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Essay: Diversity in the Workforce

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  • Published: 15 September 2019*
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Diversity in the Workforce

Diversity Training Manual

Abstract

Successful teams are not made by chance. Many times the problems that the team has to face can already be predicted and can be prevented if handled carefully. This research paper discuss about what actions should be performed by the leaders in order to build successful teams by making them perform high and self directed.

Most of the problems can be solved easily if the team works on better management of members and decides properly who should be in the team and what should be the purpose of the team. The manager should also have a realistic and good idea of the problem, the team will be facing.

If at the initial stage i.e. at the beginning, all the things are analyzed and things are right the chances of the team to work well and to deliver all tasks with quality and on time are much high. This research paper will identify the challenges faced by the managers in developing high performing and self directed teams. It will also identify how to make successful teams and will give recommendations to build such teams. The paper will also discuss a plan that will help the managers who are struggling to improve in the given case.

Summary of the Meeting

In the given case, the meeting is conducted between the managers to develop successful teams who are self directed and high performing. Some managers already have such teams but some managers lack such teams and are struggling to make such teams. The managers who are struggling to build successful teams need to know the exact reasons for where they lack to build such teams as well as get the recommendations to build the successful teams.

Difficulties faced by the Managers to build self-directed and high-performing teams

The managers may make common mistake due to which they lack in building successful teams. Some managers may not be able to give a sustained commitment to the team and are neither able to build such commitment from the team members over long time. A good team must be a life support for the organization in the long run.

 Sometimes the managers may also not be able to build a supportive environment or they may fail to create an environment for the team where all the members support each other to work together. For example, manager defines a reward plan in a team for encouraging the individuals in the team to compete each other. This sort of plan may have a negative effect on the team performance.

It may also be the condition that the manager is unwilling to give up the control to the team members which prohibit the team from becoming self directed. This is because such managers may be habitual of giving orders to the team and getting the word done according to their orders and they do not want to change this approach. Common types of difficulties faced by the managers to build self directed and high performing teams are:

  • Team members are not adequately trained

  • Team members are not able to learn lessons from past experiences and from other teams

  • Teams have not faced the real world situation and are not able to handle such circumstances

  • Corporate strategies are weak and poor business practices exists

  • Conflicts between the team members

  • Team members are not staffed well and they resist the management

    Successful characteristic of establishing self-directed and high-performing teams

    1. Specify the goals for performance: The high-performing, self-directed teams transform their objectives into common performance goals in their first step of shaping their purpose meaningful to the members.

    2. Common Approach: The members of such teams will agree on some common approaches to complete their goals and will show respect to the suggestions of the other team members.

    3. Commitment for the Goal: The team members of a self-directed and high-performing team have commitment towards their goal.

    4. Right mix and Right size: The best performing teams have right ration of number of members and all complement each other in doing their tasks. They are experts in their specific areas and posses good interpersonal relations, decision making and problem solving skills.

    5. Teamwork and Mutual accountability: All the members show teamwork and develop a sense of togetherness, trust and reliability.

    Recommendations for Success

    A successful team building requires setting up of a clear direction. If the managers will set a clear direction for their team members they will unite and will understand properly the functions of a team and in this way they will contribute their part to the best. The manager also needs to build organizational support for its team. A team is more productive if it gets the support of its organization and also gets the access to the resources provided by the organization.

    Thirdly, the manager needs to create a structure of team that empowers the members of the team. This can be done by working on how to make the team perform best, creating expectations which the all members share and by identifying the resources of the organization. Fourthly, the manager needs to monitor the external factors which include analysis and gathering of information about the outside world which is necessary to fulfill the goals of the team. This will help the team members to adjust quickly according the external needs and market requirements.

    The manager also needs to identify key relationships among the team members and with the other teams as well as with the organization. Finally, the manager needs to find out the conflicts in the team, if there exists any and resolve the conflicts. He should be able to manage different members with different ideas and help them to deliver the expected objectives to the organization without wasting time on conflicts and fights in the teams. This can be done by clearing the purpose to the team. A clear purpose includes the end results that are supposed to come with the project or work that is being carried out by the team.

    Plan to guide struggling managers and improve negotiation and conflict resolution skills

    The plan to guide the managers include training programs that will help them learn three major factors in order to develop successful teams and improve conflict resolution and negotiation skills. These three factors will include compromising, trust and persuasion. The managers will learn in the training program who to build these three factors in their team. The managers will also be learning the above recommendations for success in the training program that will be designed for them.

    References

    Church, A. H. (1997). Managerial self-awareness in high-performing individuals in

    organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(2), 281.

    Conger, J. A., & Benjamin, B. (1999). Building leaders: How successful companies

    develop the next generation (p. 278). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Dale E. Yeatts, & Cloyd Hyten. (1998). High-performing self-managed work teams: A

    comparison of theory to practice. Sage.

    Stewart, G. L., & Manz, C. C. (1995). Leadership for self-managing work teams: A

    typology and integrative model. Human relations, 48(7), 747-770.

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