Expert answer:Organizational Design 250 words

Answer & Explanation:Organizational DesignMore than ever, groups and teams are responsible for executing tasks in the workplace. Take a position on the following statement: All organizations should use the group structure as the basic building block for designing and organizing jobs. Provide examples to support your answer.TextbookMGT415_chapter1.docx
mgt415_chapter1.docx

mgt415_chapter1.docx

Unformatted Attachment Preview

Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
1.1
Applying Research to Business Practices
In understanding business practices and the workplace, it is imperative to use the rich theory an
d findings from the prolific research on groupproperties and processes because so many of our
cherished beliefs about group dynamics have mixed evidentiary support at best. Some of ourcli
chés about groups are even contradictory: for example, “opposites attract” versus “birds of a fe
ather stick together.” Sports organizations,businesses, and schools applaud “team spirit,” believ
ing it creates better performance, smoother intergroup relations, and increased groupmotivatio
n. Some companies emphasize the importance of effective group work by rewarding particularl
y successful group efforts. (Nelson, 2000.)Although group cohesion does have many worthwhile
effects, research on cohesion indicates that, depending on the circumstances, group unitycan r
esult in to lower productivity and it can create scapegoats of members who appear different. In
yet another example, although common senseasserts that group leaders become elevated thro
ugh their stellar personal qualities, research studies about leaders and leadership also suggest t
hatoften the “role makes the leader,” meaning that even individuals selected randomly for lead
ership positions begin to show more leaderlikebehavior even if they did not prior to their appointment. Further, even among those appoint
ed as random, leaders might take disproportionatecredit for their successes and create social di
stance between themselves and their subordinates. Understanding the dynamics of group beha
vior,then, allows one to manage individuals and groups more effectively in the workplace.
This book breaks down into two primary parts: group structure and group processes.
Group Structure
Groups can differ considerably in how large or small they are, how formal or informal they are,
their longevity, and the diverse and specialized tasksmembers perform. The earlier chapters in t
his text discuss group structure, the relatively enduring characteristics of the group itself, rathe
r thanabout the individuals within it. Structure is important because the diverse nature of group
structure can determine the group task, who performswhich task, and the form of group intera
ction in a particular collectivity. A large, complex organization, such as a factory, differs from an
informalfriendship group. Some groups are short-
Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
lived, created to solve a particular problem and then dissolving when the problem is solved. Oth
ers,typically more formal groups, can endure for centuries.
Chapter 3 addresses a number of group types (e.g., membership versus nonmembership) and di
mensions of group composition. The growth ofcomplexity in a group typically creates a specializ
ed division of labor, which, in turn, generates social roles, which are covered in Chapter 4. All of
usplay a plethora of roles in many different groups, which can create role conflict. For example,
your boss may want you to work the winter holidaysbusy season, which occurs at the same tim
e as your final exams. The meshing of different roles influences interdependence among memb
ers ingroup productivity and decision making. When a group of friends plans a party, for exampl
e, one person often provides the locale, another memberextends the invitations, a third coordi
nates food and drink, and yet a fourth individual takes responsibility for the party entertainmen
t.
Group Processes
With a solid grounding in group structure, we can next tackle group processes. You may intuitiv
ely feel that the attraction among members or theircommunication with each other is the heart
of groups. Topics in group processes include joining groups and maintaining membership (Chap
ter 5),group cohesion and teamwork (Chapter 6), group influence, conformity and power (Chap
ter 7), group decisionmaking (Chapter 8), and groupleadership (Chapter 9). Chapter 10 tackles competition and coop
eration, both across groups and within groups. Thus the major objective in thissection is to prov
ide you with a broad understanding of how group processes work and how they can be applied
across different settings, especiallythat of the workplace.
Group Behavior Versus Individual Behavior
As group members, we frequently behave in ways that we do not as individuals. And our behavi
or as group members may fluctuate from group togroup. For example:
Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
As we’ll see in this book, group dynamics matterimmensely. For example, groupthink can emerge amonggroup
members under certain circumstances—
and it canhave tragic consequences, as it did in the case of theChallenger explosion in 1986. Shown here is a part
of thesalvaged rocket booster.
•
Accountability. Congress sought through the use of the SarbanesOxley Act tocreate a system where members of upper management were held accountable
forfinancial reports coming from the company. In groups it may be harder for normallyhone
st people to agree to do something illegal. However, when upper managementmembers act
alone and under pressure, history has shown that they can and domake poor decisions.
• Handling contradictions. Later in the book we will discuss the phenomenon of groupthink. I
n short, there are times when the group as a whole will make a poor decisionwhen member
s’ opinions are different from that of the group leaders. On the otherhand, if there is only o
ne dissenting opinion the leaders of the group may not giveappropriate attention to that op
inion. NASA was populated by highly educatedemployees. However, the ability of team me
mbers and teams to react properly toconcerns about operating the rocket boosters in cold t
emperatures wasproblematic, leading to the tragic Challenger explosion in 1986. Presidenti
alCommission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident. 1986.
• Diverse teams and decisions. Research indicates that when a team has at least twoseparate
opinions or points, better decisions result when the minority exertsenough pressure on the
process. (Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2004).
• Some individuals display characteristics, such as assertiveness, when in groups thatthey mig
ht not otherwise demonstrate. Someone shy and withdrawn in his orpersonal life may beco
me forceful, dynamic, and even aggressive when leading acommittee charged with accompl
ishing a difficult task and a looming deadline.
• Perhaps you thought that scholars, especially scientists, typically wait for inspirationto strik
e, reading, thinking, analyzing, and writing alone. When she tackled the”myth of the lone sc
holar,” Jane Hood (1985) found scholarship to be a highly socialteam enterprise. Look throu
gh professional journals and notice how many articlesare coauthored by groups of researchers. Similarly, in the business setting, it isfrequently impossi
ble to determine how to divide the credit due for a job welldone; such work is very often do
ne in a setting where various contributions aremade and ideas are shared. It is not unusual t
o find these kinds ofinterdependencies in a successful enterprise.
Because the United States has such a strong professed ideology of individual determinism,we d
on’t always recognize—or like to admit—
how important groups are for us. Many othersocieties, sometimes called “collectivist cultures,”
openly emphasize the influence of groupson the individual. An individual may strive for achieve
ment for family honor rather thanindividual mobility. Similarly, disgusting or demeaning acts on
an individual’s part maydisgrace the family.
It’s important to recognize that not all collections of individuals are groups. Groups have proper
ties that other common collectivities, such as aparticular voting bloc or a crowd in a football sta
dium, do not. Failing to distinguish what a group is, and what kind of group it is, contributes tos
Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
ome of the contradictions and misconceptions that occur in research findings, perhaps most no
tably in our efforts to explain “leadership.”
1.3
Cohorts Versus Aggregates Versus Groups
To understandgroup dynamics, we must become familiar with the different forms that make up
those dynamics. In this section we will outline someof these differences.
Cohorts
Cohort is a term dating back to the Romans who used it to describe a legion of soldiers. We use
“cohort” here to describe members of a collectivitywho share at least one common characteris
tic or experience. For example, demographers usually reserve the term for people who have ac
omparable experience at a singular point in time, such as a birth cohort (“generation”) or stude
nts who entered college as freshmen in the sameyear (e.g., 2010). For example, “Millennials,” o
r individuals born after 1988, have had more experiences with computers and technology at an
earlierage than generations born before them.
Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
A cohort is a collectivity whose members share at least onecharacteristic. Generations are often defined as coho
rts due to culturaltrends they have in common. For example, the “Millennials” are a cohortin their shared expos
ure to computers and technology at a young age.
Other examples of cohort describe common experiences or characteristics thatare not tied to ti
me, such as the “soccer mom” or the “angry white male” vote.Most members of a cohort may n
ever meet one another, may not gather in thesame place together, and generally do not think o
f themselves asgroupmembers. In fact, members of a cohort may be quite diverse (are all socce
rmoms the same?) because other characteristics or experiences outweigh whatthey have in co
mmon. However, cohort members may voluntarily identify withtheir cohort (“I’m a Baby Boom
er” or “I’m the soccer mom”). It is likely that ourmemories of September 11, 2001, will in part se
t us aside from futuregenerations, just as memories of the Great Depression and Pearl Harbor i
n partdefined life experiences for many people who are now senior citizens.
This selfidentification with a cohort can influence behavior through collectiveidentification. Politicians a
nd market researchers are well aware of cohorts,and use them to target or separate out segme
nts of the population foradvertising and other persuasion campaigns. For example, considerabl
eamounts of ink are currently being spilled in attempts to describe the Tea Partyidentifiers. Coh
ort events can make it easier for people to get to know eachother when they first meet, by prov
Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
iding common experiences to talk about. However, although they are useful for market purpose
s, cohortsshould not be identified as groups.
In fastgrowing companies, applicants may be hired in cohorts and trained in those cohorts. After traini
ng, new employees are assigned todepartments, work stations, work teams, or places on the as
sembly line. New opportunities arise for the new hires to learn more about the cultureof the or
ganization and how to perform the assigned task, and often information surfaces on how one jo
b or position is linked or related to othersin the organization. It should be noted that as new hir
es acclimate to their position, they also begins to form a working relationship with otherpeople
performing the same job or the same role within the organization.
The new hire will adjust to written and unwritten rules associated not only with the job position
but also with the workers that are groupedtogether. The members of these groups may exert p
ressure or influence to conform with the norms of thegroup. These norms may include clockingi
n on time, performing work in a timely manner, dressing appropriately, using proper language,
showing respect for others, and producing qualitywork.
Aggregates
Each day going to class, you may see the same individuals in the building elevator. Odds are you
may even greet these individuals, but you knowvery little about them—
perhaps not even their names. If you have season tickets to your local basketball team, you may
see the same people manytimes sitting in “your” section. Aggregates are collections of individ
uals who are physically proximate to one another at the same time, including theother students
in your classroom building or those attending the same basketball game. Aggregates are often
subject to social facilitation effects,such as audience effects or coaction effects, as we touched upon earlier. But there are two other notable effects as well: cro
wd effects, includingriots and crushes, and fads and crazes, including adulation of an entertaine
r. Documentaries of Beatles or Frank Sinatra concerts illustrate just howraucous such behavior c
an be. Fans attending Justin Bieber concerts display similar adulation. Historical studies of riots
and revolutions illustratehow crowd behavior can be the spark that topples governments or cre
ates a night of terror. Studies of these events often reference the arousingeffects of others, the
apparent normlessness of crowds, and the “confrontational nature, that is, the spontaneous, un
planned, and immediatenature of the events.
It takes more than just a bunch of people together in the same place at the same time to be agr
oup. As you can see, aggregates and cohorts doinfluence behavior. They are phenomena clearly
Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
worthy of study, and politicians and marketers appeal to them constantly—
but neither typically is agroup, although each is sometimes confused with agroup. We should se
parate these concepts carefully so that we don’t misapply them, and sothat at least some of the
contradictory research findings in the field can begin to sort themselves out.
Management Connections
Motivating a Sales Force
You have recently been appointed head of the area’s sales force for your company; you are in c
harge of some 250 salespeople. Manyof these employees are used to working independently, w
ithin designated territories. There have been some conflicts over theseterritories, and some sal
espeople have been working in areas outside their designated area. Overall, the attitude of the
sales forcelacks enthusiasm, and many of its members don’t trust others.
Your boss has asked you to restructure the sales force, in order to bring more energy and unity
among them. You have a free hand tointroduce fundamental changes if necessary; your boss do
es, however, expect results, indicated by increasing sales.
Determine whether the sales force is best regarded as a cohort, aggregate, orgroup. After doing
this, map out a strategy for formingthem into a cohesive, unifiedgroup. What kinds of things mi
ght you do to generate this unity? Might you change territorialassignments, or eliminate them a
ltogether? What other structural changes might you introduce to reinvigorate your sales force?
How do you deal with those salespeople who resist these changes? How do you bring them on
board, and make them feel part of theteam?
Finally, what can you do to internalize the norms you want your sales force to adhere to? How
do you convince them to worktogether for common goals? And how do you convince them that
doing so not only will benefit the company, but will also benefitthem?
Groups
When the right combination of circumstances is in place, a crowd or a cohort can develop into a
group. If you are with several students in thebuilding elevator, and the elevator begins to play
scary games, you will probably quickly become agroup and try to devise an exit plan. Members
ofa crowd can coalesce into revolutionaries. The September 11 attacks joined many New Yorker
s together in American camaraderie, at least for awhile, and symbols of American patriotism su
ch as flags, bumper stickers, and lapel pins spontaneously and quickly became common in late 2
001.
Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
What Is aGroup?
Two professors discuss how groups function, and what itmeans to be a member of agroup.
Here are six keys to defining agroup. They are parallel although not identical tocomponents tha
t you may see in traditional textbooks. Many psychologists, such asDonelson Forsyth (e.g. Forsy
th, 2006; Forsyth & Burnette, 2010), stress interaction,especially face-toface contact, far more than in this text, partially because they arethinking about small groups. O
ur goal is to create a definition that is more aptly applied togroups of any size.
Definition of aGroup: Both by Self and by Others
The first criterion of agroup is that each member defines himself or herself as agroupmember (”
selfdefinition”). Second, other people must identify the individuals in agroupasgroup members (“ot
herdefinition”). It is particularly important that othergroupmembers identify the individual as belon
ging to thegroup.
Both self- and other-definition as a member are necessary. Without selfdefinition, theindividual will lack the motivation to act in thegroup’s best interests, may attemp
t toleave thegroup, and may even think it silly or futile to conform withgroup norms.Individuals
who lack selfdefinition but are compelled to be in agroup may even try toundermine or sabotage thegroup.
Such an individual may require surveillance to remainin the situation (e.g., a prisoner). At the le
ast, people who do not define themselves as agroup member can enjoygroup benefits without
any contributions to the collectivity (a”freeloader”).
Without otherdefinition, othergroup members may perceive the person as a fraud and expel them. At the leas
t, thegroup may create distancemechanisms, such as ignoring the person, rewriting history to e
xclude the person from thegroup, or literally cutting person out of the picture assome individua
ls do with photographs containing the former spouse after a divorce. Someone who is not recog
nized as agroup member typically isnot seen as entitled togroup privileges or rewards.
Interdependent and Common Goals
Interdependent and common goals require membership coordination.
Interdependence among individuals who are self- and otheridentified asgroup members may be the most important criterion in defining agroup.Interdepen
dence means that people cannot achieve goals individually, but must do so asgroup members. I
nterdependence differs dramaticallyfrom co-action. In co-
Losh, S. (2011). Group behavior in organizations. San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
action, actors perform the same behaviors at approximately the same time in the same place, a
s data entry personnel do in acomputer laboratory or telemarketers making calls in a boiler roo
m. In interdependence,group members perform different but interlocking andcoordinated tasks
to achieve a larger goal, as construction workers building a house do. Interdependent goals re
quire the coordinated efforts of atleast two people working together to achieve them. These go
als imply a division of labor so that each member has a unique, specific, specializedtask.
It is the interdependence and interlocking roles that either thegroup itself creates in more infor
mal groups or that often form part of a preexistingstructure in formal groups that can meld peo
ple together into a unifiedgroup.
Common Fate
Both interdependence and a common fate imply a unity. A very important difference is that gro
ups typically and actively choose theirinterdependent goals, doing so consciously as a collectivit
y. On the other hand, a common fate may be thrust upon ind …
Purchase answer to see full
attachment

How it works

1. Paste your instructions in the instructions box. You can also attach an instructions file
2. Select the writer category, deadline, education level and review the instructions 
3. Make a payment for the order to be assignment to a writer
4.  Download the paper after the writer uploads it 

Will the writer plagiarize my essay?

You will get a plagiarism-free paper and you can get an originality report upon request.

Is this service safe?

All the personal information is confidential and we have 100% safe payment methods. We also guarantee good grades