Subject : Diagnosis of the Root Causes of the Team’s Dysfunction and Courses of Action to Rectify the Situation
The success of any organization is dependent on the employees’ ability to work as a single unit or as groups sharing a similar vision and mission. According to Champoux (2017), the existence of intergroup processes, group dynamics, and groups in a firm is an irrevocable undertaking yet very critical for the management to ensure they have full control of the three facets. More importantly, another inevitable factor that is bound to exist in an organization is a conflict which arises from the day to day interactions between employees. Conflict can bring about dysfunction in groups, and this can have detrimental impacts on an organization in the long-run. From this, it is an indication that groups can be viewed as a double-edged sword and if not well managed, they can bring about reduced revenue generation, customer and employee satisfaction rates as witnessed from the case of PrimeCell.
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Causes of Dysfunction
According to Champoux (2017), the basic concepts that one can use to understand a group includes the norms, cohesiveness, and behavior. According to the norms concept, it encompasses the various unwritten guidelines that will outline what type of behavior is suitable for the group members. Some of the norms might include the rate of performance levels, teamwork and relationship with management by a group’s members. However, from an analysis of Prime Cell’s customer service branch consisting of five representatives, it shows that the group’s norms are poor. As seen from the case of the five customer service representatives, they have a poor interaction channel. Without such norms, none of the team members can have an ability to call each other out in case one displays behavior that is disruptive toward the group’s overall success. Jane is the oldest cannot stand younger employees, yet she is responsive to customers.
Furthermore, the group does not seem to have any form of performance levels that can be used to weigh each individual’s productivity. This is a clear indication that none of the employees can gauge the other and help out those who might have problems adjusting at work. From the group, it is an indication that some of the members exhibit poor performance margins for they are encountering problems yet some of the members can assist. Additionally, the group has a weak relationship with management as some of them are uncomfortable being around the manager while others believe they are better than the manager. Such incidents will make it hard for a group to follow what the management requires of them yet it is the duty of a manager to plan, organize, coordinate and direct all employees towards a common goal and objective.
For a group to be referred to as being cohesive, the group members must exhibit high levels of attraction towards assigned tasks, other group members and its prestige (Champoux, 2017) . A group that is cohesive will see its members working together, taking care of each other’s needs and ensuring that no one is left behind. According to Champoux (2017), noncohesive groups have reduced productivity rates as compared to cohesive groups. In the case of Prime Cell’s customer service department, there have been increased customer complaints in relation to the poor services offered by the representatives. It is an indication that the group, in this case, is more non-cohesive thus no member cares about the others’ needs. The group’s norms, in this case, are poor and therefore, all members become compliant with the standards.
Additionally, the behavior concept can also be used to analyze the cause of dysfunction within the customer service department’s representatives. Champoux (2017) states that there are two types of behavior, required and emergent. The expected behavior is one that every individual adopts because of being part of an organization such as the performance of assigned tasks or being at work at the specific time. On the other hand, emergent behavior is one that an individual adapts as a result of being part of a group out of the day to day interactions. All the employees at the department have a perfect required behavior for there is no case of any one of them failing to show up on time or one who does not perform any assigned duties.
Nonetheless, the primary cause of dysfunction results from the emergent behavior adopted by the employees. From their daily interactions, each one has developed a poor attitude towards the other and thus have ended up making this part of their work conduct. For instance, some of the employees detest younger members and older while others have various reasons for not liking each other. The existence of the emergent behavior is what has made it hard for all employees to function as a team.
Relationships form the core pillars for building positive organizational culture. In an organization whereby employees tend to have professional associations that are not open or reasonably strong, they tend to be more reluctant when it comes to challenging poor behavior. An environment that has an empowering environment is bound to witness a rapid change in the employees’ attitudes. There is a direct link between strong professional relationships and high levels of productivity within an organization. The sole aim for developing professional relationships is to ensure that the members of a group can talk with each other without fear or negative attitude. The customer service department is one that is marred by poor professional relationships. The group members do not have the ability to interact with other freely. Some of the employees cannot even stand the sight of other employees for they loathe them based on various factors such as age, educational qualification, and expertise. Such a group is bound to have dysfunctional relationships, and this is what is contributing towards the increased incidents of customer complaints.
Effective communication skills are integral towards the success and survival of any team which translates to overall business success. However, in the case of Primecell’s customer service representatives, they have poor communication channels. According to the former manager, he had to walk out for the chief could not stand the continuous bickering. However, it is his duty to ensure there is no bickering by laying down a clear communication channel. One of the employees also complains of a manifest disregard of some of his ideas that can help boost customer satisfaction rates. According to Lentz (2009), it is an indication that the firm lacks collaboration during the planning process which makes employees not to feel like they are part of the company thus cannot function well as a team. Moreover, the representatives are forced to adhere to an outline that flowcharts activities that all must adhere to from the commencement of a client’s grievance to the resolution of the customer’s problem. This indicates that all employees do not have a channel for communicating with each other as they already have a laid down manual that one is forced to observe and counts in case of mishaps.
Recommendations
According to Champoux (2017), the formation of cohesive groups within an organization’s working environment is affected by a variety of aspects resulting from the work area’s physical layout, job design, organizational design and work processes. The main method for facilitating cohesive groups is laying down a framework that supports social interaction. It is vital for a manager to have in mind factors that will push for social interaction to ensure that they supersede factors that might restrict the same. In most customer service representative departments, the proximity between people is at times far. People are separated by desks and are always fixed on their mouthpieces and computers. Champoux (2017) states that people who are more physically close to each other will have higher chances of social interaction. It is therefore vital for the manager to come up with a better workstation that will reduce the distance between employees.
Furthermore , the management should eliminate the use of an outline that offers guidelines on all the processes that employees should adhere to while serving a customer. This will ensure that the job introduces a need for interaction between workers especially when one does not fully understand a certain process. Lastly, another means of boosting social interaction is through allocating some free time during work. It will allow the employees to move around the office which increases the likelihood of social interaction thus increasing the cohesiveness of the group which makes them function as a team.
Additionally, the formation of a cohesive group will also facilitate a foundation for strong and open professional relationships to exist
According to Lientz (2009), planning is a significant undertaking for an organization. However, one should always determine what causes any laid down plan not to work. Lentz (2009) suggest that collaboration during the planning process is vital for it will increase the likelihood of the organization achieving its goals. It is evident from the case of PrimeCell that some employees feel left out of the planning process for their decisions are never considered. The management should ensure that it involves its employees as it comes up with any strategic decisions that might affect the customer services department. This will ensure that the employees feel they are part of the organization and will work together to make sure that they attain all the objectives for the input was used during the formulation of the objectives and goals.
The norms and behavior of the employees most likely result from their inability to accept the essence of workforce diversity. The term diversity refers to the religion, race, age, ethnic group, gender, and citizenship status, physical among other demographical facets dissimilarities prevailing between individuals. It is therefore vital for the promotion of workforce diversity at the customer services department. This will be achieved by setting up diversity training programs. It will allow the employees to have an understanding that the hiring process is based on the best candidate and not quotas. Once employees complete the diversity training programs, they will begin to embrace each other and not sue any variation facets to categorize each other including new employees who might join the team in the coming future.
According to Krishna (2011), a leader plays a crucial role towards the development and growth of a group. The manager should, therefore, come up with the best leadership style that will ensure the group becomes functional. It is achieved by employing a transformational technique of leadership. It sees one disregarding individual interest and focus all attention on the employees. The leader will also focus on the tasks that employees are set to carry out and empower them to work towards attaining the expected outcomes which results into the growth and development of trust between an employee and leader (Krishna, 2011).In the long run , this will form a foundation for efficient and effective communication channel whereby employees and management can sit down together and discuss various issues without fear.
References
Champoux, J. (2017). Organizational Behavior: Integrating individuals, groups, and organizations , 5th Ed., Routledge. ISBN: 978-1-138-94908-9.
Krishna, Y.R. (2011). Effects of transformational leadership on team performance. Journal Int. J. Buss. Mgt. Eco. Res , 2 (1), 152-157.
Lientz, B. P. (2009). Breakthrough strategic IT and process planning . World Scientific. ISBN: 978-9-814-28008-2.
