Conflict management in the workplace.doc

7/28/2019 Conflict management in the workplace.doc

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Conflict management in the workplace

By: Howard Badler

Conflict management seems to be the buzzword in a number of articles that I have

read recently and I am seeing more and requests for conflict management training.

Firstly you need to understand the definition of a conflict. Read on...

A conflict can be defined as an ongoing state of hostility between two or more

people or groups. Conflict management on the other hand is the short or long-term

management process used to resolve issues where either party is being stubborn,

inflexible, difficult, or whatever.

In most instances, conflicts between staff members and managers are silent. Staff

members do not express their views or feelings of conflict openly in front of their

immediate manager and prefer to voice their concerns or bad feelings about theirmanager to their colleagues, family members or friends. If you are currently facing

a conflict situation in your working environment, have you looked at the root cause

of this conflict?

There are a number of sources of conflict and here are just a few:

Poor communication channels.

Friction between two or more people/departments.

Friction between employee and manager.

Lack Job recognition and employee development.

Lack of support from management.

Operational changes to business.

Lack of information.

Lack of resources.

Salary negotiation deadlocks.

What a manager should be doing!


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The factors above influence conflict situations from occurring. As a manager you

should have measures in place to avoid these types of situations occurring. These

factors mentioned above are just a few that occur mainly in the business world.

Poor communication channels lead to employees feeling frustrated as changes that

occur in the company are not communicated from top to bottom. A poor

relationship between employees or managers and employees leads to a feeling

frustration amongst the lower ranks which later results in a conflict situation when

the employee vents their frustration verbally.

Placing effective quality management processes and procedures in place as well as

developing a good relationship with your employees will lessen the risk of a conflict

situation occurring.

Techniques for managing conflicts

I have developed a process called the 5 A's technique of managing conflicts are

they are as follows:

Assessment.

Acknowledgement.

Attitude.

Action.

Analysis.

Assessment

The assessment phase is the investigative stage when dealing with conflict

situations. In the assessment phase you need to investigate and gather all

information related to the conflict. These will include the following:

What is the conflict?

Who is responsible for the conflict?

Is there a history of conflicts with this person / department?


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Acknowledgement

Once you have conducted a thorough assessment you need to acknowledge the

conflict. If a conflict exists between a manager and an employee, the manager must

inform the employee of the conflict at hand and advise them of the procedure for

resolution of the conflict.

At this point the manager must begin the formal conflict management resolution

protocols which include the following:

Arrange a meeting between themselves and the employee.

Inform the employee of the time, date and venue for the meeting both verbally

and in writing by means of an email request for a meeting.

Inform the employee that they may appoint a facilitator to act on their behalfduring the meeting. This would only occur if there were hostile interactions between

the employee and their manager.

Send the employee an agenda for the meeting.

Human resources labour representative should be present at the meeting.

If for example there was a conflict between two departments, the same would apply

as above however you would nominate an independent facilitator to chair the

meeting to ensure that it does not get hijacked or detoured.

Attitude

Both parties must participate in the process with the right attitude. Going into a

conflict management situation with a negative approach has a strong possibility of

failing. The attitude must be one of wanting to resolve the issue at hand and clear a

way forward so that both parties can continue working together.

Action

During the resolution period of resolving a conflict a fair number of action points will

be recorded which must be completed in an acceptable timeframe. Taking action

and giving feedback are the two critical key success factors. If you do not take the

necessary action the conflict situation will resurface on a higher scale.


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An example of this might be where a manager and employee have a conflict

between them. The facilitator advises that they should conduct a one on one

session weekly to build on their relationship. The action point is to conduct the one

on one. Failing to do so will result in a conflict situation. Both the manager andemployee will have the opportunity to give one another feedback.

Analysis

Once the conflict situation has been resolved, it should be analysed to determine

what caused the conflict situation to begin with and what measures can be put in

place to stop this type of situation from reoccurring. The problem in most conflict

situations today is that no post conflict management analysis takes place.

In conclusion

Develop and implement a sound quality management function and improve your

one on one interaction with your employees and conflicts within your department

will become a thing of the past. Communication is the key most important

ingredient for avoiding conflict situations.

The basics of conflict management

Conflict occurs when two or more viewpoints are contradictory in nature. It usually

concerns a person's values or perspectives and it may occur as an interpersonal

conflict, when the person does not abide by own values or as an external conflict

when the person feels that own values are threatened from a third party. More

generally, conflict may be the result of discomfort about the unknown or lack of

fulfillment. In all above cases conflict is inevitable, but not necessarily bad.

In the context of an organization, people keep away from conflict because they feel

that their underlying irritation may go out of control or that they cannot assert their

views and feelings positively. In that case, organizational members endure an

interpersonal conflict in the effort to avoid open conflict with other organizational

members and jeopardize effective communication.


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On the other hand, there are cases that conflict is required. Through healthy

conflict, organizational members learn to address problems, to participate in their

solution, to recognize the appropriate issues and to value the people who facilitate

organizational alignment.

Therefore, one could conclude that conflict per se is not necessarily bad. Instead,

poor conflict management is the problem. And this is true.

Why conflict occurs?

In the context of organizational alignment conflict is often the result of poor and

ineffective communication. The failure to construct a two-way process through

which employees' achievements are recognized and appreciated, results in

employees being uninformed of organizational developments, while feeling

undervalued, distrusted and disrespected.

When employees do not know what they are doing and why, they lose their trust to

the organization, doubt its practices and prefer organizational inertia. In this case,

conflict is a major problem because it hinders productivity and lowers morale. In

such an environment leadership plays also an important role. Inconsistency at any

level in the organization makes employees feel ignored and misunderstood by

management. Then, more conflicts may occur, causing even inappropriate

behaviors.

What managers need to do?

To ensure effective conflict management, organizations need to incorporate keymanagerial actions within the context of organizational structure. Managers need

primarily to review job descriptions in order to ensure that job roles do not conflict.

The development of procedures for routine tasks with the input of employees would

motivate employees as they would feel that their contribution to organizational

performance is essential and publicly recognized.


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The conduct of basic training of employees in regards to interpersonal

communications, conflict management and delegation would result in new

initiatives and in intentionally-built relationships between organizational members.

Managers should meet with their subordinates regularly and ask about challenges,

problems and issues. They should also ask for regular reports about accomplished

issues and plans for the upcoming period.

Managers should also focus on facts. There is a positive relationship between

reliance on facts and low interpersonal conflict. Focusing on facts allows managers

to focus on the real issues involved in strategic decision making and not on the

personalities of the employees.

Also, the use of alternative solutions diffuses conflict by shifting the process over a

range of choices, avoiding black and white solutions. The use of humor creates a

collaborative framework and it works as a releasing mechanism during the stressful

strategic decision making process. Within this context, democratic leadership

maintains a balanced power structure avoiding forced consensus.

Alternative inferences

Conflict may lead to organizational alignment and consensus under certaincircumstances. We should not forget that workplace is driven by interactionism,

which supports the existence of conflicts. Yet, the realization, the identification and

the elaboration on own character traits that could put organizational effectiveness

at stake is used to enhance employee training, management, and organizational

performance.

Conflict in team structures can be productive if team members do not delay

decision making for engaging in interpersonal conflicts. Although conflict is

considered negative, lack of conflict implies apathy, which leads to inertia. In this

case, integration of own character traits with the team consensus is the key to

effective conflict management. In return, organizational flexibility reflected on the

synergy of team members contributes to teamwork.

INTORDUCTION


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I work for an organization called Hallmark Trading Company. This company provides

services such as capital ventures, new and used equipment sales and purchases,

and a full line truck center. In the course of doing business, sometimes conflict will

arise. In this paper, I will first explain what conflict is, the different types of conflict

and then the different styles of management used to handle conflict. My personal

style of management will also be shown according to the assessment tool takenfrom the workbook Organizational Behavior 7th addition written by Schermerhorn

JR., Hunt, and Osborn. I will explain how this style contradicts with the style of

management in my organization but how the style they use may be more effective.

CONFLICT

Conflict is something that happens often in my organization. However, there are

different styles to manage conflict and some are more effective than others. Before

I explain these different styles, it is important to understand what conflict is.

Conflict occurs whenever disagreements exist in a social situation over issues of

substance or whenever emotional antagonisms create frictions between individuals

or groups (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, 2002 pg.127, Conflict). There are two

distinctive types of conflict, substantive conflict and emotional conflict.

Substantive conflict happens when one person fundamentally disagrees with

another person or group in the course of doing business. For example, my boss

bought a package of step vans used in delivering bakery products. He wanted to

market the trucks for electrical and mechanical applications where I thought they

should be remarketed for another bakery operation. This is just a disagreement of

opinions, but management still has to develop a way to manage this type of

conflict, which can be very challenging depending on the personalities involved.

Emotional conflict intrudes into the feelings of a situation, such as anger, mistrust,

dislike, fear, resentment, and the like. This is commonly called clash of

personalities (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, 2002, pg.127,). This type of conflict

can sometimes be more draining, and take away from the more important work that

needs to be done. Usually this happens between co-workers who may not like one

another, or with customers who are not dealt with properly. I have witnessed both

types of conflict in my organization and the different styles used in managing these

types of conflicts.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES


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According to Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn there are five ways to manage

conflict. The first style I want to write about is Smoothing or Accommodation style.

This is when a manager agrees with the other side of the conflicting situation.

He/she smoothes the conflict over by maintaining superficial harmony. Second is

Collaboration and Problem Solving. This is when a manager trouble shoots the

problem and then works through the differences to make it an acceptable situationfor everyone. The third is Avoidance. With this style the manager would stay neutral

at all costs, trying not to participate in the situation at all. The fourth is Competition

and Authoritative Command. This style of management is derived from the term I

like to use as the God style. When a manager forces the opposite party to agree

with him/her. They use their position to win due to their authority. The last style is

Compromise. This style is when the manager seeks acceptable rather than

optimal solutions so no one totally wins or loses.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES IN MY ORGANIZATION

There is not one style that is used as a guideline in my organization. Each

departmental manager uses the style that is conformed by his or her personality.

The CEO of the organization tends to use the competition and authoritative

command style. He is an ex-military man who has this style instilled into his

personality. He is the boss, so we need to do it his way. This is a very counter

productive way to manage conflict. He makes us use his philosophies in decisions

we make rather than opening the conflict up for debate. The my way or the

highway attitude. This style of management forces more conflict between the

departments and resentment towards him. Even though I do not agree with this

style of managing conflict it has been a successful style for him. He has been ableto maintain a high level of integrity through the same style. Meaning, although he

forces his views and decisions on his employees those decisions and views are

mostly good for the company, just sometimes bad for morale.

MY STYLE OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT

In the organizational behavior workbook 7th addition, there is an assessment test

that helps the person taking it understand which style he or she uses. It asks a

variety of questions that help pinpoint the style best suited for his/her personality.The style that was best suited for my personality was Collaboration and Problem

Solving. According to the text this is the best style to handle conflict. The difference

between this and the style that my CEO uses is that I genuinely have a desire to

find a solution for everyones concerns by working through differences to find the

problem so everyone gains as a result. His desire is that everyone should think the

way he does for every situation even though everyones views are different.


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CONCLUSION

This paper has explained what conflict is and the two types of conflict there are. It

listed each style of management used to deal with conflict and which styles work

best. It also has explained which style is used by my organization Hallmark Trading

Company and what style I use personally according to the assessment tool in the

Organizational Behavior Workbook 7th addition. I enjoyed learning more about the

different styles of managing conflict while writing this paper. My desire is now to be

able to recognize conflict when it happens and use a style of management that will

best resolve the issues in the conflict.

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary 2

Introduction 3

Overview of Workgroup: Criterion Catalysts & Technologies


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Brief History 4

Function and Goals of the Company 4

Innovations 4

Workforce 5

Analysis of Workgroup Performance and Satisfaction

Methodology 6

Results

Test 1: Measuring Team Type 6

Test 2: Measuring Team Leadership 7

Test 3: Measuring Member Satisfaction 8

Test 4: Measuring Team Satisfaction 9

Test 5: Job Enrichment Evaluation 9


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Test 6: Measuring Organizational Support 10

Test 7: Resource Assessment 11

Test 8: Team Decision-Making Intervention 11

Recommendations for Improvements for Workgroup 13

Performance and Satisfaction

Conclusion 15


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Executive Summary

It is a given fact that dynamism is one of the key elements in the growth

and operation of every company or organization, and this dynamism causes a

variety of changes, which affects different aspects in the workplace. Dynamism in a

company is important, for it serves as the basis for companies and business

organizations to innovate and improve their different systems used in the company.

With the existence of changes in different aspects of business, market, technology

and society, members of business organizations are given the chance to think

creatively and come up with strategies to cope with the needed changes.

It is also a given fact that dynamism and its consequent changes may lead

to conflicts or crises in the company. Despite the fact that conflicts and problems

are part of the system of a company, the immediate changes can sometimes cause

a huge impact on the company. However, due to the fact that every organization

faces a variety of problems in relation to management, marketing and employee

development, it is essential that a company or an organization find ways to develop

and improve management in resolving conflicts and crises. The ability of the

company or business organization to devise and come up with strategies andsolutions to problems is beneficial in adapting and coping with the changes

presented caused by a variety of factors.

With this information at hand, this paper seeks to study and discuss a specific

working group in a company and address its problems, in relation to conflict

management and workplace dynamics. The significance of these concepts will be

evaluated in relation to its relevance in the workplace environment, which is

assessed using a variety of group analysis tests or diagnostics. Moreover, the

application of concepts and the results of the diagnostics will be used to assess theoverall satisfaction of employees belonging in a specific group or team in the

company studied.


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Group Analysis Report: Conflict Management and Workplace Dynamics

Introduction

It is an accepted fact that changes are permanent, which causes a variety of

modification and adjustments on the part of business organizations and companies.

Changes are being brought about by the dynamism and the interrelation of a

variety of internal and external factors in the society and economy, and these

changes enable the company or business organization to adapt to the situation.

Because of this dynamism, many conflicts or crises are being encountered, which

lead many organizations to develop and improve their management and

communication. In relation to this, (1990) reports that conflict is a severe problem

in modern organizations, which wastes valuable human resources that would be

better directed to other activities, including the primary work of the organization.


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Nonetheless, although most of the time conflicts produce negative effects, its

existence is distinguished as a means of generating major benefits as well, for

conflict between individuals or groups within an organization often helps unveil

persistent problems and undergo careful analysis. In this light, conflict serves as a

means for effective and needed change, for facilitating communication and

coordination (1990).

With the presence of conflicts and crises, it is essential to come up and

devise efficient and effective management strategies to address the problems in an

organization or specific group in an organization, including teamwork, changes in

workplace roles, communication, group development, and lack of motivation. The

proper application and utilization of the concepts regarding conflict management

and workplace dynamics can be used to address these problems, and with its use,

the organization can continue to function effectively in the industry. The objective of

this paper is to address the problems of a specific group in an organization, conductgroup diagnostics, and relate its results to the concepts of conflict management and

workplace dynamics.

Overview of Workgroup

The organization in focus in this paper is Criterion Catalysts and

Technologies Company. It has been reported that in 1988, three major international

catalysts businesses, namely, Shell Oil Company, Shell International Chemical

Company, and American Cyanamid Company, merged and created a single

company, which is the Criterion Catalyst Co LP, and became a leading supplier of

refining and petrochemical catalysts (2006). Its more than 50 years of experience in


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developing, manufacturing, testing, marketing and servicing catalysts are used in

different types of hydroprocessing operations (2006).

Criterion Catalyst & Technologies is an international company that supplies

catalysts, process technologies and catalyst services for a wide range of refining

applications, and it offers a variety of process technologies, which can be packaged

with catalysts, in creating a complete, optimized solution for any hydroprocessing

problem or supplied independently (2006). Being regarded as the worlds largest

supplier of hydroprocessing catalysts, including catalysts for hydrotreating,

hydrocracking, hydrogenation, isomerization and naphtha reforming, it coordinates

and works with refiners in almost every part of the world. Due to the companys

huge responsibility, it tries to live up to its goal in helping each customer realize

greater value from ones hydroprocessing assets by providing superior catalysts

and customized technical advice. For Criterion to attain this goal, it sets its sights on

building lasting relationships and a teamwork environment with each customer(2006). As the leading innovator of hydroprocessing catalysts and processes for

many years, one of the major events in the companys history is the introduction of

the SynSat process 10 years ago, which was the first process to enable low sulfur,

low aromatics diesel production at moderate pressure and remains the best choice

for making the highest quality diesel. In addition to this is the innovation on fixed-

bed and moving-bed reforming catalysts that have given the companys customers

rapid paybacks through higher gasoline yields and lower operating costs. Innovation

also includes the introduction of the Century and Centinel processes, which enabled

the company to produce catalysts with superior initial activity and allowed

customers to maximize the use of their hydrotreaters ( 2006).

Moreover, to be able for Criterion Catalysts & Technologies to perform these tasks,

responsibilities and goals, the company needs to have productive and efficient

employees to be delegated the various work in the company. With the companys

aim to achieve the customers maximum benefit, Criterion Catalyst &Technologies

has a large number of highly skilled technical staffs located around the world. The

company also has the worlds largest database of commercial performance results,

computer models and pilot plant testing facilities to help the management analyze agroups performance and develop the right plan to maximize financial benefits. In

addition, the company focuses on sustainable development to integrate the

economic, environmental, and societal aspects of the company, and establish

objectives and plans to protect the workers and the environment, build the

companys reputation as a primary partner and supplier, and achieve sustained

financial growth and success ( 2006).


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However, although the company focuses on the sustainable development of its

employees and the environment, some problems can still be encountered, such as

in its engineering department. Due to the high demand of work in the Criterion

Catalysts & Technologies, many aspects in the development of employees are beingneglected. One of these aspects is lack of effective and efficient communication,

which results to the underdevelopment of teamwork and team interrelations.

Moreover the engineering department can be seen as being underperforming, as

each member of the team lacks the motivation and the desire to strive better in

working for the department. With the lack of communication, teamwork, and

motivation, the team cannot effectively and efficiently contribute to the productivity

of the whole business organization. The interaction of these three factors

contributes to the overall satisfaction of the employees, which serves as their

driving force in working for the company. In turn, satisfaction leads to job

enrichment, which develops the potential of the member of the team in terms of

performance and interaction. Overall satisfaction then, depends on different factors

interacting in the management of the company. Moreover, another problem

concerning the teams workplace dynamics is the managers style of leadership.

The problem with leadership leads us to evaluate the ability and skills of the

manager or team leader, who is responsible for motivating and managing his team.

Another factor to consider is the teams group cohesiveness or the degree to which

members are attracted to one another and share group goals ( ). Due the problems

encountered by the engineering team of the company, the members team

cohesiveness is not so effective, which leads them to fail in terms of promoting

efficient communication and interrelations. For this reason, a group or team

diagnostic or analysis will be made to find the reasons behind the groups decline ofperformance in relation to teamwork, communication and lack of motivation.

Analysis of Workgroup Performance and Satisfaction

To be able to assess the performance and satisfaction of the employees in

the Engineering Department of the Criterion Catalysts & Technologies, several tests

or diagnostics have been conducted. These diagnostic tests also seek to know the


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motivation level of the employees in order for them to exhibit excellent

performance.

The method for the assessment includes the distribution of specific

questionnaires to the members of the engineering team. Eight different

questionnaires were distributed and answered separately by the members of the

group. The engineering group has twenty members, who all participated in the

diagnostic test. Each member were given the questionnaires, and answered

simultaneously in order for the whole team to discuss the items in each

questionnaire, if needed.

The data were compiled and graphed to easily determine and evaluate the

responses of the participants.

Group Analysis Diagnostic 1: Measuring Team Type

The first group analysis diagnostic done was the Measuring Team Type

Diagnostic, which provides ratings on each dimensions in knowing what type ofteam the members believe they are ( 1999). The three dimensions include Crew

Items, Task Force Items, and Standing Team Items, and each dimension has 8 items

to consider and rate. Results of the first group diagnostic indicate that the range of

the scores of the three dimensions have no significant difference, showing an

average of 21 for Crew Items, 24 for Task Force Items, and 27 for Standing Team

Items respectively. Graph of the results are shown below.

In addition, the results show that the majority of the team members believe that

their team is a Standing Team, where team members have multiple and

independent goals, and having sparse and sporadic feedbacks. In relation to this,

the engineering team can also be regarded as a Project and Development Team,

which exhibits high differentiation and low integration ( 2002).


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Group Analysis Diagnostic 2: Measuring Team Leadership

The second group analysis diagnostic done was the Measuring Team

Leadership diagnostic, which determines what type of leadership the team leader of

the engineering team has. The team leader can either exhibit a Coach or Facilitator

Role or a Controller or Planner Role. Results show that the team members of the

engineering team perceive the engineering team leader as more of a Controller or

Planner, than a Coach or Facilitator. Numerical data also show that the range of the

scores between the two criteria has no significant difference, showing an average

score of 12 for the Coach or Facilitator Role dimension, and an average score of 16

for the Controller or Planner Role dimension. This is shown in the graph below.

This just means that based on the need at that time, the engineering team

requires the guidance and support of a Coach and not a Controller-type of leader.

This also means that the engineering team needs a new type of leadership, for

them to be able to function more effectively and efficiently. In essence, the data

shows that the team leader deals more effectively with team member conflicts,

plans and organizes tasks for the team, and coordinates the teams work activities,

than focusing on communicating a clear purpose and identifying available resourcesto assist the whole team (1999).


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Group Diagnostic 3: Measuring Member Satisfaction

The third group analysis diagnostic done was the Measuring Member

Satisfaction diagnostic, which determines the satisfaction of the members of the

team in relation to the team handling, decision-making, skills used, and job

satisfaction. Results of the scores will be interpreted and evaluated using averages,

which range from the lowest score of 1 to the highest score of 5. Member

satisfaction scores falling between 1 and 2 would be considered low; member

satisfaction scores falling around 3 would be considered average; and member

satisfaction scores in the 4 and 5 range would be considered high ( 1999).

From the averages of the scores, results show that most of the team

members are not satisfied with the performance of the team. Nine individuals

answered that they are not satisfied with the team handling, decision-making, skill

use and job satisfaction, by giving the range of 2. Seven individuals gave the range

of 3, which corresponds to Neither Agree nor Disagree. Three individuals from the

team gave the range of 4, which corresponds to Agree Somewhat, and only one

gave the range of 5, which indicates his or her total satisfaction from the

performance of the team. The graph below shows the results of the diagnostic.

From the scores given by the members of the engineering team, it can be

deduced that most of the members are not satisfied with how the team is being

handled and are not satisfied with their jobs. On the other hand, some members fall

on average satisfaction, as given by the score of 3, and only a handful has a high

member satisfaction. From the data, the team leader must be alarmed, for his or

her team is not anymore satisfied with their team performance. This should serve as


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a basis for changing and improving the performance of the team leader and its

members.

Group Diagnostic 4: Measuring Team Satisfaction

The fourth group analysis diagnostic is the Measuring Team Satisfaction

diagnostic, which determines the rate of satisfaction of the engineering team as awhole, in relation to working with the team, reaching goals, and teamwork. Similar

with the Measuring Member Satisfaction diagnostic, the results of the scores were

interpreted and evaluated using averages, which range from the lowest score of 1

to the highest score of 5. Member satisfaction scores falling between 1 and 2 would

be considered low; member satisfaction scores falling around 3 would be considered

average; and member satisfaction scores in the 4 and 5 range would be considered

high ( 1999).

Results of the diagnostic show that as a whole, the team is satisfied with itsperformance, as shown in the diagram that majority of their members gave the

average score of 3. However, those team members who gave the score of 2 are also

plenty, which still makes the whole team not completely satisfied with their

performance. Likewise, this data must also serve as a basis for the team leader and

for the whole team, to evaluate and assess their job design, teamwork and

communication, which are key elements in sustaining an effective and an efficient

team. Results of the fourth diagnostic are shown below.


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Group Analysis Diagnostic 5: Job Enrichment Evaluation

The fifth diagnostic done was the Job Enrichment Evaluation diagnostic,which gives importance to team skills, work importance, outcome meaningfulness,

team autonomy, and work feedback. Through this diagnostic, team members will be

able to assess their skills, work importance, the outcome of their work, and their

work feedback. Similarly, team members are asked to rate each item in the

diagnostic depending on their honest opinion. Results of the data show that

majority of the engineering team members gave the answer of 3, which

corresponds to Neither Agree or Disagree. The second highest rating is 2, which

corresponds to Disagree Somewhat, and only a few members gave a high score of 4

and 5, which corresponds to Agree Somewhat and Completely Agree. The table

below shows the results of the diagnostic.

These data will be helpful because from the results, it can be seen that

many of the members have low confidence on their performance based on their

answers. This just shows that most team members perceive their work as being not

completely giving out meaningful outcomes and not focused on developing the

work of the team as a whole. In a way, the results exhibit the lack of teamwork and

motivation among the members of the engineering team.

Group Analysis Diagnostic 6: Measuring Organizational Support

The sixth diagnostic done was the Measuring Organizational Support

diagnostic, which shows the support of the whole team regarding the development,

improvement and work outcome of the whole team. Averages of the scores of the

data were used to determine the members opinion on the teams organizational

support. Averages can range from the lowest score of 5 to the highest score of 35. A

score below 14 indicates that the organizational context is not very supportive of

teamwork; scores between 14 and 28 indicate that the organizational context of the


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team is somewhat supportive of teamwork; and a score above 28 indicates that the

organizational context is highly supportive of teamwork ( 1999). Results are shown

in the table below.

Results of the average scores of the diagnostic shows that majority of the

members of the engineering team gave scores between the range of 14 and 28,

which means that they perceive that organizational context of their team is

somewhat supportive of teamwork. Technically, the opinion of the members

regarding organizational support passes their standards. However, some members

do not think so, as some gave scores lesser than 14. Similarly, only a few members

gave scores more than 28. This just means that not everybody believes on the

ability of the organization to support the whole team.

Group Analysis Diagnostic 7: Resource Assessment

The seventh diagnostic done was the Resource Assessment diagnostic,which assesses the allocation of the organizations resources, namely, physical,

financial, time, and human resources. Results of the diagnostic show that majority

of the members of the engineering team agree and believe that their company are

more than capable of providing them with their needed resources, which are shown

in the scores of the data, for most of the members gave the score of 4,

corresponding to Agree Somewhat. Results are shown in the table below.

With the results, it can be seen that the team members know that their

company is more than able to provide them with their needed resources, and thisfact somehow gives them the confidence to accomplish their task as a team. In

addition, the data just shows that the growth of the whole business organization or

company is continuous being evident in efficiently providing its employees with

their needed resources, for the sustainability and efficiency of the company also

depends on effective and proper resource allocation.


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Group Analysis Diagnostic 8: Team Decision-Making Intervention

The last diagnostic done was the Team Decision-Making Intervention

diagnostic, which assesses the ability of team members to participate in the

decision-making process of the whole team. Results of the diagnostic show that

majority of the team members gave the answer of 4, which corresponds to Agree

Somewhat. Some members gave the score of 3, which corresponds to Agree or

Disagree, while a few gave the answer of 2, which corresponds to DisagreeSomewhat. Results of the data are shown in the table below.

From the results of the data, it means that majority of the team members believe

that they are allowed to participate in the decision-making process of the team,

which is beneficial for all team members, as it boosts each members self-

confidence and help them to develop a critical mind.

Results of Diagnostic 5 to 8

Participant/Diagnostics

Job Enrichment Evaluation

Measuring Organizational Support

Resource Assessment


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Team Decision-Making Intervention

Participant 1

4

24

3

4

Participant 2

3

12

4

3

Participant 3

5

16

3

2

Participant 4

3

29

5

3


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Participant 5

3

30

4

2

Participant 6

5

18

4

3

Participant 7

4

19

4

3

Participant 8

4

23

4

2

Participant 9

2


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27

4

4

Participant 10

2

29

3

4

Participant 11

2

13

3

4

Participant 12

3

19

5

2

Participant 13

5

23

4


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4

Participant 14

3

15

4

4

Participant 15

3

25

4

3

Participant 16

2

28

3

3

Participant 17

3

11

3

4


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Participant 18

3

20

4

3

Participant 19

2

24

3

4

Participant 20

2

27

4

3

Recommendations for Improvements for Workgroup Performance and Satisfaction


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The differences in the results of the questionnaires prove to show that themembers of the team or group have a variety of opinion and perception regarding

the leadership and management of their department, which result to different levels

of satisfaction. Consequently, from the results of the group diagnostics, it is evident

that some conflicts may arise due to some problems regarding teamwork,

communication, lack of motivation, and other problems. With these,

recommendations will be made for the improvement of the performance of the

team or group, and enhance their satisfaction.

With regards to leadership, the team leader of the engineering team mustbe able to develop effective skills and adopt different styles of leadership, which will

be helpful in adapting to several situations, crises, and types of employees in the

team. (2000) emphasizes six leadership styles that can be adopted by a team

leader or manager to effectively manage his or her team, namely, Authoritative or

Charismatic leadership, Affiliative leadership, Democratic leadership, Coaching

leadership, Pacesetting leadership, and Coercive leadership. The engineering team

leader can adopt any of the leadership style depending on the need of the situation,

or all of it for more effective results. It can be recommended that for the

engineering team, it would be best to adopt the Coaching type of leadership, which

is needed by the team members, to be able to facilitate effective communication

and assist them in teamwork. This style of leadership will be effective for the

members of the engineering team are receptive to learning and information.

Moreover, with effective leadership, the engineering team leader will be able to

manage diversity and conflict in the workplace, which are means to successful

operations and effective public service ( 2003).

In relation to motivation, several aspects can be addressed, including doing

an interesting work, communicating firm mission, imparting job significance,

knowing life interests, and developing values and interests, for these factors

determine the overall motivation and in turn the satisfaction of employees. To

address the problem with job design, the team leader can implement an effective

job redesign, which includes job rotation, job enlargement, and job enrichment.

(1997) states that with job rotation or the periodic shifting of a worker from one job

to another, can put more variety and more knowledge to the job of the employees,

and is very helpful to improve their performance and reducing turnover if the new

job fits with employees life interests. In addition, with job enlargement or


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increasing the number of tasks a worker performs but keeping all of the tasks at the

same level of difficulty and responsibility, also adds variety to the workers job, and

increases motivation. With job enrichment, team members will be able to have

more control over their work, while planning their own work schedules, deciding

how the work should be performed, setting key production and defect goals,

checking their own work, and learning new skills (1997). The implementation ofthese three strategies will be effective for each team member to have a change in

perspective in doing new roles and having new responsibilities in the team. With its

implementation, each team member will be focusing in doing new challenging work

roles that would allow them to improve in new aspects and become exposed to new

kinds of work. Job redesign would be effective in motivating the employees because

this would enable them to have new work roles that would help them grow

individually and as a team. In addition, new work roles would allow each team

member to develop, which would help them address work roles and performance

dynamics even better, and help address conflicts that would arise. Through the

implementation of job redesign, organizational support and resource allocation will

also be addressed, which would enable the whole team to exhibit effective

teamwork and communication.

Moreover, the team can also set goals, for the simple act of setting goals

and starting to work toward them brings its own rewards, and when people get

motivated, their general life satisfaction increases (2004). Setting goals for the

whole team is effective, as it gives each team member the sense of purpose and

importance in team, which leads to increase in motivation and productivity.

The increase in the motivation due to job redesign and applying a more

effective leadership style are effective means of increasing the incidence of

effecting efficient and effective communication, teamwork, and resolving conflicts

within the team because with these means, the team will be able to address all the

existing problems they face. In addition, with these means, each member of the

team will be able to participate in the discussion and the decision-making process in

relation to coming up with solutions and answers to problems. In this way, it would

be easier for the engineering team to address crises regarding work dynamics and

member conflicts. However, the effectiveness of these strategies will depend on the

cooperation of each team member, the coordination of the whole team, and the

desire of each member to effectively communicate with each other.


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Conclusion

Teams are important aspects of an organization, for they are responsible for

performing the various functions of the organization and without teams, the various

tasks and responsibilities of the whole organization will not be delegated properly

among its members. Similarly, teamwork is important for the increase in the

productivity and efficiency of the company. However, the presence of crises and

conflicts within the team becomes the source of many changes in relation toleadership, motivation and communication. With this problem, it would be essential

to have the whole team undergo team diagnostics, to address a variety of problems

and crises concerning interrelationships and management. From the results and the

recommendation of the paper, it can be deduced that the team diagnostics done

were successful in enabling the whole engineering team to determine different

problems, which would enable them to come up with effective solutions and

answers.

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