There are various factors that have to be considered when setting up an effective group. Each group member must have his or her own skills that can enable him or her to effectively integrate with other group members so that they can work well as a team. According to Vrabie, (2014), the following are some characteristics that an effective group must have:
a) Exhibition of a strong leadership at the top
A team must have a good leadership that can help in directing other group members and coordinating various activities. The group leader has to set a good example to other group members and motivate them so that they can strongly feel part of the group. The group leadership acts as the mediator between the other group members and the top management of an organization.
b) Positive communication by the group members
Communication is an important feature of any group. However, proactive communication is the most important in a group. The team members should be willing to provide any helpful information regarding the group even before an enquiry for such information is done. The group members should also be willing to suggestions and guidance to other team members. They should continuously provide updates for new developments, and create awareness to other group members on new situations.
c) Having a common goal of the group.
Members of an effective group must always have a clear unity of purpose. The group members should understand a common goal and share the objectives so as more efficient. It depends on how the group members share information and understand the common group objectives, and then the group will be more efficient. Shared mental model in a group and establishing clear expectations and roles helps in having a clear understanding of the groups’ objectives and intentions. Each group member will respect and understand the duties of other team members.
d) Positive criticism by group members on each other.
The criticism in an effective group is not viewed in a negative way. Whenever a group member observes anything not done in the right way by another group member, they are free to criticize so that they work for the common good of the group. The positive criticism helps in removing obstacles that may derail the group prosperity.
e) Each group member has to be committed to his or her share of work
The group members understand their roles in the group clearly and there is a timely completion of the duties assigned. The group is able to realize its goals when all tasks are done and completed as planned such that no delays are expected.
The purpose of working in a group is to share responsibility and support each other in doing the work. I have a good experience in working in a group whereby we did our responsibilities depending on our specialization. What made the group more effective was that all the group members were willing to share information with each other so that things could be done in an efficient way. Every group member was willing to get involved in the groups progress.
2. Retention Strategies for employees
There are many reasons that make employees to leave working in organizations. The reasons for leaving organizations can only be known by the employees themselves without their employers understanding there their organizations experience high rate of employees leaving and new employees turning down their jobs. It is therefore necessary for each employer to have strategies which they can use to retain their employees and to minimize high rate of turning down jobs by new employees. The retention of employees is important for the growth of an organization and improves the organization’s rate of turnover. According to Yazinski, (2009) an employer or institutions can utilize the following methods to retain their employees:
Occasionally training employees. According to Benton, (2014), training employees saves money for the employer and also helps in improving skills for such employees. A trained employee becomes an asset and part of the organization. Trained employees also feel that they are more valuable for the organization and hence cannot find it necessary to leave working there because they may not find such training in other places.
Appreciate the employees’ efforts by compensating excellent performance and giving employee benefits. Employees who receive competitive wages and salaries are likely to stay in an organization for a long time. The employees should also be entitled to health benefits, share profits, and overtime payments so that they can actually develop interest in working for an organization. The perception of employees about the organization is enhanced by offering them meaningful rewards and compensations.
Provide opportunities for growth for the employees. Employees should be taken for workshops, seminars and other software programs so as to expand their understanding on what they want to achieve in their career paths. An employer who invests in the development of their employees is likely to retain the employees for a longer time.
Making employees to develop the attitude that they are also valued in an organization Employees who feel that they are valued are able to double their effort in working for an organization. Every effort that an employee makes in an organization should be recognized so that they can feel worthwhile for their jobs. That recognition is a motivational factor for employees and they may like to work in a company for a long time.
Create a balance between time for work and time when employees are not involved in work. Too much stress employees and they may feel that an employer or an organization do not value their time for rest. There should be a proper structuring of a work-life balance to boost the employee’s morale. When employees engage in overtime work, they should be compensated for that effort. The employer can also offer free lunch for its employees if that will not affect the company’s profit.
Newly recruited employees may be hard to retain than old employees. The best method to use is to get the new recruits involved in further training and the employer to cater for those training expenses.
3. The importance of performance appraisal for the new recruits
Performance appraisal is a key factor of ensuring the success of employees in an organization (Bigelow, 2018) It also ensures that employees are committed to their responsibilities because they understand that after some period they will be evaluated. At times the management can decide to evaluate how employees perform by offering constructive criticism for the benefit of the organization and also employees themselves. The following are some of the importance of performance appraisal:
a) Providing a career path for the employees new recruits and other employees
The performance appraisal helps in ensuring that they become of greater use to the organization in the long run (Bigelow, 2018). The performance appraisal improves the employee’s skills in their areas of specialization and this pleases them because they feel that they are valued. This is the best way of addressing long-term objectives that may not be needed on a daily basis. Performance appraisal lights up a successful career path for employees. The employees therefore become inspired and loyal to an organization and they become more stable in duties.
b) Promotes work improvement and excellent performance for new recruits
The time of doing performance appraisal is when an employer can identify areas where an employee is performing exceptionally well and also areas of low performance. In the process, the employees are guided on how they can improve on those areas of low performance. Performance appraisal is helpful even to other valuable employees because they perfect their performance during this time. Clear explanations are given and whoever does that appraisal should be more specific on what need to be done to enhance improvement in the employee performance.
c) Helps in communication improvement for new recruits
According to Bigelow, (2018), performance appraisal helps in solving communications between managers and their employees. In many cases managers find it difficult to communicate well with their new employees on issues that concern them. Repeated performance appraisal ensures that new employees are used to their managers and therefore do not find it difficult to communicate. After performance appraisal an employee understands better ways of performing because of the effective communication between him or her and the manager or supervisor.
d) Improves the managers’ ability of making decision about the newly recruited employees
The performance appraisal helps the company in having more information about their employees. It therefore becomes easier for the organization to make relevant business decisions regarding such employees. For instance, if the employees’ performances are still below expectation, the management can make decisions for the newly recruited employees to be subjected to further training. Such decisions are aimed at improving the employees performance ones they complete their training. Through performance appraisal, the management of companies can decide to lay off lower performing employees or to reward the best performing employees. Therefore, effective performance appraisals help the organizations to focus on their objectives and perform more efficiently.
4. Different types of organizational cultures
Each organization has its own unique culture on how I organize its people and how it facilitates performances. At times, one organization can combine different types of organizational cultures to one overall cultural style. According to Cameron, " Quinn, (2011), there are four types of organizational cultures as shown here:
a) The Hierarchy culture
This organizational culture is characterized by a formally structured workplace. This culture is therefore formed on the basis of control and culture. There are v strict procedures that are put in place to guide the employees and other stakeholders. The culture puts more emphasis on predictability and efficiency and the leadership is formulated with the relation to effective monitoring and coordination. Uniformity and consistency are the values that should be adhered to by employees under this organizational culture. This organizational culture mostly applies in larger organizations with bureaucracy such as the military and motor vehicle assembly industries. Under this organizational culture new recruits get involved specifically in one job type so as to adhere to the value of uniformity.
b) The Market culture
In the late years of 1960s, organizations faced challenges related to competition. This is the time when this culture became popular (Cameron " Quinn, 2011). The market culture refers to a system in which an organization acts as a market on its own. The market culture focuses on macroeconomic aspects than microeconomic aspects. It is therefore more oriented to external environment than internal environment. The market culture focuses on transacting with external suppliers, unions, consumers and licensees or regulators. The organizations achieve their competitive advantage by strongly positioning themselves externally and having that external control. Under market culture the organization focuses on success goals so that it can stand above the other competitors.
c) The Clan Culture
This is called a clan because it is more similar to the structure of family organization. The culture is characterized by partnership (Cameron, " Quinn, 2011). The members of an organization under this culture see themselves as part of a larger organizational family and they are actively involved in the organizations activities. The organizations adhere to the traditions and the cultural commitments. Consensus, teamwork and communication are the main values under this form of organizational structure. The organization focuses on establishing a good relationship with various stakeholders including, suppliers, employees, customers and the general community.
d) The Adhocracy Culture
This is the fourth culture which is more characterized by creativity and innovations. The leaders under this culture are seen as entrepreneurs and are able to take risks for the good of their business operations (Cameron, " Quinn, 2011). The word adhocracy implies that something is dynamic, specialized and also temporary. These organizations are mostly formed in industries like filmmaking, software developments, communication, and aerospace.
By considering these organizational cultures, I would like to my organization to embrace the clan culture. The clan culture focuses on forming the partnership with various stakeholders from employees to suppliers. This ensures that an organization has a conducive environment for operation and can maximize the use of these stakeholders to achieve the organization’s goals.
References
Benton, B. (2014). [online] Available at: https://www.business2community.com/brandviews/autodesk/importance-employee-training-6-reasons-saves-money-01005934 [Accessed 2 Jun. 2018].
Bigelow, L. (2018). What Are the Benefits of Performance Appraisals to the Organization?. [online] Smallbusiness.chron.com. Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-performance-appraisals-organization-15409.html [Accessed 2 Jun. 2018].
Cameron, K. S., " Quinn, R. E. (2011). Diagnosing and changing organizational culture: Based on the competing values framework. John Wiley " Sons.
Vrabie, A. (2014). [online] Lifehacker.com. Available at: https://lifehacker.com/six-characteristics-that-make-a-highly-effective-team-1643031197 [Accessed 2 Jun. 2018].
Yazinski, S. (2009). Strategies for Retaining Employees and Minimizing Turnover. [online] Hr.blr.com. Available at: https://hr.blr.com/whitepapers/Staffing-Training/Employee-Turnover/Strategies-for-Retaining-Employees-and-Minimizing- [Accessed 2 Jun. 2018].
