Leadership Motivation Personality Group Dynamics

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to examine and critically analyze the elements of the organizational culture at the Arthur Smith Primary School, and ultimately determine how the culture affects staff of the institution in leading to the support of the organizational goals. The Arthur Smith Primary School is a 20 year-old governmental institution which comprises thirty-eight (38) members of staff, inclusive of the Principal, Senior Teachers, Coordinators, Teachers and Ancillary Staff.

This quantitative study draws reference to theories of leadership, motivation and goal setting and how these factors happen to influence the staff in performing their daily tasks.

The Arthur Smith Primary School does not have any organizational goals set in place for the staff. However, being run by the Ministry of Education in Barbados, reference would be made to their mission statement, goals and objectives. There is dire a need for the development of organizational goals for the institution so that the staff would be aware of their expectations. Though the Ministry of Education has outlined goals and objectives, these are general notations considering the Ministry is associated with the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions in Barbados. Recommendations would also be made on how the organizational goals should be structured, since they would be able to improve the overall staff relations and efficiency. Also note that though the organizational goals are not documented in a booklet form, staff are consistently reminded of their duty-bound expectations.

Various definitions have been conceptualized on the concept organizational culture. David (2007, p.126) suggests that "organizational culture can be defined as "a pattern of behavior [that has been] developed by an organization as it learns to cope with its problem of external adaptation and internal integration and that has worked well enough to be considered valid and to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think and feel." Based on the research conducted it can be surmised that the organizational culture speaks to the norms and values adapted by the people of the organization. A positive organizational culture relies on the common understanding of goals, cooperation, high motivation of staff and behaviours exhibited. It can also be said that the organizational culture creates a greater level of collaboration of employees which in turn would increase staff output.

Leadership

"Good management leadership helps to develop teamwork and the integration of individual and group goals. It aids intrinsic motivation by emphasising the importance of the work that people do." (Mullins 2005, p. 282)

Leaders have the ability to influence the type of culture exhibited within the organization. Whether direct, organizational or a strategic leader, people tend to view the leader as the head of the establishment and readily follow their directives unaware of if these values pose threats to the organization itself.

Of the four models of organizational behaviour, the most predominant authoritative style in operation at the institution is that of autocratic leadership. This type of leadership focuses on the power and authority and the outcome shows reflects low levels of performance. A principal’s leadership style can have diminishing effects on the organizational culture.

Mullins (2002, p. 266) states "the authoritarian (or autocratic) style is where the focus is on the power with the manager and all interactions within the group move towards the manager. The manager alone exercises decision-making and procedures for determining policy, procedures for achieving goals, work tasks and relationships, control of rewards or punishment."

A management committee has been established within the school which is responsible for assisting the Principal with any major decisions. However, though the committee has been established, it is very seldom used. Such a situation can be remedied, as suggested by Marzano, McNulty and Walters (2005, p. 99) where they state "fortunately, a solution exists if the focus of the school leadership shifts from a single individual to a team of individuals. If school leadership is the responsibility of a leadership team within a school as opposed to the principal acting as a lone leader, all of the 21 responsibilities can be adequately addressed." Delegating tasks among members of the committee would not only decrease the unnecessary work load of the principal, but can motivate employees who would now have new responsibilities.

Basically, if autocratic leadership continues to be operationalized, it is highly unlikely that this leadership behavior would lead to a positive organizational culture, where the members of staff would be supportive to their leader or the organization on a whole. This is because autocratic leadership tends to be one of the least effective approaches used.

Bolman and Deal have formulated a leadership model which categorizes the behaviour of leaders. The Human Resource Framework seems to be most applicable to the current institution. Hiriyappa (2009, p. 220) states that "in an effective leadership situation, the leader is a catalyst and servant whose leadership style is support, advocate and empowerment. While in an ineffective leadership situation, the leader is a push over, whose leadership style is abdication and fraud. Human resource leaders believe in people and communicate that belief; they are visible and accessible; they empower, increase participation, support, share information, and move decision-making down into the organization." Hiriyappa’s statement proves that the leadership should be more supportive in nature if the employees are expected to assist in reaching the organizational goals.

In a study undertaken by House and Dessler, one of the types of leadership identified was that of supportive leadership. A component of the Path-Goal Theory, Mullins (2006, p. 322) draws reference by stating that "supportive leadership involves a friendly and approachable manner and displaying concern for the needs and welfare of subordinates."

Similarly, focus has also been placed on transformational leadership, whereby "the emphasis is on generating a vision for the organization and the leader’s ability to appeal to higher ideals and values of followers, and creating a feeling of justice, loyalty and trust." (Mullins 2006, p. 325) The transformational leader is also a key motivator and motivates the people to achieve more than what have been done before.

Motivation

Employers need to ensure that their employees are adequately motivated, since a lack of motivation among staff can adversely affect the organization’s performance. The motivational theory applicable to this analysis was conceptualized by Douglas McGregor and is known as Theory X. Any organization which utilizes Theory X, would realize that the employees detest work and will evade it at all costs. This theory also suggests that the employees possess motivation deficiencies and need specific directives from their employers who would need to intimidate them with threats of punishment in order to attain organizational goals. Such theories should not be existent in today’s society due to the similarities to the slave-like culture and is considered to be a cynical and unconstructive approach.

Bruce and Pepitone (1999, p. 14) have concluded that "the Theory X management style represents trusting only yourself to do the right things, we can say it’s a control-oriented approach to managing."

An example of the Theory X approach has been witnessed on numerous occasions, whereby staff meetings were held, and the ultimate decisions were made by the staff in the presence of the Principal, yet the final verdict was always changed to accommodate herself and not necessarily the staff. This not only dissuades employees, but places a level of distrust within them. Such meetings create unnecessary downtime in staff productivity. Employees, regardless of industry and economical background, duly require respect from their employers since many pitfalls by their leaders can lead to high levels of absenteeism, low job satisfaction and low employee retention.

Employers should consider adapting to approaches such as the Goal Setting Theory, conceptualized by Dr. Edwin Locke, which would aid in keeping their employees motivated and aspiring to reach the organizational objectives. As long as attainable goals have been set, participation would be required by employees in order to achieve them. "Participation in goal setting can improve commitment to those goals, since people have a sense of ownership and are motivated to achieve the goals. However, if management explains and justifies the goals, without inviting participation, that can also increase motivation." (Boddy 2008, p. 509)

The Arthur Smith Primary School has not outlined organizational goals to be achieved by members of staff. Though it does not matter if the goals are set by an individual or a group, the attainment of these goals would be more reasonable if set by the members of staff in order to also identify the dynamics of the particular group. Miner (2006, p. 162) maintains that "very difficult goals might well fail to achieve acceptance, and if this were the case, the positive relationship between goal difficulty and performance would no longer be expected to hold."

Personality & Group Dynamics

The behaviour of group members can adversely affect the ability to reach the company’s organizational goals. Therefore, in order to determine how well people would work together, tests such as the Myers-Briggs Personality Indicator can be used by the employers in the interviewing process. This consists of a questionnaire identifies people’s perceptions of the work and their decision-making abilities. Hoffman (2001, p. 77) states that "one of the major uses of the MBTI to emerge has been in career planning."

"Effective teamwork is an essential element of modern management practices such as empowerment, quality circles, and total quality management, and how groups manage change." (Mullins 2005, p. 521)

Though formal groups may have been identified by the Principal as in the Management Committee or even teachers of particular year groups, informal groups tend to take precedence. Though the organization itself may have its own culture, the informal groups tend to do the same, thereby conflicting with the organization. There is a visible lack of teamwork at the Arthur Smith Primary School. Suggestions of seminars on the topic of Team Building have been made and refused by the Principal on numerous occasions. Making the most recent request, it was suggested that for Teacher’s Professional Day, we attend Higher Heights for a team building workshop, this too was also refused. Organizations like these in Barbados focus on getting people to work together and gain new experiences. Though after one session, the lack of teamwork may not increase immediately, there is still the possibility that members of staff would try. Acquired from the Higher Heights website (Higher Heights Inc.), it states "we specialize in interactive team building and experiential learning programs and are committed to the development and enhancement of individuals and organizations."

Management of Change

The most important challenge encountered by change is that change needs to be accepted at all levels. Being a 20 year old organization, many changes would have taken place but are not reflected in the organization since some people are resistant to change. If we are expected to evolve and not stay in prehistoric times, change must be readily accepted since it essential in the continual development and growth of the organization.

Kurt Lewin, well known for the Lewin’s Change Model, believes that change should be a planned approach if it is expected to gain acceptance from individuals. In the linear Three-Step Model, the three core characteristics consist of Unfreezing, Moving and Refreezing. In discussing the concept of unfreezing, Burnes (2004, p. 274) adds "he argued that the equilibrium needs to be destabilised (unfrozen) before old behaviour can be discarded (unlearnt) and new behaviour successfully adopted." The phase of moving has been described as a complex one since this is where new behaviours are to be identified and communicated as the members try to adjust to the new culture. Finally, the third step, refreezing entails further communication as well as the reinforcement of the new ideals through the use of reward systems.

"The effective organization is one which encourages and supports learning from change. This means that an open management style, encouraging initiative and risk, is needed." (Carnall 2007, p. 183)

Mission Statement and Organizational Goals

Outlined on the Ministry of Education’s website (Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development Barbados), the mission reads:

"To ensure equitable access to quality education for all our citizens so that their potential is fully realized;

To assist in the development of responsible citizens who are disciplined, industrious, creative and confident and who can function effectively in a modern society."

The preceding mission statement, generalizes the intent of the Ministry as a unified body handling the care of citizens on a whole. Though the mission statement has been formulated, it is imperative that each school have their own. Mission statements help define the purpose of the organization.

Gerould, Jaffe and Tobe (1993, p. 63) suggests that "the mission statement is a guiding tool for employees of organizations. It helps them make decisions and know what course of action to take."

The goals and objectives which have been set by the Ministry of Education in Barbados are also general goals and objectives based on the expectations of students and not the staff per se. Of fundamental importance is the need for each school to possess their own mission statement, organizational goals or objectives, or even the development of a strategic plan. Operating without such documents can be the obvious reason for the existence of problematic situations.

Analysis

The culture of this organization is one which should not be adopted by many. Since there is the obvious lack of organizational goals, due to poor strategic planning, it must be noted that the organizational culture is an unsupportive one. However though the goals have not been documented, staff should be well aware of their expectations. The norms, values and beliefs of the leader seem to have a domino effect of the staff, which thereby causes members to lack motivation, work poorly as part of a team, and are resistant to change.

A different leadership strategy needs to be enforced. The autocratic or authoritative leadership is an ineffective approach to managing. The communication between the Principal and staff also foster resentment by the staff and create low levels of job retention and high absenteeism. Employees can also feel overpowered and instead of sharing valuable ideas and theories, key concepts may be suppressed. Though the autocratic leader is considered strong, they communicate poorly. The leadership is not supportive of staff, it does not foster a positive organizational culture, and therefore it is not supportive of the organizational goals.

Individuals have the need to be appreciated. Staff can be motivated to excel by introducing methods of praise such as Employee of the Month awards. Working in any environment, people like to know their opportunities for growth. Weekend social gatherings could also enable people to work better together since they would have the time to get to know each other away from the work environment.

Organizational culture can also be considered as a core value of team building. The way the members of the team perceive the organization can affect the way their performance. The organizational culture should also permit for failure since it is can be used for learning experiences. For teamwork to be effective, staff must also consider the popular slogan "there is no I in team". Individuals must set aside selfish values and learn to work and share values, knowledge and experiences. The organizational culture at the institution is not positively correlated to team building or group dynamics, and for this reason it is not supportive of the organizational requirements. Additionally, in order to foster good teamwork, the employer could place a group picture of the staff in a designated area, because people too, like to feel appreciated.

The organization, being 20 years old is stuck in the old ways of operating. Though some of the strategies used may be effective when it comes to the children, poor inter-staff relations exist. The older members of staff are too resistant to change and are not yet willing to let down their barriers. Many approaches to change have been suggested and continuously refused. If they are operating in the year 2010, totally different and diverse with new theories and strategies and so reluctant to try something new, will they ever change?

There is also a dire need for staff development programs to be implemented at the school. These can range from conferences to teacher workshops or even online training programs. The Ministry of Education or even the Government of Barbados should seek to embark on establishing a National Staff Development Board, whereby employees within the public sector maintain an active knowledge of their roles and have an increased level of motivation and job satisfaction.

Joyce and Showers (2002, p. 69) are of the belief that "the learning environment that students experience is located in schools. The school is an organizational unit where the curricular and instructional changes take place and the challenge is for them to become self-renewing organizations where the faculties continually seek to improve the educational environment."

Conclusion

An organizations’ culture has a significant impact on the ability to reach its organizational goals and objectives. It is the personality of the organization. Though the staff may come from various backgrounds, their perceptions of the organizational culture would be the same. Inevitably, the culture shapes the organization.

The Arthur Smith Primary School is operating with a poor organizational culture; therefore it is an unsupportive one. Though the goals have not been identified in a physical writing form, the expectations of the staff are known. However, in order for staff to perform efficiently, there must be a significant change in the approach taken towards leadership. With the autocratic leadership, it is possible to have a great leader but no followers; therefore it is necessary for the dynamics of the work setting to be transformed in order to craft positive outcomes. Leadership and motivation are two interrelated components which should always garnish positive outcomes. Poor or ineffective leadership strategies form direct linkages with the poor organizational culture.

The issue of teamwork needs to be urgently addressed. Staff needs to be aware that they are working towards common goals and objectives. An effective organization promotes the staff and fosters effective team building. It is also important to note that the most important element of team building is the communication between the team leader and the team members. Teamwork can also be increased with an increased level of trust and the leader must also be willing to delegate some of the tasks and also praise the staff.

Apart from all the obvious changes which need to be made, one that needs to be considered is a change to the organizational culture. This change however, would be more difficult than others since the culture is ingrained in the history of the organization and this would need to be an ongoing process.

If drastic changes are made to the organizational culture at the Arthur Smith Primary School, and the organizational goals of the school itself are documented, then it is possible for the culture to be supportive of the organization goals. In order to change the culture of the organization, the mission, vision and organizational goals or objectives need to be identified and documented for staff. At this point however, it is imperative to note that the organizational culture is unsupportive of the organizational goals.

The organizational culture is an asset that helps shape the organization itself. In order to obtain an organizational culture which is supportive of the organizational goals, decision making needs to be a shared value between the Principal and the staff, people disagree to others concepts or ideas in a respectful manner, errors should be seen as learning opportunities, and the knowledge of the older staff members must be viewed as vital in the days ahead.