Term Paper on "Organizational Behavior -- Theoretical Application Fact-Based Case"

Quoted Instructions for "Organizational Behavior -- Theoretical Application Fact-Based Case" Assignment:

Take one of the concepts or insights from the first four sessions of the course... *****¢ Using several concepts is fine, but fewer is better. *****¢ Have you picked the concept(s) that would have the most impact in

that situation?

... and use it to analyze a professional situation where things went poorly. *****¢ The situation must involve you and at least one other person. *****¢ You don*****'t need to come up with an example of catastrophic failure. A

specific case that led to frustrating inefficiencies would be fine. *****¢ Feel free to draw from any professional situation, including INSEAD. *****¢ What caused the problem (and how did you contribute)? *****¢ This sections shows me that you understand the course concept(s), and

that you*****'ve thought about when they might be useful.

2. Suggest a course of action. What could have been done better? *****¢ And / or if relevant, what could be done now? *****¢ Remember, implementation is the hard part. Are your

recommendations specific and feasible? - Specific: Could a reasonably competent person implement

what you suggest? - Feasible:

- What are the consequences of your suggestions? - What are the barriers to implementation (and / or why

weren*****'t they implemented in the first place)? - Are you suggesting changes in behavior, thoughts, or

emotions? *****¢ This section shows me that you*****'ve thought about how to implement

the course concept(s).

Concept : good managers/leaders need to be influenced by the people they supervise

Problem : see context below, my boss did not listen to any of us, made all the decisions for the team, did not understand that we could have our own good ideas. did not acknowledge her errors, only had a own promotion in view. For example Once she tole me what I had done was stupid, she checked with her boss and two days later realised that I was right but never acknowledged it.

consequences of her management style: all team was less motivated, we did not improve what we should have, no personal attention leading to a win-win situation (for team and team members), all team fired or resigned. One guy depressed.

Course of action: talk, be more persuasive, cooperate with fellow team members so that she would have listened more what were our needs, desires for the team, own capacities

Barriers: no influence on the person, needs a strong team to have the courage to cooperate

Changes needed: behaviour and emotions (team should have been less emotional

This individual consciously undermined my authority with the team, making it clear that all directives should come from her and that my decisions could be disregarded unless they came from the supervisor as well. The team began to operate less efficiently due to this management style; a feeling of adversarial competition began to grow amongst the team members and I felt powerless to alter the situation. This low point in my career might seem an odd place to find a major accomplishment, but approaching my supervisor and describing my position as clearly and matter-of-factly as possible�*****"despite resulting in my summary dismissal�*****"proved an important turning-point for me. I understood that leadership and management, though often associated with each other, are different qualities. Managing a team is controlling and organizing this team and can be learned while leading people is much more about being an inspiration and a source of motivation for these people and is an inner quality. My experience in this team made it clear to me that management without leadership can fail meeting objectives. My ability to clearly perceive and articulate leadership and management problems was a major accomplishment for me, demonstrating the commitment and the passion I have for the work I have chosen as my career. Being able to understand this difference between leadership and management is a key step for me towards developing theses qualities.