Business 201 Final Exam

A useful theory to explain our processes and development as a group is Tuckman’s theory of group working which explains the stages that a group will progress through in order to achieve an objective, including the Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning stages (Mindtools, 2016). The forming stage was pre-established for our group because we had been allocated together prior to the task and we had already managed to build relationships with one another. It was at the storming stage we began to establish our roles within the group and allocate tasks for

The forming and orientation stage of the group is the initial step of getting the group started. Gladding (2012) outlines seven steps that make up the forming stage of group development. First, one must develop a basis for the group.

At this stage, the group begins to realize the more positive points of individuals within the group, which promotes the development of trust and respect which begins to build group cohesion. The next stage is the performing stage, which is typical of high-performing teams that are able to function as a group and figure out various options to get the job done smoothly and effectively without supervision. The final stage is the adjourning phase, which is the final step in completing tasks and breaking up the team.

The five stages of developing groups is an important part of the position. In many cases it is the relationships that a person will have with other individuals who will determine the best members to put into the different groups. As well, the different skill sets that individuals have are also an important part in placing group members together. The observation of the first groups placed together will be a good gauge in learning how some of the individuals work and observing how others work well together. The group size should be eight to 10 people to facilitate greater ease of equal participation among the individuals.

Wheelan (2013) identifies the four stages of team development and provides detailed explanation of how a group transforms itself from a stage one group of uncertainty into a successful, highly productive stage four team. This requires work and a thorough understanding of the many internal/external influences that can occur during each stage. A team member or leader who is well versed in these stages and who can evolve with each stage will be better equipped to deal with possible obstacles that can hinder group progress and implement practices to help the group successfully work through a

A manager needs to understand the interdependency of departments, internal partnerships, and the influence of power and politics to effectively manage across the organization. Effective managers use various political tactics to increase their power within the organization to coordinate and support the work of their peers and subordinates to meet company objectives. Managers regularly acquire and use power. Power-oriented behavior has an impact on managerial career progress, on job performance, on organizational effectiveness, and on the personal lives of employees (Obholzer, 1995). It involves the combined topics of power, influence, authority, and organizational politics. When running an organization, all these

Tuckman (1965) proposed that when developing teams, groups proceed through four general stages of development, namely: Forming, storming, norming and performing.

Power is having authority, control along with many influential factors, whether direct or indirect through bona fide expedients. Stojkovic, Kalinich and Klofas (2015) lamented, "Enforcing one's way over others requires the expenditure of resources, the making of commitments, and a level of effort that can be undertaken only when the issues at hand are relatively important" (p. 290). However, authority most often come from the duties and responsibilities delegated to a position holder in a bureaucratic structure. A manager of a criminal justice organization, for instance, has the authority to control and direct the activities of the staffs and expert them to respond with appropriate actions to attain organizational purposes.

Power is the emphasis is an employment situation. While employed you have a certain amount of power, both over your work environment and your own life.

Power has been addressed in academic literature in several ways but most commonly describing “power as the ability to control valued resources and administer rewards and

Authority represents the power that lies within a managerial position and that gives the manager the right to assign the jobs to his subordinates and to expect that the assigned jobs would be completed by the subordinates. By the virtue of authority, the superiors are empowered to make their juniors and subordinates work. The organizational structure should clearly define the line of authority so that the overlapping actions might be avoided (Mahida).

It is important for managers to understand the sources of power and influence as they must rely upon the cooperation of subordinates in order to be successful. Strong managers rely upon more than just authority they also use leadership skills and power to obtain the most productivity from their staff. According to French and Raven (1959) there are five sources of power. Referent power seems to be the most influential and the least affected by change. To quote Paul Argenti,

In other words power should be jointly developed between management and employees and not employed in a coercive way by management. Power is one of the problems in organisation. Follett said that ‘the question of power was the central problem of social relations’ (Follett, 1930, p.12). She did not think that power can be deputed but she believed in giving employees opportunities to gain his or her own power. Follett was only interested in studying how an organisation will give power while the others had been paid attention to the division of power and how to achieve it. She said: ‘So far as my observation has gone, it seems to me that whereas power usually means power-over, the power of some person or group over some other person or group, it is possible to develop the conception of power-with’ (Follett, 1940, p.101). Follett announced that only ‘power-with’ was acceptable. She explained this: “True power then is ‘power-with’ another, not ‘power-other’ another. Until everyone within an organisation realises that they are bound together, each will see only their own situation. “Power with” can only come from obedience to a single, shared situation(Dynamic Administration (DA), 1965, p.100). Perhaps this is why managers in the 1970s seemed so powerless to implement their strategies. They had ‘power over’ – but the strategies themselves did not generate ‘power with’.(Mary Parker Follett, 1930)

The management can use this power to demote, transfer, fire or deny raises to their employees. The third power base of Position is legitimate power. This power stems from the level of hierarchy in which the subordinates report directly to the authority over them for decisions. Process Power controls the input and output of organizations to make sure that the processes are carried out efficiently and effectively within. Information power is the control of information or access to it within an organization. Information can be controlled to a ?need to know? basis and/or just limited to the upper management. This type of power compliments the legitimate power. Finally, there is Representative power in which an organization uses an individual to be there spokesperson both within the organization and when dealing with people outside of the organization.

A manager that has all five types of powers is a strong leader. Occasionally employee’s posses power too. Effective managers use their powers in a way that they maintain a healthy balance between their own power ant that of their employees.