If compliments and rewards become part of a team’s behavior of recognizing roles of its members, the team will exceptionally meet its objectives at the end of the year.
Conclusion
Given that organizations or teams comprise of members with varied attitudes, emotions, personalities, and values, management teams have a challenging role in the harmonization of these attributes in building organizational behavior.
Likewise, team leaders are facing a similar challenge in ensuring that different attributes of team members harmoniously fit into a team’s behavior and motivate individual members leading to enhanced satisfaction and performance. Central to enhancing motivation, satisfaction, and performance of team members is the development of a team’s behavior.
Therefore, to increase the team’s motivation, satisfaction and performance in the project, team leaders need to consider using effective management styles according to theory Y, encourage cooperative performance of tasks, and reward team members accordingly.
References
Ashraf, T. (2010). Organizational Behavior. Journal of Business Management, 6(9), 155-168.
Harris, C. (2005). An Overview of Team Effectiveness. Organizational Dynamics, 1-11.
Smith, T. (2009). Culture, Teams and Safety Management: Preparing for the New Management Model. Business Management, 3, 1-7.