My Workplace Observations.

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

Workplace

Running header: MY WORKPLACE

My Workplace Observations

Shawn Campbell

University of Phoenix

Tampa Campus

MGT 331 – Organizational Behavior

Marcia Mueller

September 29, 2003

Workshop 2

Project Name: Workplace Observation Paper

My Workplace Observations

Leaders typically dictate the climate of an organization. This is especially true for the military. Show me a bad set of leaders, and I’ll show you a group of soldiers that have low morale, broken communications, full of conflicts, training issues and a number of other problems that are associated with unproductive organizations. Show me a unit with a good set of officers and sergeants, and I’ll show you a unit that is well trained, motivated and dedicated to the organization’s mission. Unfortunately, the company that I have recently been assigned to is more on the mediocre side. The following text will discuss a few of my perceptions and observations that I have made in regards to how well the individuals in my unit communicate, conduct their selves, handle conflicts, and stay current and make use of the technologies provided to us.

Communications

There are many communication issues in our unit that need to be addressed. Ideally, soldiers are to follow their chain of command, relay accurate information, and convey what they want to say in a clear and precise manner. This standard is not even close to being achieved. Soldiers are frequently missing formations because their supervisor forgot or neglected to tell them. Work is not being done to satisfaction due to misunderstandings and bad interpretations. Rumors are causing people to waste time preparing for imaginary events and circumstances. In addition to these communication issues, there is a wide spread lack of tact amongst the organization. This lack of discretion results in unnecessary, time consuming arguments and weakens the bond of the team. It is very obvious that our organization as a whole does not understand the importance of effective communication and is in dire need of some good old fashion training. We desperately need a strategic plan to improve the infrastructure of our modes communications. I suggest that we conduct a couple of inter-active classes that illustrate how to communicate more effectively.

Culture

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Culture

Laziness and negativity seem to be a widespread theme for many individuals in our unit. I am constantly overhearing conversions were soldiers are bragging about how they did nothing for the day or something along the lines of how they avoided a certain task. When these soldiers actually do some work, they are constantly complaining and gripping about how stupid what they are doing is. I agree that the complaining and gripping is stupid, but not the work. Every chance these people get, they gather in their negative groups and criticize decisions and brag about not doing any work. Most of the overtime we put in could be eliminated if we simply come together and put an honest day’s work in. There are some people who actually work and take their job seriously. They do not complain or worry about whose hiding from work. These self motivated soldiers are what hold the company together and keep it from falling apart. Generally, the slackers appear around the end of the day and help the real workers finish off the day’s objectives. The Army is designed around teamwork, motivation, and hard work. We are average at best when it comes to measuring up to this standard. When it comes to laziness and negativity, the leaders of the company are mainly responsible and accountable for the performance and morale of their assigned soldiers.

Resolving Conflicts

Every organization has its own set of unique conflicts that must be dealt with. Ideally, when a problem arises, the goal should be to quickly resolve the issue with the best possible solution and for the involved parties to have learned a valuable lesson so that the same incident can be avoided in the future. Effectively dealing with conflict requires a good understanding of the problem solving process. Most of the conflicts that I have personally observed in our organization could have been rectified in a much better way. I am pretty sure that fighting and arguing are not the appropriate answers to resolving a conflict. Most of the problem lies in the style of approach that is commonly used to address conflicts. Cursing and yelling is not going to solve anything, only thing that does is make people mad and start an argument. On the other hand, I’ve also saw people who effectively dealt with conflict by going off to the side and calmly discussing the matter and going thru the motions of resolving the issue. These people obviously understand the problem solving process and use it to their advantage. Overall, like most other units in the military, we have definite room for improvement in this area.

Technology

All soldiers have an area of expertise. I specialize in communications. The communications section consists mostly of radio, satellite, and computer systems. When it comes to technology, my section is it. My section is responsible for meeting the communication needs of the entire unit. This entails mainly of installing the equipment for them to use. Their job is to be able to operate the equipment. I am very pleased to say that the soldiers in our unit have a very strong grasp of how to operate their assigned communications equipment. This makes my job that much easier and allows me to concentrate on other communication issues. I have been in units were the majority of soldiers were clueless as to how to operate their radio’s and other basic equipment. These situations call for time consuming classes, but that’s ok since it rectifies the situation. The bottom line is I am thankful that the operators in my unit are well trained on how to operate the technologies provided to them.

Conclusion

As stated before, the leaders in our company are responsible for creating a working environment that is conducive for high morale, productivity, good communications, and training.

This standard in my opinion is not being satisfactorily met. My philosophy is that leadership is the determining factor of how well an organization functions. If the leadership is strong, you’ll get good results. If the leadership is weak, then you’ll get poor outputs. That is why in times of trouble, the company looks for a new leader. When a football team starts losing, they’ll go out and get a new head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator, etc. The relationship of leadership and the condition of a team is evident in any organization. To change the effectiveness and condition of the unit, change or train the leaders.