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Effective Team Participants
The
discussion on page 294 covers the execution of task and maintenance roles.
Human beings carry out different roles within a group. The definition offered
for task roles was functions tat had to be performed to guarantee that the
group achieved its task or find a solution. Conversely, maintenance roles were
defined as functions that were necessary
for preserving interpersonal relationships and harmony. The last section of the
page offered a list of examples that served to exemplify the group task roles such
as seeking and giving information, energizing, and reviews. In page 295,
dysfunctional behavior in groups is classified as those that serve individual
needs rather than the group needs. These types of behavior have positive and
negative impacts on the functioning and effectiveness of the group (Allen,
Attner, and Plunkett 27). They can either cause complications or introduce
healthy conflict. Common dysfunctional
behavior in groups includes aggression, blocking, domination, withdrawal, and
confession. The discussion on dysfunctional behavior progressed into the best
way to handle them and the chapter
offered several proposals such as planning speech carefully, encouraging withdrawers, and allocating order of speeches
in the meetings (Allen et al. 56). The discussion on page 279 shifted towards
leadership and in particular, leadership theories. Effective groups are characterized by effective leadership. The
author consequently discussed the different leadership theories including the trait
theory that has been widely disputed
since it is difficult to find unique traits for leadership. Hamilton
asks, “How long would it take to train yourself to be ambitious, self-confident
and creative?” as a way of dismissing this theory (Hamilton 299). The function theory of
leadership proposed that good leaders are
created by performing specific roles and functions. The three-dimension
theory of leadership proposes that each individual should be aware of their
leadership style be it authoritarian, democratic or laissez-faire. This is
because understanding one’s style is vital in determining their level of
success as a leader within a specific
organizational context. Within the same subtopic, the advantages and disadvantages
of authoritarian style were outlined. Authoritarian leaders are fast in taking
action have fewer errors and cover more tasks (Buckingham, and Coffman 27).
However, they create a certain level of dependency and group hostility in such
settings. Democratic leadership styles promote group motivation and creativity and personal satisfaction among team
members is high. However, the author noted that this style was time consuming and
wasteful since all the employees’ contributions are
considered. Page 301 covered team commitment and its significance within
the organization. Hamilton argued that team
members might be resistant to change making it necessary for them to be included as stakeholders in the
decision-making process (Hamilton
293). Democratic leadership emerged as the most effective
method of dealing with groups although it held the most adverse drawbacks. The
last leadership style, laissez-faire, was lacking in the fundamental guidance
needed by most groups. This style had the disadvantages of low employee
motivation and productivity. The last page in
the chapter contained a comparison chart that outlined the amount of time to make
decisions, the time for strengthening commitment and the time to implement a decision for all the three
leadership styles. The conclusive sections sought to analyze the strengths and
weaknesses of each of the leadership styles according to the three main parameters outlined beforehand. Hamilton (2014) proposed
that autocratic styles are best suited
for large groups doing basic tasks and
under pressure. Democratic leadership styles were effective in boosting levels
of employee satisfaction, group commitment and ushering in change. Hamilton concluded by adding, “selecting the wrong
leadership style can result in wasted time, unacceptable solutions, unhappy or
hostile employees and resistance” (Hamilton
302)
Works Cited
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Allen, Gemmy S, Raymond F. Attner, and Warren R. Plunkett. Management: An Approach to Customer Expectations. S.l.: Southwestern Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
Buckingham, Marcus, and Curt W. Coffman. First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. New York: Gallup Press, 2014. Print.
Hamilton, Cheryl. Communicating for Results: A Guide for Business and the Professions. Andover: Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.
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