Analysis of Team Performance

Appropriate team size and positive team member behaviors have shaped our team into a homogeneous team, which helps our team smoothly accomplish forming and storming stages. According to the textbook, it is better to have a smaller team but large enough to accomplish task (McShane 150). As the smallest four-people team, I think our team should be one of the most effective teams in the whole class. For instance, in the Team GPS Adventure activity, MBTI scores have showed that, as judging type, Sam and Ashley are able to analysis how the herculean task could be done I, as a thinker and a perceiver, logically determine the central area of GPS locations, so we do not have to run all over the places being extrovert type, John talks through the puzzles that we have no clue how to solve. Such effective team size has helped our team efficiently complete the task, and gained a clearer vision of individual strengths and weaknesses. 
In addition to the appropriate team size, the positive behavior that each team member presents is also essential to the dynamics of the entire team.

We deeply understand that openness is the basic ingredient for team success, so we keep transmitting information freely and efficiently via email and text messages, and we also listen actively to each other when the different opinion arises. In the aspect of supportiveness and action orientation, each team member is willing to pitch in and help out and very easy to work with. We have strong desire to act in order to motivate others. For example, Sam makes notes for each team meeting in order to keep the team on track and helps to integrate the work performed by different team members and Ashley carefully arranges each interview at Boeing for each member. Such positive behaviors that our team has as team composition are critical factors for a successful teamwork.

Our team has successfully rebuilt the team during the norming stage due to another important dimension of team composition  diversity. Since Christ has withdrawal from the class, we have to reestablish roles and clarify norms. However, the great diversity allows our team has diverse knowledge, skill, and perspectives so that we are generally more effective in situations involving complex problems requiring innovative solutions (McShane 151). For instance, Sam and Ashley are from America while John is from Turkey and I am from China. Such different backgrounds allow us see an issue or opportunity from different perspectives. A broader knowledge base also allows us have more innovative ideas and thoughtful notions. The film we made for the culture presentation fully represents the strong intelligence that our team possesses.

As our team further develops a sense of cohesion, trust, a sense of group identity, and a sense of group efficacy have helped the team to become a high performance team. Our team is highly cooperative due to our trust in each other. The type of our trust should belong to the identification-based trust, which is based on mutual understanding and an emotional bond among team members (McShane 157). I would say I have benefit from this kind of trust a lot. At the time I had flu, I could not go to class and attend any team meetings. They comforted me by sending emails asking me to take good rest and they promise to take care of the work I am supposed to complete (figure 1). In the mean time they also keep me informed about the team process. This kind of high-level trust really accelerates the development of team cohesion and increases the group identity thus reinforcing the effectiveness of the team.

Short-term virtual team has helped our team keep on track and accomplish the task in the case of emergency. Within the time I had flu, our team operates the team meetings and manages the team process virtually. We use e-mail and other communication media such as online documentation and video conferencing to make work done on time. However, in order to improve virtual team effectiveness, the team competencies described earlier are critical, because a successful virtual team requires the strong self-leadership skills to motivate and guide their behavior without peers and higher emotional intelligence so they can decipher the feelings of teammates from e-mail and other communication media (McShane 160). 
The peer feedback exercise was a good way to measure our individual performances within the team because it showed us our teammates opinions. I think that our team handled the feedback session well through constructive conflict (McShane 162). Team members pointed out both the positive and negative aspects of teammates in a very professional manner. The team provided me with some thoughtful insights which allowed me to measure my own progress. For example, they suggested me to voice my opinions more during meetings. The feedback allowed me to realize and improve on my weaknesses while it also showed me the strengths that I have learned from this team experience. In the future, I would recommend my team to use constructive feedback as a tool to enhance team cohesion and a way to let teammates realize the areas of improvement or their strengths and unrealized potential.

Community Service Initiative Analysis
For our community service initiative, our team volunteered to help greater Boston Food
bank with inspection, sorting and repacking of salvaged food. The choice of CSI initiative was the consequence of constructive conflict (McShane 149) and the chosen initiative carried a special meaning for all team members, serving as an incentive for good performance. The common goal our team set out to achieve was efficiency. A discussion with food bank officials regarding performance requirements, shortcomings and timings enabled setting of appropriate benchmarks for measuring goal performance to eliminate vagueness, ambiguity and conflict. The focus was on task accomplishment and our team had entered the performing stage (McShane 139).

A knowledge of concepts of team effectiveness entailed selection of task structure and team norms with higher likelihood of team effectiveness. The established norm in the team is high-quality performance, to give our best to every task, and no sarcasm and criticism. The task at hand was also performed in accordance with this norm. Task structure involved intermediate to high levels of task interdependence (McShane 139). For instance, prior to inspection, food items, sometimes even from the same food package, were arranged in an orderly manner by other team members to facilitate smooth inspection. Additionally, items were doubly checked to improve accuracy and team members worked together to repackage every unit of food after inspection, all reflective of interdependent tasks. Team roles (McShane 141) were clearly known as a consequence of the duration for which the team has been functional. Specific roles for the task and the best ways of achieving our common goal were decided through constructive conflict process but constructive conflict (McShane 149) was restricted to decision-making before starting our task. Team level interaction and feedback was high.

Conflicts are commonplace during actual task performance and though earlier the team sought to eliminate conflict during performance altogether, this task taught us that conflicts cannot be avoided completely. Despite collectively formulating our work strategy, we left some potential sources of conflict open. For instance, occurrence of contradictory figures during inspection and re-inspection by different team members was always a likely source for conflict. Although our team better solved conflicts that arose during the activity, sometimes, team members including me, resorted to avoidance tactics (Robbins and Judge 511) which lower satisfaction, and consequently team effectiveness. This is one area that must be given due attention and our team is still in the process of implementing collaborative conflict management (Robbins and Judge 510). Every task that this team undertakes throws light on some important aspect of improving team effectiveness and our teams community service initiative was no different

CASE ANALYSIS

Q1. My recommendations with respect to the different structural variables would be as follows (1) with respect to hierarchy of authority, the company should adopt a flat hierarchy as opposed to a tall hierarchy because a flat hierarchy of authority will promotes the division of the company into functional units which will be entirely undertake their responsibilities of the behalf of the company. Flat hierarchy of authority will further enhance top-down and bottom-up communication and feedback process within the company as a result of reduced hierarchical levels promote efficiency and facilitate supervision. Specialized division of labor will be better suited for the company than generalized knowledge because the company is still in its initial stages of growth where it must harness specialized knowledge to benefit from both tacit and explicit knowledge of employees. The wide span of control will be more suitable to the company than narrow span of control because the companys employees are not physically dispersed. A wide span of control will enable many employees to report to fewer managers thereby eliminating unnecessary levels of management. A high degree of centralization will be more appropriate for the company than a decentralized degree of control so as to facilitate convenience in administration processes, unified control of activities, fixed responsibility and accountability and effective discipline.

Q2. The company should departmentalize on the basis of task and output (matrix structure) because it is a good model of organic design suited for complex and dynamic environment. Considering the fact that a software company is characterized by a highly technical environment, flexibility and dynamism will be important in managing the activities of the company. The matrix structure provide the advantage of multiple command system, where one command chain is functional and exhibiting vertical flow of authority while the other chain of command is horizontal. The matrix structure therefore provides the necessary coordination to satisfy dual environmental demands leads to better control of tasks and greater security of work processes achieves functional integration of skills development and ignites higher employee moral and customer satisfaction.

Q3. Given the companies highly organic characteristics, I would recommend an organic organizational design because of its flexibility and ability to adjust rapidly to change. The organic organizational design will provide the company with the following unique characteristics de-emphasis on status and rank differences thereby achieving enhanced interpersonal relationships emphasis on horizontal and lateral communication and relationships as opposed to vertical relationships holders of higher positions is not necessarily assumed to be more informed than the staff in the lower cadres and optimized utility of employee knowledge and skills by their participation in decision making and problem-solving processes.      


Q4. Besides the new operating procedures, the other planned and unplanned changes responsible for the employees negative responses may likely have been caused by (a) technological changes in the form of adoption of new equipments, automation of work processes, and revised information processing and (b) people focused changes affecting issues such as upgraded requirements of employee skills and performance, changes in appraisal methods, organizational development attitudes and expectations, and requirements for employees to upgrade their skills.

Q5. Some of the barriers to change encountered in this situation include lack of tact when introducing change whereby the new changes demonstrate insensitivity towards employees personality conflicts within change agents peer pressure among employees fear for loss of statues and job security to new technologies being adopted fear of the unknown climate of mistrust and fear of failure among employees as a result of intimidating change processes. The necessary steps that need to be undertaken to overcome this change include (1) encouraging participation by offering invitations to employees to actively participate in change efforts at all levels and phases to honor employees with a feeling of ownership in the change process (2) improve communication by way of informing employees about the nature, timing and significance of the intended changes (3) educating and training employees to adjust to the new work procedures, techniques and qualifications requirements (4) provision of emotional and  technical facilitation to employees in the process of adjusting to the new work environments and (5) enter negotiations and agreements with employees through dialogue to get them accept and to subscribe to the new ways of doing things in the company.

Q6. Yes, an OD will intervene in this case and I would propose change management OD. Change management OD emphasizes on the need to align individual aspirations to the overall organizational structures as a means for bolstering effective employee performance. Indeed, the persistence of variance between individual and organization aspirations portends negative impact on the formulation and implementation of strategies in organizations. Change management further acknowledges the significance working groups and teams in organizations as effective tools that streamline individual aspirations towards the general objectives of organizations through the gradual application of working and co-operation strategies designed to achieve flexibility, free flow of information, empowerment and ultimately, improved performance.   

Ten Point Essay Question My answer to my golfing partner will be that hisher assumptions are wrong because organizations are complex organic evolving entities with unlimited capacities to learn, create, and pursue their own processes and objectives. As such, organizations are increasingly required to demonstrate sensitivity, cohesiveness, identity and tolerance to the varying implications and challenges posed by internal and external environmental factors. The external and internal environments portend either positive or negative impact on the strategic plans of any organization. The organizational abilities to build relationships and create community with sense of purpose and vision are wholly pegged on the leadership strengths and goodwill. Emphasis and continuous pursuit of knowledge, perception of the organization as community of people and perpetual endurance are the characteristics that define learning organizations. Therefore conflicts of interpersonal, intercultural, personality, resistance to change and motivations are always bound to occur as the organization goes through the different phases of growth. 

Bonus Question I would respond that monetary rewards alone are not adequate motivation for employees. As much as money is an important motivator, it is not the only motivator and it is not always the motivator because after satisfying the primary and secondary needs of an individual by raising the living standards, it ceases to work as a motivator. Indeed, non-financial incentives are very effective motivational tools that should be applied side by side to the monetary incentives in a complimentary fashion.

To this end, managers should adopt a combination of some of the following non financial incentives (1) competition whereby the organizational management creates an atmosphere of healthy competition among employees as incentives for achieving personal or group goals (2) praise whereby the managers seek to satisfy the ego need of employees by acknowledging their good work (3) participation of employees in management through consultations during decision making processes (4) promotions on the basis of skills, merits, abilities, efficiency and deserved qualifications (5) delegation of authority (6) entrusting employees with higher levels of responsibility (7) providing employees wit opportunities for individual advancements (8) stability of tenure for employees and (9) use of suggestion schemes for improving efficiency.             

Part Two Case Analysis
The questions addressed to the management processes in the organization demonstrate the significance of the personality element in organizational management processes, considering that leadership is a purposeful relationship through which employees help each other to overcome difficult situations. There exist serious problems of personality conflicts, attitudes and power struggles among Marian and Dave and the rest of the team under her. The element of ego, as illustrated by Sigmund Freud, explores the specific elements of individual behaviors with particular emphasis to the elements id, super ego and ego. Each of these elements is considered to initiate consequence of precedence for each other in human thought with id serving as the precedence for ego and superego.

The psychoanalytic theories focus on the significance of the psychological conflicts that are unconscious and dynamic in nature. The id responds according to the principle of pleasure with demands for immediate attention for its needs the external environment not withstanding the ego then must be initiated to meet the demands of the id within the limits of the prevailing environment and the superego finally initiates a judgmental perspective on the element of ego, ensuring that the demands portrayed by the id element are met in an realistic and moral manner. As such, it is imperative to seeking appropriate solutions to the interpersonal conflicts among the staff by a way of relating and responding to each other so that the other persons are guided to explore their thoughts, behavior and feelings, to reach to a clear self understanding and then to identify the use of their strengths, draw resources so that they can cope more effectively with their life making appropriate decisions by taking relevant actions.

The situation therefore calls for the application of the suggestions put forward by the attribution theory whereby managers and the subordinates use the information about the behavior of others with inference to the realities that they possess specific traits that would be stabilized over time. This seems a deceptively simple thing to do, but the process is not all that clear-cut. In order to gain useful information for an inference about stable traits to be made, three factors should be considered by Marian and Dave as follows. Behavior should be voluntary such that if someone is forced to behave in a certain way, it reveals very little about them as person. Behavior should produce non-common effects such that consequences would be produced by a particular behavior and not others. For example, if an employee recommended as being knowledgeable and professional when he performs a duty anonymously but to not get similar recognitions when he or she does so amidst adequate publicity, where there are other possible consequences as would be the case of rewards for the management team. In this example, the acknowledgement of the worker as being knowledgeable may only come about if there may be nothing else in return. Furthermore, actions that are low in social desirability tell us more about a person than actions that conform to a social norm. Therefore, if someone is loud and argumentive during a departmental meeting, fellow employees are more likely to see this as a stable trait of the person than if he or she were quiet and agreeable.

Therefore the Marian should act as a team leader leading a team that listens to each others experiences and feelings. This way, team members get to learn a great deal about their own conditions. Some of the advantages associated to team work approach by experiencing the success of others in the group, individuals in the team are given hope that they might also conquer their own problems team members come to recognize that they are not the only ones facing particular problems, therefore making them feel less isolated team members are given the opportunity to help others and experience the positive effects of their role in that help and positive interpersonal interactions are developed, as deficiencies in social interactions are common in many workplace conflicts. As such, the general idea that can be drawn from this case that may have an application elsewhere is that workplace conflicts between new employees and the existing employees are bound to occur especially when the existing employees feel the new employees came to fill in higher positions that are capable of filling. 

Q1. In this particular situation in the bank personality played the role of igniting spontaneous defensive reactions by both Marian and Dave as provoked by diagnostic inaccuracies in the form of improper interpretation of cases, wrong assessment of problems, deviation from recommended procedures, absence of empathy or faulty prescription behaviors between the two bank officials. Neuroticism is one of the Big Five personality traits that most clearly influenced Marian and Dave because instead of pursuing the preference for calmness and satisfaction they were more inclined towards feelings of anxiety and job insecurity. The aspect of cognitive distortions played a role in the conflict between Marian and Dave because their emotions and behaviors were heavily influenced by the way they reasoned about their experiences.

Q2 Marian should have continuously adapted her colleagues to change as a strategy used in streamlining professional aspirations towards the achievement of the ultimate objectives of gradual team cooperation through flexibility, free flow of information, empowerment and improved performance. Indeed, the successful implementation of current and visionary strategies is dependent on the strengths and demonstration of leadership which focus on eliminating likely functional lapses in the environment that portend failure in achievement overall growth objectives.

Q3 Now that the situation has become very difficult, Marian should adopt urgent strategies designed to correct the operational anomaly within her department. Given that the top management of the organization has confidence in Dave, Marian should seek cooperative strategies with Dave and the entire team because his sacking may worsen the situation. She should therefore implement her work strategies in integrative and complimentary fashion out of recognition of the reality that knowledge cannot always be assumed to be perfect, subject to the prevailing conditions in the organizational environment.

Effective Work Groups and Teams

Groups are formed to complete different goals in an organization. Groups may be very effective as they may help the organization by integration of organizational values and may inculcate competency among other members of the same organization through lead by example tactics.

Work Groups and Teams
 A Group is a collection of people who interact with each other and work together to achieve a common goal. All members also perceive themselves as a part of that group. (Andrew J. DuBrin, 2008)
A team on the other hand is a special group that comprises of workers who share special skills to perform the particular task that is assigned to the workers. For example a team to carry out market research will comprise special market analysts who would specialize in promotion, pricing and research strategies. (DuBrin, 2008)

Informal Group
An informal group is a group of people that emerges with time as people get to know each other and prefer to stick together at the work place as they share similar likes and dislikes. An informal group is more of a friends circle inside an organization and is made by workers preferences. The informal group may work on specific tasks for the organization but may also gather to achieve personal satisfaction.

Formal Group
Formal Group is a group of people formed by an organization to achieve particular goals and targets. This group is not formed by workers own choice or preference in fact, it is formed by the management according to the needs of the task that is to be performed. A formal group includes a department or a project team that is specifically organized by a company to achieve specific goals for the organization.

Benefits of Groups for an Organization
An organization can gain a lot through distributing its work amongst different groups. A group allows workers to learn from each other while they are on a project through shared experiences, ideas and creativity. Groups also help workers to develop their emotional quotient by developing patience and tolerance. Also groups enable members to exercise their leadership skills while theyre at work. Group work also allows sharing of interests of the members who can indulge in activities after work hours, in case of informal groups, for recreation or leisure. Organizations may benefit from group work as a group may have diversity of skillful and talented people who may add value to the project as a whole and may help boost productivity. A group can be motivated easily as a whole and has a set target which is relatively easy to achieve while working as a group than as an individual. (Benjamin, Bessant, Watts, 1997)

Group Formation
Group formation goes through different stages when members come into contact for the first time as a group to when they leave the group. The following are the phases of group formation.
The first phase of group development is formation. During formation members are initially curious and excited to work on new tasks. Moreover, they also are interested to achieve a higher status in the organization through building relationships via membership of a group. Members during formation come together and try to conform to group norms and accepted behavior(Jackson, 2002).

The second phase is storming. This occurs when members interests start conflicting with each other and when everybody tries to become the leader of the group pushing forward their opinions and expectations. During this phase, some members are excluded from the whole group while the others build up on their relationship. In cases where groups do not have a conflicting stage and everyone is ready to work cooperatively, then the second stage is skipped and the third stage becomes the second stage. (Tuckman  Jensen, 1977)

The third stage in group formation is norming. Norming takes place where members start to form their own norms and codes of behavior within the organization. This phase happens when members practice group cohesiveness and agree with each other on basic values and ways of behavior. For example a group may encourage its members to participate in decision making while an other group may restrict its members from giving opinions and just stick to their own specialized task. Norms may be formed through encouraging certain behavior such as open appreciation or punishment they may also be adopted from the norms of the organization or from an influential member of the group. (Tuckman  Jensen, 1977)
The fourth stage is performing where members are well integrated and focused in achieving their goals and work productively as a group leaving aside their personal differences. At this stage, members are more acquainted of each other and concentrate more on reaching targets.

The fifth stage is adjourning, where once the group goal is achieved members disperse into their different departments and often join other groups. However, many members may continue to reassemble after they leave a group because of their association. They may prefer to keep their relationship alive even after the group is formally adjourned(Robbins,2000).

Group effectiveness under threat and pressure
Group effectiveness under threat and pressure deals with what makes groups under perform during times of great pressure. According to Marlene Turner and Todd Horvitz, threat for the work group is an external factor that puts pressure on the group. This pressure may involve a potential loss that may be foreseen by the group members such as a loss of job if the task is underperformed. Moreover, threat may be an internal threat within a group but the study done by turner and Horvitz only focuses on external threats, that is, threats external to the group(Armstrong,2000).

The threat rigidity hypothesis suggests how group members perceive and subsequently deal with the threat that they foresee or feel. This hypothesis suggests that is the effect of the threat is known, in other words, if the change from the threat is obvious and known, it will have a negative or dysfunctional effect on the performance of the group. However, if the effect is not known and the consequences of a threat are varied then the group may be motivated to work harder to go against the threat and will try to overcome it. (Turner and Horvitz, 2001)

According to threat rigidity hypothesis, workers tend to become rigid to the threat by avoiding work cooperation by avoiding information processing and increasing authority at the center. However, researches done by Gladstein and Reilly have supported that threat does hinder information processing however, it does not necessarily centralize authority and decision making. (Turner and Horvitz, 2001) Hence, group work may be affected by external factors such as threat. Other problems of group work may involve social loafing and free riding.

Social loafing
Social loafing is where some group members try to free ride by not doing any substantial work while others put in a lot of effort and perform beyond their capacities. Social loafing is a main problem of group work as the true potential of all the members is not achieved. Some members who may have out in their best efforts may feel dissatisfied as the other members may not have performed equally but would be getting the rewards similar to the other hard working members. Social loafing may be one of the main reasons why workers may avoid working in groups.

Another problem of a work group is where members cannot express their ideas fully some members may dominate the group by discouraging other members through their influence. This practice may discourage other members who could have produced efficiently had they been dealing with the task all alone. However, this may also teach some members to overcome dominance and to compete with the exclusion tactics implied by other more powerful members in a group. Negative influence may also affect members of a group. If a group leader is very abusive, members may adopt his or her habit and may develop that negative influence upon them which may be harmful for the organizations culture in the future.

Groups can be very effective in achieving results for an organization however, they may face many problems which may affect individual work practices in the long run. If group work is not properly supervised it may sometimes create more problems for the organization through internal politics and conflicts.

Proposition 2 on the budget in California

Proposition 2 is a law statute that protects the unlawful increase of property tax by municipalities in Massachusetts. The statute also known as initiative petition was passed through majority vote in 1980 but was effected in 1982. The statute allows the municipalities a certain percentage which is allowed to effect of two and half. This initiative is similar to other tax measures that were passed by the congress in United States at the same period. The statute was much affected by California State and the municipality had to abide by the rules (The Boston Globe, 2009).
  
The proposal of California people to vote for this statute into law had a lot of contrivances and it had an effect on the budget. The statute proposal to prevent any further increase in property tax was very risk because this meant little allocation of funds to municipalities. The cities were forced to work on tight budgets that lead to less development on cities. State allocated little funds to California municipalities which could have been allocated with the highest amounts of money to ensure clean streets, well lighted city and also the employees to get good salaries (The Boston Globe 2009).

Proposition 2 did not allow this to happen and it was a problem that caused a lot of disputes in particular sectors. Social welfare, human resource management services and the housing sector allocations in the  fiscal year budget of 1992 had the biggest share of 13 billion compared to municipal allocation that were low. The author feels that proposition 2  had an effect in California budget particularly property tax and the Congress should review the statute to avoid future conflicts.

Summary of Opportunity recognition and the tendency to be an entrepreneur A bivariate genetics perspective

One of the significant characteristics of an entrepreneur is the ability to recognize various opportunities in a particular market environment. With this, it is quite important also to understand the explanation behind the individuals acquisition of this kind of skill. Although there have been different studies and theories in understanding opportunity recognition of an individual as well as in relation to gender differences, still, the concept of possible causation of genetic imprints in the recognition of opportunity of female human beings has not yet been critically established. Hence, the authors of this study sincerely post the question of whether or not genetic imprints greatly affect the opportunity recognition of females and also relating this skill to their capacity in the involvement in entrepreneurship.

Purpose  
In doing the abovementioned proposition, the major purpose of this study is to enlighten the people on the account of genetic imprints in opportunity recognition and in which it can greatly help the field of business. Consequently, it can give significant recommendations in encouraging and developing the opportunity recognition skill of an individual in order to become effective entrepreneur. Lastly, the consideration of differences in gender in the field of entrepreneurship deeply imparts assistance bringing effectiveness and efficiency in the appointment of individuals to their corresponding entrepreneurial activities.      

Hypothesis
In furtherance, there have been two hypothetical propositions in this study. One is that genetic imprints are parts of the acquisition of opportunity recognition skill. Another is that these genetic imprints can be accounted for the possibility of being an entrepreneur. The interconnected of these two hypotheses has been the primary impetus of this study.

Nature of Sample Used
To materialize those aforementioned hypotheses, the samples used involve female monozygotic and dizygotic pairs which are 851 and 855 twins respectively living in United Kingdom.  These individuals were previously asked in a nationwide medical study. Their types as twin were critically determined via homogeneous survey as well as DNA analysis having a significant precision. The mean of the participants age is 55 and its corresponding standard deviation is 12.5

Methodology
The methods used in this study is by means of behavioral genetics strategies in order to analyze the intensity of opportunity recognition skill in a genetic component at the same time evaluating it in both monozygotic and dizygotic twins excluding the influences of environment. In this sense, it can possibly provide approximations of genetic inheritance of opportunity recognition. In relation to the detection of similar genetic imprint of opportunity recognition as well as its association in becoming an entrepreneur, bivariate genetic strategies has been utilized. In terms of information gathered, the respondents had no prior knowledge of the study in answering the survey form from the previous medical study.

Result and Conclusion   
After conducting the experiment, the study gained significant information on the genetic imprint of opportunity recognition skill and its inheritability excluding environmental influences. Moreover, there is a high correlation of this genetic imprint to an individuals ability to become entrepreneur. Suffice it to say that the two hypotheses have been proven correct.

Personal Reaction   
Indeed, in understanding human behavior just like the ability to recognize opportunities necessitates the involvement of genetic analysis aside from environmental factors involved. It does, however, not necessarily mean to solely base on genetic explanations but to the integration of both. True enough, nature and nurture, and not their differences, participate in the formation of human behavior.

The team spirit concept. Do you find this in many organizations

Team work or rather team spirit is one of the most significant organizational behavioral practices tools which help in maintaining the best sales and sustaining excellent performance (Denison, 2001). It is strongly believed that organizations achieve greater success especially when they are being ran by a team of dedicated members who devote their focus towards getting united in order to achieve common goals together ( Shaw, 2003). Ordinarily teams perform better especially when the spirit of oneness is nurtured well through sound leadership skills and sustained motivation for group activities. Team work incorporates the aspect of working together as a group while team spirit refers to that intrinsic drive towards cooperating and doing things together to achieve common interest.

Team spirit just like team work is cultivated and nurtured by leaders and mangers who create and establish a working environment where each and every one becomes cohesive, feels part and parcel of the organization and attains a feeling of pride for being a member of the team. Team spirit in an organization can only be achieved if only the leader himherself is a team leader (Regina  Salas, 2006). Thus, to achieve team spirit leaders must learn to set the right goals and targets, develop positive attitudes towards people, create enthusiasm and maintain constant motivation when necessary. Many leaders and mangers of great institutions have learned through experience that team spirit is the most significant value in enhancing organizational performance, improving and increasing production (Regina  Salas, 2006). Team spirit is evident in various organizations in well structured patterns to enhance growth.

Leadership

Many people mix-up the concepts of Leadership and Management with each other. Leadership and Management are not the same thing. Leadership comes from within the person where as, management does not. Leadership is not just all about managing people, tasks or resources it is much more than that. A good leader possesses some good interpersonal and as well as social skills such as Emotional Intelligence. He knows how to motivate, influence, and manage people along with their emotions. In order to be a leader, (Freeman, R. Edward,  Stoner, James A., 1992.) it is important to understand what motivates the employees around you. It is necessary to discover the fundamental needs that employees, coworkers, and bosses have, since all people have a need for a basic income and necessities.
   
Although the leadership qualities do exist in people from birth, but that doesnt mean that everyone who has such qualities and capabilities would always become a leader, icon, or role model. Many people  instead of having such qualities  do not become leader the first reason that comes to mind is the absence of opportunity, time, place, and situation.
       
The article that has been chose to summarize talks about the importance of leadership. The article outlines the necessary conditions or steps that the leader or manager must adopt in order to become a successful leader and guide his or her organization towards the glory. Since this era is of immense competition, therefore leaders must be talented and powerful enough to build up skillful labor force and efficiency within the organization.

Article Summary 
The article talks about the leadership and its importance moreover, it emphasizes on the idea that great leadership is everything. Managers or leaders must adopt following steps to guide their organizations towards the path of success. First, get-through-the-downturn plan must be developed by the managers they must identify the mission, objectives, goals, and must bring on efficiency by cutting redundant costs. Second, communication is necessary employees must be told about the plans, objectives, and goals that are to be met. Third, leaders should be straight forward in addressing the issues to employees and must not hide from them. Fourth, supervisors must be hired to advise the employees and help them with the issues that they are facing. There must not be a sense of fear or panic among the employees regarding performance and goals. Or in other words, leaders must be connected with their employees over performance, mistakes, and improvement.
   
Fifth, leaders must get rid of employees who underperform in order to stop the wastage of time, resources, motivation, and determination. Sixth, creative personnel must be hired and retained because they are the real assets for a company. Seventh, proper environment within the organization must be provided to the employees, where they feel comfortable and work at their best. Eight, leaders must not portray or express the failure or any stagnant growth that their business is facing. There must not be doubts in the minds of employees and consumers. Great leadership is that where the leaders ask the customers about their likes, dislikes, and bear the hardships and struggle their way to the top. Because, it is the hardship or difficulties that allow them to learn more, remove mistakes, and improve performance and decision making.

Managing Diversity

The duties of the operational managers develop gradually with the transition in the strong urge to win the market zone and the clear understanding that it has to take part in long term plans for the accomplishment of any company. Companies that do not concentrate on winning and continuing to have potential employees may not be able to make it in the competitive business environment.

Going with the rising number of competing companies, global or local, there is need for the companies to be agile, resilient, customer focused and be able to adapt to any situation for it to succeed.  With the dynamic nature of organizational management, line managers have to be strategic planers (Barrow and Mosley, 2005). The line manger must be driven by business function through perceiving the companys big break through and be able to implement major policies and decisions. The line manager is on strategic talent advancement and employee retention.

Diversity Management
As stated by Glover (2007), the measurable extend of the place of works variety comprise, but are not restricted to gender, physical qualities, age, race, ethnicity, ancestry, academic background, sexual orientation, income, geographical location, marital status, religious belief, military experience and work experience. The variety management involves world wide organizations at the position of strategic resolution making. It is hard to come up with a viewpoint of variety management that is left to be studied in details. Nevertheless, a lot of work on diversity management has been done either in local settings, with less focus on diversity management in world wide relevant circumstance, or from only one level of detailed examination concentrating either on trade union or managerial measurable extend of diversity.
    
Problems of Diversity Management
For the success of any company to be realized in future, the line manager must have the potential of managing a diverse pool of talents that can result in perspectives, view to their work and innovative ideas. The problems and challenges of diversity management can be changed into a strategic asset for the organization only if it is able to take advantage of the diverse talents it has. With the combination of diverse talents of cultural background, gender, age and lifestyle, a company replies to business favorable chance more creatively and rapidly, more so in a world wide arena (Cox, 1993), which has to be among the companys vital goals to be achieved otherwise an organization risks losing talents to competitors if it does not practice diversity.
   
This can be witnessed in multinational organizations that have a method of working on world wide scale and recruit employees of different nations, cultural background and ethical views. The problems of diversity also exist amongst medium and small enterprises. With the total number of four million individuals and the countrys try hard towards great knowledge, economy and technology, unfamiliar talents are enticed to share their skills in this scope of range. Hence, a lot of line managers have to go through cultural based line management training to advance their ability to stimulate the interest of a group of competent individuals who are extremely experienced but culturally diverse. In addition, the line managers must convince the local competent individuals that these unfamiliar talents are not an indication to something undesirable to career development (Barrow and Mosley, 2005).  In a lot of methods, the merits of diversity management in the work place are dependant on the balancing the expertise act of the line management.

How to Overcome Diversity Problems
For an organization to manage diversity effectively, George (2003) points out that the line manager requires to modify from an ethnocentric opinion (our way is the ultimate best style) to a cultural relative perspective (taking the best of the variety style). In philosophy, this shift has to be deeply rooted in the managerial frame work of the line manger in their organizing, leading, planning and controlling of the resources of the organization.     

As proposed by Ng and Burke (2005), there are varieties of better practices that the line manager can choose in securing effective work place management diversity for an organization to achieve its goals. They are as follows
Strategically organizing the talents.
Mentor program planning.
Measure and control result.
Directing the talk.
Motivation approach.
The gain sharing.
The executive-information-system

Strategically Organizing the Talents
A lot of organizations are becoming fully aware of the merits of a divers work place. As many organizations are going world wide in their market enlargement of scale either virtually or physical, there is need to introduce variety of talents in order to perceive the meaning of various profitable corner of the market. With this system in operation, the line manager must organize strategically the diverse talents for the firm. A company that sees the presence of diverse manpower as an asset but not a liability would not directly aid the company to take positively its progress as some of the minimum positive features of manpower diversity.    

Mentor program planning
The better methods of handling diversity of the working place matters are by initiating the program which will involve different distinct departmental managers in program mentoring of training and proving feedback to the workers who are unique from them. For successful running of the program, there is need to provide practical coaching for managers or look for aid from experts in the area.

Measure and Control Result
The line managers have to initiate regular assessment of the organization on matters like benefits, promotional opportunities, payments, management, and work environment to estimate the long term improvement. There is need to bring about the right tool of measuring the impact of variety initiatives in the company by the organizations wide methods and feedback survey.

Directing the Talk
The line managers needs to support a variety of manpower through making diversity manifestation at all levels of organization or else some workers will conclude that they do not have a future in the organization. As the line manager, it is relevant to respect diversity matters and promote positive and clear replies to them. High level of commitment must be shown by the line manager and heshe must have the capacity to solve matters of diversity in the work place in a responsible and ethical manner.

Motivation Approach
This is the influence that makes people be positive about achieving the goals of the organization through the satisfaction of persons needs so that heshe can effectively work on the organizations tasks. The organization must initiate different motivation tools to give courage to the workers to put in the needed effort and rise the capacity of the organization to produce. In the dynamic business and competitive environment of the market, workers who are motivated contribute the required output to the success of the organization.

The Gain Sharing
The gain sharing refers to the initiative plan that is all about workers with the same effort to improve the performance of the organization basing on the general notion that outcome of incremental gain of the economy is shared among the company and its workers (Healy and Schwarz-Woelzl, 2007).

The Executives-Information-System
With the executive-information-system in place, a company can follow up its sales, inventory, and receivables and benchmark the present data with history patterns. It aids in identifying important diversity from normal trends as soon as it begins to exhibit, giving the company the highest possible amount of time to implement the needed changes and make decisions that will put the organization on the right path (Healy and Schwarz-Woelzl, 2007).

The duties of the line manager have to be parallel to the requirements of the dynamic organization. The organizations that are successful are adaptable, customer centered, resilient and are becoming quicker to change direction. Line manager must learn to effectively manage by organizing, planning, controlling, leading the resource of the human and be aware of the coming up system in workers development and coaching.

Diversity management

Diversity management is a tool that has been used by organization to focus on the difference within the organizations workforce. It also focuses on capitalizing the benefits of diversity while minimizing the challenges within the organization (Room,  Flood, 1996). Management of diversity in an organization contributes significantly to the efficiency and productivity of the organization. It acknowledges the fact that people differ in many ways and identify the implications for the workplace that arises as a result of the diversity in the workplace. The other focus is that it suggests the strategies to ensure that these issues and challenges are addressed in the interest of the organization.

Diversity management has been taken as a strategy that is intended to maintain a positive working environment (Brinkman, 1997). It is usually initiated by the human resources professionals and managed by the departmental heads and supervisors. This is done in order to promote good recognition and respect for the individual differences among the workforce in the organization so as to enable the workforce to work together for a common purpose to meet the organizations objectives.  It is therefore imperative for every organization to be able to manage the uniqueness of every individual which includes the different personal attributes, values and organizational roles despite the challenges.

Challenges of diversity management
    It is very important for human resource to manage the diversity of the workforce in every organization. However, there are a number of challenges that are faced by diverse organization in their pursuit of managing the diversity. The process of diversity management has been described by a number of human resource professionals as the mindset and culture of an organization and the varying perspectives that has been brought by the workforce in to the organization as a result of race, workplace styles, disabilities etc.

All this diverse differences posses a major challenge to human resource professionals especially in dealing with the management of diversity within the organization (Room,  Flood, 1996). Therefore managing diversity has not been an easy task among many organizations. These challenges has mostly been attributed to the exclusionary nature of the workforce employment, conditions of work, societal constrains, prejudice and adverse cultures, workforce speaking in different languages, and moreover, the problems arising from the diversity policy of the organization itself. On the other hand, the workforce could be affected by the prejudice in promotion, rewards and compensation, performance and appraisal due to the differences in cultural backgrounds (Plummer, 2003).

Exclusionary nature of workforce employment   
Every organization whether non profit making or profit making requires highly qualified personnel in order to function effectively and efficiently. With regards to hiring the workforce of any organization, some other groups may feel discriminated by the policies of an organization. As a result of the technological innovations and creativity, many organizations have become more exclusionary since a number of personnel like clerks have been made obsolete (Brinkman, 1997). Moreover, most governments have responded to demands for cutbacks and privatization and this has led to downsizing and restricting the opportunities of the unqualified workforce especially with regards to promotions and appraisals. Therefore, greater proffessionalization in an organization and the need for higher technical qualification have led to the exclusion of a larger proposition of the population in hiring and even firing of employees who are not technically qualified (Plummer, 2003). This has led to a huge challenge especially in terms of management among the human resource professionals.

Condition of work 
 Diversification may sometimes be imbedded where the organization contains one preserve group which excludes all others on the grounds of race, ethnicity or gender. In corrupt organizations, either public or private, there may be an opposition to hiring certain groups and openness in both recruitment and advancement as a single group of workforce may have a tight control of office and its rewards (Brinkman, 1997). This pathological scenario may lead to cases where the minorities are unable to gain foothold and therefore may be restricted to lower positions and work categories. In such organizations, equal opportunities exist only in theory but it is basically restricted by narrow job description and barriers to advancement in the organization. The in flexible work facilities may sometimes preclude other groups like women with children or the disabled workforce from the full participation of the organizations  careers development and growth of the workforce (Room,  Flood, 1996).

Societal constrains    
In areas where there is a widespread poverty and illiteracy as a result of a non universal and poorly adapted to producing the workforce with the required skills, ,the organizations surrounding such environment will find it difficult to attain diversity in the workplace (Plummer, 2003). Therefore, in such situations, when diversity arises in the organization, its management will face a lot of challenges especially with regards to gender issues. In such organizations, women will be excluded from taking active roles in the organization and advancement. On the other hand, organizations that are primarily available only in the urban areas and draws its workforce from the cities, the workforce that originates from the rural areas may face prejudice and discrimination from other employees and may not get equal job opportunities in the organization by virtue of their origin (Room,  Flood, 1996). Therefore these posses challenges to the management of diversity within the organization.

Prejudice and adverse cultures
It is well known that every individual in organizations tend to select their own image and looking for their own traits while believing that this will satisfy the demands of the job in the organization. It is in this essence that a dominant group tends to perpetuate its dominance in the organization. With this regard therefore, formal job qualification may be framed in accordance with this image even though the position in question may not really require the skills stipulated (Room,  Flood, 1996).  In this scenario, the unexpressed objective may be to keep out the minorities, women or other groups in the organization. Such formal and informal practices make the management of diversity in the organization very challenging and this has been attributed to the unfriendly diversity culture in many organizations. This could be evident in many organization for example valuing masculine, aggressive and competitive traits against feminine, soft, dependent emotional and intuitive traits of the workforce in the organization (Brinkman, 1997).

Diversity policies
The efforts to implement policies towards greater diversity and integration in the organization may have dysfunctional effects which may defeat their aim (Jones, 2004). Organization may attempts to favour previously under-represented groups or favouring them against past injustices may provoke a backslash from applicants and candidates from the majority groups because they will find themselves  disadvantaged as a result of the policies to address the diverse environmental workplace. In cases where the minorities are promoted or appointed, they may become targets of resentments and isolation (Brinkman, 1997). They may also be subjected to pressures to conform to other unprofessional practices or may be forced to resign. Furthermore, the need to distinguish the protected groups may cause an emphasis on the stereotyping of individuals as belonging to certain race, gender or ethnic groups and therefore may intensify racism and prejudice rather than alleviating it (Room,  Flood, 1996).

The specific challenges to management of diversity has been found to take a number of forms, this usually depends on the nature of the organization and the relationship between the organization and the society. There are other challenges that affect the management of diversity in the organization. These challenges are basically the problem of exclusion, that is who is to be kept outside the organizational employments and the problem of inclusion, who is o be allowed in the organizations employments (Plummer, 2003). The problem of inclusion originates from the historical fact tat governance has largely been confined to certain individuals in the organization because of their connections. In public organizations, governance holds the keys to power, status ands class, in private organizations business may be monopolized by a few wealthy families.

Discrimination in organization has therefore posed a greater challenge to management of diversity (Brinkman, 1997). Women for example are either discriminated or excluded or primarily limited to lower positions in a male dominated organization. However, theoretically, in such organizations, positions are open to all but a few women obtain equal opportunities in a male dominated organization. This therefore leads to greater challenge in diversity management. In public organizations, minorities may be heads of department and in higher level management while the majority of the population or the workforce is excluded. With regime changes, a problem of integrating the majority in to the organization without victimizing anyone from the previous ruling majority may arise and this may lead to problems in managing the diversity in the organization (Room,  Flood, 1996).

In most organizations, there exists a scenario of exclusion of groups that are not classified by either gender or ethnicity. Such groups like the disabled, homosexuals and non-conformists of all kinds tend to have difficulties in acceptance. The paradox of the diversity management is that greater diversity is valued for bringing about a more just and tolerant society as well as a more effective, efficient and productive organization. It is therefore the responsibility of the human resources managers and other managers both in the lower and high level to ascertain that the diversity in the organization is well managed because it may also lead to inefficiencies and poor productivity of both the workforce and the organization (Brinkman, 1997).

Strategies for diversity management
Diversity management in many organizations is a relatively new phenomenon and it is therefore by no means which strategies are likely to succeed in a particular organization. This is because the strategies used to manage diversity depend largely on the circumstances and this differs from organization to organization (Room,  Flood, 1996). Therefore, with regards to the strategies of diversity management, a successful experience in a given organization is unlikely to succeed in other organizations.

On the other hand, the strategies used in organizations to manage diversity differ not only in their means but also in the objective of the organizations. In most cases, each strategy has both advantages ands disadvantages and therefore it is imperative for the organization to combine the strategies depending of the circumstances they face. There are a number of strategies that are used in organizations to manage diversity, these includes, legal strategies, educational strategies structural and societal strategies. All this strategies depend largely on the nature of the organization, the circumstances facing the organization and the objectives of the organization (Golembiewski, 1995).

Legal strategies  
Most organization has come to adopt this kind of strategy. A legal strategy is an effort to use law and regulation to achieve an equal re presentation within the organization (Plummer, 2003). The main objective of this strategy is to enable the underrepresented group of individuals, either the workforce or candidates to have an equal share of the benefits and equal employment and career development including promotions and appraisals in the organization. With this strategy, there is a legal prohibition all the unfair practices like discrimination and prejudice as well as the eradication of all the barriers to equal opportunities to all in the organization (Brinkman, 1997). The only issue with this strategy is the individual merit. It also aims to amplify and redress the past wrongs in order to afford a certain measure of compensation. According to this strategy, there a re two distinct approaches (Room,  Flood, 1996). The first is to provide an equal opportunity to every employee in the organization and eradicate the discrimination as a result of race, disability, gender, religion, ethnicity or age. The second is an affirmative action that requires the workforce of the agencies whose employees does not conform to the characteristics of the organizations in question. This is aimed at making good faith efforts to promote, appraise and recruit individuals of under-represented groups (Brinkman, 1997).

According to this strategy, laws and regulations sends clear signals regarding what is and what is not acceptable in the organizational environment especially with regards to recruiting, training or promoting the staff of an organization. Most of this laws and regulations are reinforced by the commissions empowered to hear cases alleging to discrimination and unfair treatment in the organizational environment. It also provides the victims with the ability to sue in court. This strategy therefore enables the organization to have an equal treatment to its entire workforce while making the management of diversity a less challenging task (Plummer, 2003). This enables the workforce to work together for a common objective.

Educational strategies
This strategy is aimed at replacing an existing organizational culture with a multi-cultural point of view. The aim of this strategy is to amalgamate all the diverse culture in the organization and to sensitize the workforce to learn to appreciate the diverse culture in the organization and to enable them to work together without prejudice and discrimination. According to this strategy, am organization should move from an initial stage of a mono-culture, through a transitional stage as a non discriminatory culture to a multi-cultural perspective (Brinkman, 1997).

This strategy lays more emphasis on the group rather than the individuals in the organization. It also begins with the cultural assessment of the organization and moves towards an increased level of cultural awareness and appreciation of differences that exists among the workforce in an organization.  This could also be done by ensuring that all the employees in the organization undertakes personal training, communication and cultural sensitization where the employees are enlightened and made to realize that change is not a threat or is an imposed subject but rather a unifying factor in the organization where by all the employees are required to participate in the changing process (Plummer, 2003). This strategy enables proper management of the diversity in the organization and enables the workforce to work together as one in order to achieve the objectives and goals of the organization.

Structural strategies
This structural approach to diversity focuses mainly on the way the organization is organized (Jones, 2004). In this strategy, diversity is regarded as a means to and a result of the bureaucratic reforms within the organization. It starts with the preposition that bureaucratic organizations are hostels to diversity and therefore posing greater challenges to diversity management (Brinkman, 1997). Due to the narrow specialization of such organizations, their focus on the process and productivity of the organization is limited to pre-existing and pre-assigned categories of employees. In order to enable proper strategic management ion an organization, it is imperative to change the policies of the organization with regards to the way the workforce carry out their functions.

This will enable the organization to redesign certain jobs and structures so as to encourage diverse recruitment and promotion within the organization (Brinkman, 1997). On the other hand, other actions also need to be taken in order to ensure that diversity is not only in appointments but also in the provision of equal opportunities for all the employees to advance in the organization rather that for certain groups of employees. This strategy is aimed at improving the diversity management in the organization and enabling the workforce to have equal recruitment and promotion opportunities. It is therefore imperative that diversity management is built into strategic planning which will enable the organisation to express commitment to diversity in its mission statement and objective while measuring it performance on a regular basis (Brinkman, 1997).

Suggestions to consider in diversity management
There are other factors and suggestions that an organization may consider in order to manage diversity in an efficient manner. This includes concentrating on the strengths of the employees (Jones, 2004). When a manager discovers the tasks where the employees usually excel in, they should be assigned to them as they are expected to be more productive on those fields of the job.
Understand the abilities and the potential of each employee present in the organization. These potential assets of the employees could as well be used by the company itself in aiming for the goals that it has set up for the future.

Allow communication lines be open at all times. It is very important for managers to be good listeners. The ability of hearing what the employees want form the company as well as to how they could be of bigger help to the organization could be used as a resource of ideas for the company as well.
Make the employees feel that they too have a sense of authority in the company. However, this type of authority should not overstep that of the administrations. It should be clear that this authority could only be exercised at specific times and places when it is permitted. This may often refer to an open door policy that deals with an easier type of agreement between the employees, which could give them a chance to affect how the organization is being managed (Plummer, 2003). They are then allowed to give suggestions however, no suggestions are implemented unless approved by the administration.

Make sure that all employees understand the business goals and objectives. It should always be remembered that a well-informed employee, whether young or old, is a productive employee.

A manager should always remember that heshe is supervising people with feelings who are valuable members of the organization, hence, treating them with great respect at all times no matter what culture they come from is one of the most important virtue any manager could post as an example for hisher colleagues.
Treating everyone fairly and sensitively is the key to creating a fine working environment (Golembiewski, 1995). It should be remembered that because of the different clutters of the people, they all have different preferences they have different personal obligations and other more. Considering the fact that dealing with multicultural workforce also involves dealing with their differences of belief, a manager could as well consider fairness at all times to be able to set a common ground for everyone else in the organization.

Keep everyone else busy and going all the time. Feeling ones worth is usually measured on the things they are able to do for the organization in a day. In this manner, it could be said that regardless of ones difference from the others, being able to do something for the company and being of worth to the organization makes an employee feel that even though there are differences, one still belongs to the organization one is working for.

Keep employees informed of the ins and outs of the organization (Golembiewski, 1995). Keeping employees in the dark when some changes within the organization arise may give them the notion that they are not given importance by the administration of the company.
Acknowledge the employees efforts, years of work, talent, creativity and good job attributes. Doing so would help everyone else strive for the best while they are working in the company.
  
 Diversity management is an important function in every organization. It is therefore imperative for the managers to ensure that the employees in the organization work together as one rather that a divided team. Proper management of diversity ensures that the organization and the employees operates efficiently and productive in order to meet the objectives of the organization (Plummer, 2003). Though there has always been diversity in every organization with its subtle differentiation, discrimination and prejudice, it is imperative for every organization whether public or private to lay down strategies to overcome the challenges of diversity within the organization.

Five-Year Career Development Plan

I am currently the director of information technology services at ABC Company. My job commenced on 1st January 2007. The last three performance reviews and ratings on competencies and targets were four with combined evaluation being four. While undertaking this years performance review, the administration realized that I had a superior performance in various fields including implementation of integration projects that are highly complex across different department within the organization. The systems allowed the company to increase process efficiencies. Some of my major strengths that came up during the evaluation included decisiveness and strategic orientation that I intend to improve during the next five years hence they form the main part of my career development plan for the next five years.

Career goals and objectives
My main career goal is to increase the level of strategic planning responsibility by moving to a position that would enable this. Also, my aim is to be involved during the determination of policies, initiatives and programs direction in the organization. Within the next one year, I am anticipating a promotion to the post of regional director of the information technology department given that the current regional director is due to retire within the next one year.

Education, experience, competencies and skills
I have a bachelors degree in information technology and a masters degree in the same field. I also hold a certificate in project management. I have worked for ABC Company for three years now and I have gained extensive knowledge in project management among other areas. I have various competencies and skills although I feel they need to be improved. Decisiveness and strategic orientation are my main competencies. My objective is to continue developing these competencies as I believe they are essential in achievement of my goals. My skills include project management, resource and time management, facilitation skills and detail orientation. The IT department has initiatives in coming up with HR planning initiatives and I aim to improve my skills in this field and my main focus will be on succession planning.

Action steps
In developing my strategic orientation skills, the first year I will concentrate on leading the companys divisional process of strategic planning aimed at helping the company come up with the long term strategies and plans for vision and mission achievement.
The second year I will also steer a cross departmental committee with an aim of gaining comprehensive knowledge of various issues relating to the IT department. I will also meet on monthly basis with the administration whereby we will discuss various strategic issues. This will give me a chance to discuss my progress with the administration and gain insight on other areas where I need to improve on. This will be an ongoing process for the next five years.
   
To increase my knowledge and skills, I will enroll for an advanced certificate in project management in IT in the third year and this will last for two years. I will also engage in reading professional books including the Hugh Courtneys book 2020 foresight crafting strategy in an uncertain world. Decisiveness is another core competency that I want to improve within the next five years. To improve this, I will read several books on this area including Helg Drummonds book the art of decision making and Joann Keytons book communicating in groups, building relationships for effective decision making this will take me three months of the first year.

By the end of the fifth year, I want to have achieved the advanced certificate in IT, to have successfully completed the strategic planning process and to have fully integrated the functions of human resource with technology within the company. I will also conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of the strategic plan and other projects that we will work on for the past four years.

Possible obstacles 
Getting all individuals involved in the process of strategic management to attend the meeting for process is one of the obstacles I may encounter while leading this exercise. To overcome this, I will work closely with assistant directors and supervisors in the information technology department to help me schedule as well as in meeting logistics. This way, I will be in a position to communicate to all concerned members and to ensure that they are aware of the process.
   
Time is another possible obstacle given the increasing demand of information technology within the organization. At ABC Company, there are few IT managers making it quite a challenge to us. Chairing the cross departmental committee will require more time and this may be strenuous on my part. To overcome this, I will seek total support from the administration. The monthly meeting with the administration may also be constrained with time. The solution to this will be scheduling our meetings during lunch hour. Combining my demanding job with professional course in IT will also be a challenge to me. I will enroll for part time classes to solve this problem. For the books, I will be reading them during the evenings, weekends and any other time when I am free.
   
Training is essential for career development and growth. There are two forms of training, on job training and off job training. On job training enables a person to gain experience and skills necessary for achieving specific goals. Through steering the committees and leading in strategic planning process will give the experience I need in project management. Off job training is training that takes place away from the working environment. This gives a person skills and knowledge required to perform a task. This I will gain through the part time classes as well as the professional books I intend to read. Training also improves persons chances of being promoted.

Organizational Behavior

Dubai Holding Company has been founded by the government of UAE in 2004. This company governs the control of 7 main companies operating in 13 industries of the country. This company has one of the most significant stakes in the business environment of UAE. The company has been strategically designed to boost the economic activity in the UAE region. The profiles of companies which are operated under the umbrella of Dubai Holding Company are as mentioned in the appendix.

Dubai Holding Company is committed to development of the physical and commercial infrastructure of the region so as to create an investment-friendly environment in the Dubai region. The company makes the direct effort to make the Dubai Strategic Plan (2015) possible to achieve for the government. The plan highlights the major economic aims
Sustainable annual GDP growth rate of 11
Improved real GDP per Capita to up to 44,000 by 2015
Improved labor productivity by 4
Enhancement and development of Dubais globally competitive sectors such as trade, transport, tourism, construction, financial and professional services     
These in turn can be considered as the long term objectives for Dubai Holding Company in managing all the companies in the various industrial sectors of Dubai.

For the success of any organization, it is important for the management to be clear upon its vision, values, philosophy and goals. These form the guiding principles for channeling the resources employed in the organization. The most valuable resource for any organization is human capital and human intellect which eventually directs the growth of the organization. The culture of the organization which the people form, and the work ethics they adopt within the organization greatly influences how the organization performs on the whole in achieving its objectives. The aspect of the study of this perspective of behavior of people as an integral part of an organization is encapsulated within the definition of organizational behavior.

Why Study Dubai Holding Company in Context of Organizational Behavior
The Middle Eastern region of Dubai has been one of the most amazing business success stories of the recent past. The secret to this success is the hot topic to be discussed. The outreaching success of the region in the business environment is owed to many big companies which have been playing their roles effectively for the regions prosperity. These companies are operated under the umbrella of Dubai Holding Company. Thus, the reason to study a company like Dubai Holding Company within the context of organizational behavior will add to the overall understanding of how organizations in the Middle Eastern regions are operating from within. Students can draw many lessons from such a study about how to adjust in the business environment of a company operating in the UAE region. As the business is growing in these regions at a very rapid pace, jobs are being created and opportunities are presenting themselves each day for young students of business and environment to make an entry into this region and develop and grow along with the regions own growth. 


Organizational Behavior and Dubai Holding Company
When studying organizational behavior, the culture of the organization plays an important role in determining the type of communication styles, group mechanisms, group roles, and leadership styles. Thus, workers derive quality of work practice from this, and are motivated accordingly. The consequential outcome of these factors is categorized as individual performance, satisfaction, growth and development. 
The important thing to understand is that organizational culture are most commonly influenced directly by the regional cultures, as the organization does not exist independently but is in direct influence by its surroundings. Thus, the organization culture and organization behavior of a Middle Eastern company will be directly influenced by the strong Middle East historical cultural values and social system.

Thus, for a company like Dubai Holding Company it is directly influenced by the Middle Eastern regional cultural heritage.
This is even further evident in the case of Dubai Holding Company, which is a state owned company which is in direct link to the Royal family of the region. Thus the familial culture has an over-riding influence on the organization and the country at large. By far and large, the Royal family has taken up the responsibility to ensure Dubais future prosperity. For the purpose companies are guided in a way to create an environment of security and growth for investors and consequently local businesses may be established and eventually flourish. To create this internationally collaborative society, the realization has been seen to fine tune the internal structuring of local companies to be in-line with multinational organizational cultural values. Thus, enabling ease in adapting to modern management techniques most efficiently employed by the international organizations.

About Dubai Holding Company
Dubai Holding Company is a state company which has a holistic objective of regional development, which is valued much higher than just exploitation of economic opportunities and profit earning. This company is seen by the government as an administrative commercial liaison for the government with the regional business structure. The presence of Dubai Holding Company is by all means unavoidable if one wants to analyze the business environment of Dubai.

The organizational culture at the company has evolved over the years. The company is managed closely by the Royal Family representatives, who have major stakes in Dubais economy. Thus, they command most in control and authority beyond any other stakeholder concerned with the organization.

The Company as an Open System Organization
The open system concept for an organization looks at organization as integral part of their external environment, where they have to negotiate consistently with their environment when looking to arrange for resources, such as raw material, human resources, technology etc. (McShane and Van Gilinow, 2009)
The Dubai Holding Company is actually a very complex business establishment. This company is constant interacting with the external environment and is always directly influenced by extraneous factors. The internal managements of the service-oriented companies such as Dubai Group and Dubai International Capital have to keep track of international fluctuations in economic conditions and similarly the construction business is dependent directly upon metal and commodity prices for forecasting the cost of material and equipment for their high-scale projects undertaken in the Dubai region.

Model of Organizational Behavior
A mix of authoritative and custodial organizational behavior model is the basic model that may be employed to describe the organizational behavior at Dubai Holding Company. This is a likely case as with any other organization operating in the Middle Eastern region.

Dubai Holding Company is a conglomerate of many companies operating in many industries, so it is a highly complex task to categorize any single organization behavior model to Dubai Holding Company. But, across the board, though developing over time in different ways in their particular industries, the companies usually abide to either an authoritative or custodial form of organizational behavior.

The authoritative model is derived by the high level of prevalence of compliance and obedience by the employees to top management. The companys top management under direct coordination with the Royal Familys checks and balance defines goals and the employees are usually expected of to cooperate and trust their judgment, and in most cases they exhibit limited tendency to contradict the boss. Thus, there is more formality and structure in communication. But, in companies where there is more involvement of management attracted from foreign countries there is a tendency for the organization to incline towards a more custodial perspective, where employees are more concerned about security and pay for performance. In this regard the talent is attracted from foreign countries and is only rendering services for the companys performance. Little understanding prevails for the cultural heritage and belongingness for the country.

The Leadership in the Organization
In context to organization behavior, the leadership roles and styles have direct influence on the overall direction of the organizations performance. The leadership roles in the Middle Eastern cultures are far more formalized and distant from participatory than western countries. The team leaders usually place them at the front-end of the team, and then limit the amount of authority delegation from therewith. The team leaders are considered answerable for all aspects of performance of their team members.

At Dubai Holding Company, the cultural and educational background of the Sheikh family representatives in the top management directly influences policies and values across the board throughout the company. More than any other factor, the growth oriented vision of the top management in all the companies that operate under the flagship of Dubai Holding Company is well communicated with all tiers of management. But, at the same time the top management exhibits more authoritative control over resources and team activities. Thus, strict and formal control is considered vital for attainment of organizational goals.

The concept of organizational citizenship can be regarded very important for management at Dubai Holding Company. The organizational members need to relate to the objectives of the top management to make the extra bit of effort to achieve the goals of the organization. In the long term objectives of attainment of the Strategic Plan 2015, the organization culture has to instill an air commitment amongst the employees to the strategic goals of the organization.

Participation Intervention programs are introduced frequently at Dubai Holding Company to allow for better motivation of employees. This is the phase of the organizations growth where it has had the realization that employees need to grow along with the organization, and be more confident about organizational objectives. The company can obviously benefit through such programs employees are allowed to generate more innovative and creative ideas.

Power Distance and Decision Making
Power and control is more centralized in context to the state-controlled organizations in the Middle Eastern companies. This renders the ill-fated effects of limited motivation for employees, and limited predictability of bureaucratic leaders (UNDP- Arab Human Development Report, 2002, 2003). But in a company like Dubai Holding Company this is not easily detected. The situation is such that authority and decision making is mostly centralized, in control of the Royal family members, setting the general directives for the companies under the umbrella of Dubai Holding Company, but the top management has traditionally also been dependent upon foreign experts for guiding activities in business. Thus, the decision making process at a macro-level is directly influenced by these consulting agencies, and international experts.    

Workforce Diversity and Demographic Considerations
The business environment of Dubai has evolved greatly in recent years owed to the demographic changes that have been taking place in recent years. Dubai is mostly considered a trading hub and the businesses and organizations have attracted workforce from all over the world because of their promising growth and development in the Dubai region. Consequently, the organizations that now operate in the Dubai regions have employees coming from multiple nationalities. Thus, management has now started becoming conscious of this important factor that directly influences their style of management, which has to vary according to cultural background and ethnicity of the employees. The spread of immigrants to the region is so wide spread that majority workforce employed, up to eighty percent is non-Emirati. Majority workforce is moving from Asian countries to Dubai, in search for better employment opportunities (Census Statistical Data of UAE, 2005)    

In this regard, it must be mentioned that Asian ethnicity groups tend to rate very highly upon scales adjudged collectivism, responsibility avoidance and increased power distance. This culture of distance from authority and collectivism is further reinforced by Middle Eastern inbound tendency to promote collectivism, and the show of reverence for the leadership and family elites of society. Thus, though there is a difference in overall orientation, the overall impact is that there is increased structure decision making with limited participative efforts from the employees, who are generally guided through directive leadership. (Khalid Al-Yahya, Richard Vengroff, 2005)

The Workforce Related Challenges for Organization
In the spheres of understanding organization behavior one has to pay heed to the ongoing changes in the business environment on a holistic perspective across the globe. The world in many ways is becoming flat, enabled through better communication technology. There is a prevalence of the globalization phenomenon, where businesses are truly operating beyond boundaries. There is also now the employees need for attaining work-life balance, as employees now have more work and less time off, owed to high outreaching growth targets set by hyper-growth oriented companies like Dubai Holding Company.

These factors part of the integral planning process for future growth plans at Dubai Holding Company. It is an important aspect to manage diversity in the organization and so is practiced by Dubai Holding Company. It is important to analyze and realize the benefits of a diverse workforce and so is done by the Dubai Holding Company. The company is not reluctant to hire employees from diverse cultural backgrounds as they believe it is the employee that becomes the backbone of an organization.

Dubai Holding Company is not a very different company from all the other that are operating around the globe and face the challenge of maintaining a healthy workforce that has optimum efficiency and effectiveness. In this scenario the Human Resource Department is actively involved in latest methodologies to bring out the best from the employees and make sure they are satisfied with their work and experience at the organization. In order to identify different needs of the work force regular surveys are conducted to get feedback from employees. Questionnaires are circulated in order to get a response from the employee about his or her experience at the organization. Focus groups are held to make the company a better place for the employees based on their own feedback regarding the current situation.

The field of organizational behavior helps shed some light upon the key internal workings of organizations internal structures. But even more importantly it gives us an insight upon how the human capital of an organization is performing what it is required. In the Middle Eastern region of Dubai organizations have been performing very well in the international business community. The organizational behavior of such companies is greatly influenced by the organizational cultures that have developed over the years. The organizational culture in turn is directly influence by the cultural heritage of the region.

Thus, the local culture of the people of Dubai directly influences how and what people do within the spheres of a business organization. Values and clear communication of future vision is also critical to set the direction and scope of the organizations future growth targets. Amongst the most important factors, leadership directly influences organizational culture. In case of Middle Eastern companies, also the case for Dubai Holding Company, there is prevalence of high power distance and an authoritative style of leadership and organizational behavior model is identified in the region. The fact of decision-making dynamics is that in these regions decision-making is highly centralized and teams are also structured to have hierarchical distances within themselves. Additionally, in case of Middle Eastern companies and especially Dubai Holding Group, workforce diversity is an important concern in managing organizational behavior and goal attainment. There is a large influx of Asian immigrants and management is now being trained to tackle the issues of cultural differences. Accordingly, concerns about the impact of work-life balance and globalization of resource availability are also of concern in managing behavior, performance and satisfaction of members of business organizations.   

The significance of studying Dubai Holding Company for gaining insight about Middle Eastern Organizational Behavior patterns is simply exhibited by the overall presence of the company in the economic development of the region. The sheer size and scope of the organization helps one gain close insight upon complex organizational behavior. Additionally, this company is a model company from the region as it is specifically not an old establishment, and is more forward-looking in its overall direction and strategies for the ultimate appraisal of Dubais status as a business hub of the world. Thus, as a student of organizational behavior this company presents a very good case study upon recent developments in the Middle Eastern region, in the field of business, economics and industry.

Human resource development and its intervention in terms of providing training facilities to remodel their business line is an important aspect for companies in todays work environment. HRD practitioners and managers have realized the immediate requirement to shape their employees by providing them sophistication in various traininglearning methods which are available. This spurt in the training need arise due to increase in the education of practitioners through various educational excellences and professional development systems. HRD practitioners have thus succeeded in sophisticating the facilities required for training and professional development in terms of learning media, learning resources and learning services. This training drive among the HRD managers has made knowledge creation to emerge amongst employees in organizations which has been complemented by technological advancements (Sadler-Smith, E. 2006).
   
Companies adopt several training methods and approaches to train their employees namely training in classroom (discussions, seminars, lectures, experiential techniques, audiovisual methods), on the job training (face-to-face training, coaching, mentoring) and computer-based-training or online training (includes computer-aided instruction, training on intranet and intelligent computer-assisted instruction) (DeSimone, R  Werner, J. 2008).

Scope of the Topic is limited towards understanding the dimensions of online training and face-to-face training approaches adopted by companies.

Research has clearly indicated that there should be an appropriate balance between both online and face-to-face training to extract maximum output from the employee. Both forms of training need to complement each other and not substitute which clearly indicates the necessity of a proper bond between the conduct of online and face-to-face training. At times, classroom training becomes cumbersome and hence companies assign employees with online job training by connecting via web based or computer based applications to enhance their learning. In multi-national organizations, the employee base is scattered at different locations and hence to reach them out on a single platform, companies require implementing online job training instead of arranging for multiple face-to-face training lectures. This eliminates the process of training them individually on occasions where all the employees across the country meet up on official meets and conferences and instead they can have fruitful discussions on the implications of the online training towards their job (McIntyre, E. 2009).

Topic Discussion
Theory and research supports a proper balance of online and face-to-face training methods which indicates that one cannot be done without the other and should not substitute either. For example if any group requires skills to develop their problem solving abilities, then the company can either train them online as well as train them personally face-to-face as a group to develop their group dynamics. Usually, this balancing act is adopted by companies as online training media is required during the initial pre-training processes as part of the preliminary process which later should be followed by a one-to-one interaction session (McIntyre, E. 2009).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Online and Face-to-Face Training
Companies state that a combination of online training and face-to-face training is a must as each one has its own advantages and disadvantages and incorporating the advantages of both would yield efficient results. Research also analyzed the suggestions of both the training methods from participants and instructors as indicated below and strongly supported the fact that it was real tougher to keep the attention level of the participants focused on the online class training. A.Online training program

(Participants have remarked that online media is dedicated through continuous weekly classes, conducts training and learning by reading various study material, training by interacting through online chats and discussion forums, giving space for individual learning process through the use of technology.
(However from the instructors viewpoint, online media would definitely motivate and judge the participants on a continuous and an ongoing process which involves preparation of the course material, coordination within the online chat and forum discussion, inflexible training hours as it is based on web application.

B.Face-to-Face training program
(Participants suggested that face-to-face training is restricted to a one room sitting and learning is through seeing and listening to the trainer, learning is enhanced by conducted small group discussions and getting instant feedback which helps the participants in structuring and realigning their processes.
(Instructors feel that face-to-face learning would involve preparing audio visual learning resources, commitment within a small group, incurring cost and time in traveling to the training spot for the trainer and preparation of the course handouts (McGovern, G. 2004).
   
It is seen that companies are moving away from classroom session training and incorporating much more computer based training programs for their employees which is a result of the information, communication, globalization and moreover the technology age. Thus face-to-face training could be used by companies to initially get the group acquainted to each other by way of interaction which later depending on the objective of the business could opt for online media training. Before incorporating online job training, companies should clearly identify the objective of training, is it that they require a lighter training on a CD or they would require an in-depth rigorous training or is training required on a personal touch (McIntyre, E. 2009).

Best Practices
Some of the best practices that have been known in the field of Human resource are in adopting the concept of humanizing e-learning. This indicates that companies who are combining the web based learning with a bit of personal touch by one on one interaction will be benefited the most as only by posting some learning modules online will not fetch any lasting impression in the minds of the employees. Companies need to organize online training first to make their employees understand the concepts of their organizations businesses and only then proceed towards the conduct of classroom training which will yield satisfactory results.

Thus they study the online courses at their own pace and time which prepares them with the background learning and the basic information required before actually practicing it face-to-face which will be more reward seeking for the company. This approach have been fruitful for participants as they were able to exchange ideas and actively respond and participate in the discussions of the class teaching which was the effect of the virtual training the employees had prior to the class sitting. Virtual classroom has also been initiated by firms to address a huge employee gathering which involves participants chatting online with their other co-employees and seeing each others written work by adopting a technology known as whiteboard software. Facilitators also have the leverage of shuttling between groups at one time and help solve the issues posted by the groups. However companies have learned that even such practices will not yield maximum hands-on practice for their employees if this doesnt result in a face-to-face training session where direct interaction with their mentors is looked at (Noe, R. 2004).

Company Approaches
ChemConnect is a company which states that there is no creativity involved in training unless the feel of e-HRM is provided to the employees. Therefore every employee joining them is first given training online via their intranet which is known asTour de Chem where-in just by a click of the mouse they get connected to the companies business leaders, their services, policies, procedures and their products.
Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a consulting company has also complemented this strategy and commented that e-HRM should make the best use of the internet technology which will be much more then just showing some video clips of the company  Combining online training with face-to-face training serves an important aspect for both the company and the employee. The employee before joining itself can avail the benefit of online training through the use of username and password and email address provided by the firm and the company itself will save on the cost and time for conducting training once they actually join. Subsequently their virtual or online training knowledge is judged in a classroom session by way of personal interactions with their trainer.

The acquaintances with their future company have been built for the employee much before they enter the company which has been possible only because of online services and the age of technology. Virtual touch plus personal touch is the best method for development of the employee as in-depth employee training takes place in a class where by individuals clues are taken further for better learning (Noe, R. 2004).
Online training classrooms facilitate coordination of education across geographical boundaries and within the scope of certain time limitations.  Thus not only the basic company information on the web is offered but advanced training on soft skills, global team building capabilities, leadership skills, mentoring and coaching as well is available on a platter to meet the needs of the employee (Noe, R. 2004).

The Pedagogy
The pedagogy and the cost implications differ widely in both the techniques and hence they cannot substitute each other. Online distance learning pedagogy is restricted towards just online books and availability of online tutorial discussion without many innovative and effective learning methods. The face-to-face training pedagogy has been overwhelming for bringing out efficiency, effectiveness and innovativeness in the training program which has to be combined with technology to bring out higher results. Till date, these training methods should  complement because of the lack of e-pedagogy components available in online training programs such as online awareness, lack of know-how on planning and managing their acts online, comprehending the power of future and potential technological advancements and incorporating it in the training module, providing facility to give and receive feedback, enhancing team building efforts online, using multimedia feature of technology to develop classroom presentation, enhancing the learning and the experiential curve of the trainers, leverage to update and measure the results of the course material has to be made available to re-align employees from traditional methods towards online training programs (Bartley, S  Golek, J. 2004).
   
Online training has gained much importance because it leads to economizing the business process as millions of people require to be trained and re-trained and any mode of cost cutting would be welcomed for companies and online learning have helped to save huge money for the costs. Thus economic cost advantages and time benefit would be the need of the hour in these current economic conditions and therefore more and more companies are opting for this method in collaboration with classroom teaching. In this era of globalization, the entire world has become one market and online learning has helped in reaching newer markets in the national and international fronts thereby encouraging foreign relationships and partnerships to develop stronger business tie-ups (Bartley, S  Golek, J. 2004).

Online training and face-to-face training has thus been instrumental in shaping up employees confidence building capabilities and getting them tuned and aligned towards becoming better managers. Face-to-Face training has been complemented in the entire training methodology by providing a unique experience of enhancing non-verbal communication, body language, eye contacts and other presentation etiquettes which online training per-se would not provide if considered as a substitute.