Courework B – HRM07101 Behavioural Studies – Dr Mike Sanderson PDF

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Coursework B – HRM07101 Behavioural Studies – Dr Mike Sanderson 1. Just because people are allocated into groups/teams at work, does not guarantee that these groups/teams will be effective. Comment on variables that may impact the effectiveness of a team/group utilising groups theory.

There are various circumstances where groups are needed to be formed, a group is a collection of people who come together and work together to achieve a common goal. (Business Dictionary, 2017). A group can also be formed by individuals who share a common interest e.g. Various Napier societies. Not all groups are willingly formed, some are formed through random selection this often causes the groups to work ineffectively. The ‘Storming’ stage of group development finds groups may be struggling to work as an effective team, after becoming familiar with one another in the ‘Forming’ stage the groups are now able to identify any problem areas that may arise. Although a group is to work together to effectively achieve a common goal it can become apparent that individuals have different, conflicting goals or interests, this shows that some individuals are not compatible with one another. Compatibility between members of the group is a common factor that impacts the effectiveness of a group which could result in individuals becoming hostile and the atmosphere tense which would disrupt the other group members reaching the goal. (Huczynski & Buchanan, 2007) During this stage of group development struggle for leadership is also an apparent issue, commonly there is one credible individual who takes on the role of leader but when there is more than one individual who wishes to take on the role it can cause hostility between the two individuals. This can affect the performance and effectiveness of the groups in attempting to achieve the common goal. (Huczynski & Buchanan, 2007) As the size of a group increases it impacts the effectiveness of the group and its ability to achieve the desired goal. If the group is below five people it lacks the resources which are necessary when attempting to achieve a goal. Larger groups have an increased tendency to have individuals who are absent whereas smaller, more controlled groups, find that individuals attend more frequently this contributes to the level of work and effort put in to achieving the desired goal (Mullins, 2010) (Thompson, 2006). When the group is above nine people it doesn’t allow individuals to get the attention they may need and it also makes it difficult for individuals to communicate causing the group to split into smaller groups or ‘sub-groups’, this makes it increasingly difficult for the group, as a whole, to achieve the common goal set. (Thompson, 2006), (Mullins 2010). In conclusion there are several ways in which could affect the ability of groups working together, compatibility between individual members of the group is important when evaluating the effectiveness of a group but is also compromised by various things. We identified that the desire for leadership can cause friction between individual members which leads to tension within the group, this makes it difficult for the group to work effectively to achieve the given goal (Huczynski & Buchanan, 2007). The size of a group is essential to get correct in order to form an efficient

functioning group, research has found that the ideal group size is five and nine people. Smaller groups lack resources needed to achieve the desired goal whereas larger groups find it difficult to effectively communicate. (Mullins, 2010) Word Count: 532 References: Business dictionary , . (2017). Business dictionary . Retrieved 27 March, 2017, from businessdictionary.com Huczynski, A.A & Buchanan, D.A. (2007). Organisational Behaviour . (6th ed.). England: . Mullins , L.J. (2010). Management and organisational behaviour . (Ninth ed.). England : Pearson Education Limited . Thompson , K.W. (2017, 13th Jan, 2006). The maximum team size for effective working . [Weblog]. Retrieved 27 March 2017, from http://www.bioteams.com/2006/01/13/the_maximum_team.html

2. Thomas and Kilmann (1974) identify five different modes for responding to conflict situations. Explain the five conflict-handling modes. Conflict is able to occur anywhere at any given time, it is a state of disharmony caused by actual or perceived opposition of at least one parties needs, values and interests. (Administrator, 2017). In 1976 Kenneth Thomas developed the five modes of conflict resolution upon how assertive each party is in pursuing its own concerns and how co-operative each party is in satisfying the concerns of others. (Huczynski & Buchanan, 2007) Competing is displayed when one party forces their concerns at another’s expense, the party uses whatever power deemed necessary to win which tends only to benefit the party who has won whilst making the other feel defeated and humiliated. (Thomas , 2017) The party that portrays a competitive attitude tends to believe their way is the only correct way towards the situation at hand. The party wishing to win and handle the conflict with a competitive mode tend not to care about any broken relationships that might generate from the situation and find this better than leaving the situation, thus showing how they are portrayed as uncooperative and assertive. (Huczynski & Buchanan, 2007) Collaboration is the opposite of avoiding and is displayed when one party is assertive although is inclined to work with the other party involved, by working together they are able to form a solution that benefits both parties (Chandos, 2017) To achieve harmony between parties the underlying issue must be identified and they must work together in order to resolve it. (Thomas , 2017)Thus showing how they are able to be assertive and cooperative. Compromising falls between competing and accommodating and is shown when both parties work quickly to find mutual ground which they are both able to settle upon, parties which adopt a compromising approach don’t analyse the situation as in depth as other approaches do, e.g. collaborating. (Chandos, 2017) This shows how

this mode of resolution is both mid range and both dimensions, both dimensions meet mid way in order to resolve their conflict. Parties which adopt an avoiding mode of conflict resolution find conflict a lose-lose situation, both parties ignore their own and the other parties concerns. Parties avoid having to deal with conflict all together in order to prevent creating tension between the parties involved, although, this typically leaves issues unresolved which can cause frustration in the future (Huczynski & Buchanan, 2007) This shows how this method of conflict resolutions is assertive and co-operating. Accommodating is the complete opposite of competing where the party focuses on correcting the concerns of the other party, neglecting their own. People who have adopted this method of conflict resolution tend to shy away and prefer just to do as they are told rather than become unpleasant, with their main priority being keeping harmony with the other party, this often results in the other party taking advantage of the situation (Thomas , 2017) (Huczynski & Buchanan, 2007) This highlights how this method is unassertive and cooperating. To conclude, each of the five conflict handling modes are diverse and each individual is capable of possessing and displaying each of the five conflict handling resolutions, different situations require different handling resolutions, although some people use one of the resolutions better than they use the others and have a tendency to use that specific resolution the most. (Thomas , 2017) Word count: 550 References: Administrator. (2017, no-date). Conflict Theory . [Weblog]. Retrieved 16 March 2017, from http://academlib.com/2854/management/conflict_theory Chandos, R. . (2017, no-date). Five Basic Modes of Conflict. [Weblog]. Retrieved 16 March 2017, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-basic-modes-conflict2660.htmla Huczynski, A.A & Buchanan, D.A. (2007). Organisational Behaviour . (6th ed.). England: . Thomas , K.W. (2017, no-date). An Overview of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI). [Weblog]. Retrieved 16 March 2017, from http://www.kilmanndiagnostics.com/overview-thomas-kilmann-conflict-modeinstrument-tki

3. ‘People may learn in different ways and have different learning styles’. Discuss this statement with reference to learning theory. There are several different ways individuals learn which are known as ‘Learning Styles’. Learning styles can be defined as the various ways in which both adults and children think and learn. The learning styles indicate that each individual develops a preferred way of learning which is used as a consist set of approaches to learning, individuals may primarily use one approach or alternate between a few (Honey & Mumford, 1992). Each individual has their own learning style preferences, some people prefer to be practical whereas other prefer to be theoretical, some prefer to be hands-on and other prefer to observe from a distance, throughout this essay we will explore each of the styles in more depth. (Brainboxxcouk, 2017) Peter Honey and Alan Mumford used the findings from Kolbs work to identify four particular learning preferences; Activist, Theorist, Pragmatic and Reflector. The Kolb Learning cycle is based on a four stage learning cycle, it shows four different and particular learning styles. (McLeod, 2010) Activists learn by doing. Activists learn primarily by physical activity and interactive learning opposed to concentrating on the theoretical side. They thrive on group work opportunities and they prefer to have good communication within a learning environment. According to Honey and Mumford activists are more open minded in comparison to the other leaning styles and approach problems using a brainstorming method, they enjoy the challenge of new experiences but get bored of long term commitment. (Mobbs, 2003) Theorist learners prefer to understand the theory behind what they are doing and concentrate on concept and theories, they use models and statics to participate in the learning process. According to Honey and Mumford theorist learners think their way through problems in a very logical step-by-step way, and prefer when things are done in a specific ‘perfectionist’ manner. ( Mobbs, 2003) Pragmatic learners often put the theoretical side of learning into practise and learn effectively learn through the use of case studies, problem solving and discussion along with interactive learning. According to Honey and Mumford pragmatic learners are motivated to try new ideas, once confident with the understanding of the theoretical aspect they are willing to attempt the physical practise. (Mobbs, 2003) Reflector learners learn by taking time to observe and analyse their findings in detail. They may avoid taking on big responsibilities and prefer to observe from afar. They prefer to view problems and experiences from various perspectives before they are willing to try it themselves, they are particularly effective learners when given the opportunity to participate in problem based learning, group discussions and when given the opportunity for reflection time. (Mobbs, 2003)

To conclude, people may learn in different ways and have different learning styles. The four different learning styles are very diverse in the way people practise them. It is because of this that it is why they are effective in the way people learn as they are specific to each individual and allows each individual to learn in their own preferred, effective way. Although it is noted that an individual may find more than one learning style effective. Word Count: 500 References: Brainboxxcouk. (2017). Brainboxxcouk. Retrieved 28 March, 2017, from http://www.brainboxx.co.uk/a2_learnstyles/pages/learningstyles.htm Huczynski, A.A & Buchanan, D.A. (2007). Organisational Behaviour . (6th ed.). England: . Mcleod , S. (2010, no-date). Kolb - Learning Styles. [Weblog]. Retrieved 28 March 2017, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html Mobbs, R. . (2003, no-date). Honey and Mumford Learning Styles . [Weblog]. Retrieved 28 March 2017, from https://www.le.ac.uk/users/rjm1/etutor/resources/learningtheories/honeymumford.htm l...