The case study provides a clear indication of communication breakdown within the organization and especially within the group where Tom is the leader. It is clear that Tom has failed in his mandate to make sure that team members are recognized for their actions. On the contrary he takes all the credit from all the projects that the team has undertaken which has a negative impact on other team members. What stands out clearly is that Tom is self-centered and all that he cares for is how he would advance his own personal goals even if it comes at the expense of the organization loosing. This is evident based on the incident where he approves a faulty electrical circuit.
The differences that are present in the group are largely as a result of the communication breakdown where the group members are unable to confront Tom on some of his actions. Such a problem can well be depicted by the Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) which notes organizations as being based on communication systems (Schmitz, Teng, " Webb, 2016). In the first instance of any group meetings, the members are usually required to communicate what they expect from the group and what is decided upon from the onset ends up becoming the team’s rule and regulations. Individuals are part of the team as they tend to accept to be bound by the rules set (Etudo, Weistroffer, " Al-Abdullah, 2015). Based on the case study what is clear is that Tom has complete violated all the prerequisites of any team and therefore what comes out clearly is that he is an autocratic leader. It is only his views that count whilst what everyone else presents are either redesigned to come out as his own views or are completely disregarded. There is a huge communication breakdown in the team and disharmony is evident from the team members who feel that they are being disregarded. based on the AST when weaknesses arise in a group, the members are required to change the rules so that they can suit all of them (Widyarini, " Simatupang, 2015). From the case study such weaknesses are evident in the team and the lack of the team leader’s goodwill in ensuring that such problems are resolved has ensured that the rift in the team has become pronounced. It is important that communication in the face of new problems is critical as it allows for stability. Simply without communication many organizations may not exist (Dainton, " Zelley, 2017)
It is important to note that the behaviors exhibited by Tom are very dangerous for the long term performance of the company and therefore it is certain that a solution would be required to solve it. The first solution would include opening up the communication channels within the organization which would provide a flexible working relationship. With such flexible channels employees would be at ease to communicate with their seniors. Once employees know of their value to the organization and the team then they will be vocal in their actions; a virtue depicted by AST (Fulk, 2015). What is evident is that surbodinates and junior staff are intimidated not to report any malicious activity that is taking place within the organization. For instance, the approval of a faulty electrical system wouldn’t have been approved if there existed an open communication within the organization. It is important to note that redesigning the communication system within the organization would come at the expense of restructuring the corporate culture (Lindlof, " Taylor, 2017). The redesign would mean that a laissez faire leadership model be implemented within the organization and this would mean that more powers are delegated to the employees and that the employees feel that they are part of the decision making process. With such a system, Tom’s power will be diluted and therefore his sole accreditation of his impact in the organization will not be evident. Additionally, it is important to note the change of the organization would allow for the easy monitoring of the employees’ role within the organization. For such a system to be implemented it would be vital that Tom is sent on compulsory leave and this will provide an indication that the organization is more powerful than an individual. Failure of such a move would render Tom powerful to the extent that he can dictate what needs to be done in the organization. For every successful organization team work is essential and in this case team work is at threat if Tom is allowed to continue with his behavior. The promotion or the increase in the salaries of any employee is subject to extensive reviews. It is only those whose performance exceed the company set standards should be able to experience an increase in the salaries. Additionally, every member of the company is subject to reviews so as to ensure that credit goes to the deserving employees. In this case an increment to Tom’s salary would impact negatively on other team members as they would feel that he didn’t deserve a pay rise. If the organization goes ahead with the payment increment it would certainly lower the morale of other employees in the team who would feel that they have worked as hard as Tom and yet they still haven’t been considered for a pay rise. With the AST in mind it is certain that the implementation of the aforementioned strategies would help the senior management address the conflict that exists within the organization.
Quotations
“Adaptive Structuration Theory (AST) is one of the top three theories of group communication.” (Schmitz, Teng, " Webb, 2016 p 664)
“When individuals desire to create a group, they begin by communicating.” (Schmitz, Teng, " Webb, 2016 p 667)
“As group members continue to communicate in the course of making decisions, weaknesses or limitations in the structure become apparent.” (Etudo, Weistroffer, " Al-Abdullah, 2015 p 345)
“As members change, draw upon new resources to solve problems or experience shifts in environment, the group attempts to maintain stability by altering its structure. In this way, AST shows how communication allows groups to evolve while remaining stable.” (Widyarini, " Simatupang, 2015 p 159)
“Experts say the theory can even help people realize and expand the scope of their influence as group members.” (Dainton, " Zelley, 2017 p 98)
“The theory views groups or organizations as systems with ("observable patterns of relationships and communicative interaction among people creating structures").” (Fulk, 2015 p 39).
“Poole calls his theory adaptive structuration because he observes members of task groups intentionally adapting rules and resources in order to accomplish their decision-making goals.” (Lindlof, " Taylor, 2017 p 71)
“Systems and structures exist in a dual relationship with each others such that they tend to produce and reproduce each other in an ongoing cycle. This is referred to as the "structuration process.” (Dainton, " Zelley, 2017 p 83)
References
Dainton, M., " Zelley, E. D. (2017). Applying communication theory for professional life: A practical introduction. Sage publications.
Etudo, U., Weistroffer, H. R., " Al-Abdullah, M. (2015, January). Adaptive structuration theory and media richness theory in GDSS research: A critical review. In System Sciences (HICSS), 2015 48th Hawaii International Conference on (pp. 344-353). IEEE.
Fulk, J. (2015). Communication 641: Organizations and Communication Technologies.
Lindlof, T. R., " Taylor, B. C. (2017). Qualitative communication research methods. Sage publications.
Rains, S. A., " Bonito, J. A. (2017). Adaptive Structuration Theory. The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication.
Schmitz, K., Teng, J. T., " Webb, K. (2016). Capturing the Complexity of Malleable IT Use: Adaptive Structuration Theory for Individuals. MIS Quarterly, 40(3), 663-686.
Widyarini, M., " Simatupang, T. M. (2015). An adaptive structuration theory approach to price transmission in the rice value chain. International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 22(2), 155-170.
