Motivating and Leading Borders

Question: Write an essay onMotivating and leading across borders: managing teams and diversity. Answer: Motivation is used to describe the process that can trigger an individual so that he or she can still stay focused on the task ahead. In other words, motivation can be used to define the factors that keep an individual interested in going on with a certain project or task. These factors range widely from social, biological to emotional and cognitive forces which affect how an individual acts. There are a number of theories that have been proposed that explains the various aspects of motivation such as Maslows Needs Hierarchy Theory. In a diversified society, there are a lot of leadership skills and coordination is required to keep the people motivated. A diversified team can consist of members from different nationalities. In this case, the leader should be able to deal with each member effectively. The understanding of a cross-cultural society will help the leader to decide on the effective approach to use in leading the organization.Managing teams in an organization involve coordin ating the efforts of all in individuals in an organization so at to achieve the set goals. A well-managed team is always motivated and such the organization will be destined for success. A motivated team will perform better than a demotivated team. However, maintaining a team is also of great concern since if a developed team is not well managed then the team may fall apart and this will have a great impact on the team. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the team leader to understand his or her team and know how well to manage it. An effective leader should understand the capabilities of his team. The leader should also understand his or her leadership skills and correctly execute them for the success of the organization. The leader must be able to understand the diversity that exists in his or her team and coordinates it for better performance.Diversity may be defined as the difference that exists among individuals that are, qualities in a given group of individual that are mis sing in another group. Diversity may be due to different to age, race etc. Diversity has a great impact on an individuals performance, and how she or he will be motivated while interacting with others. The diversity in a team can be of great help to an organization and as such a leader should be able to exploit it. This report, therefore, will discuss some of the management issues and challenges in a cross-cultural environment that are, a diversified environment and how well to motivate people in such an environment so that they may use their capabilities and differences to reach their potential. The report will also describe the meaning of work and describe some of the approaches that can be used to motivate individuals in a given organization. In addition, the report will describe the needs hierarchy; this is one of the theories that are used to describe ways of keeping an individual motivated. It will also discuss leadership in a diversified society. Also, the types of leadership will be discussed. The variance in the culture and how leaders can use such differences for the development of the organization are discussed. In general, the report describes effective leadership in a diversified environment and the challenges associated with managing a diversified society (Mitchell, Boyle, Parker, Giles, Chiang Joyce, 2015) Management Challenges Managing an organization or a team may pose a lot of challenges especially if the leader is dealing with a diversified team. These challenges may range widely depending on qualities that bring about the diversity. The following are some of the challenges associated with managing a diversified organization or society;1. Poor communicationEffective communication is the driving force of any given team. For a team to perform well both the leader and the team members need to have a formal way of how they exchange information amongst themselves. In a diversified team, this is a great challenge especially if the individuals on a team have different cultural background and linguistic differences. Since different cultures have different values and consider some aspects as appropriate and others inappropriate, it may result in communication challenges among the team members. In addition, a team may consist of individuals who have different communicating styles depending on the age, gender, and religion (Kirton, Greene 2015). This may result in misunderstanding and thus misinterpretation of information which will, in turn, affect the performance of a team. In managing a diverse team leaders should be able to encourage the members to adopt a common communication method and appreciate the each others differences.2. HegemonyThis is a case where a certain group in a team or organization is much dominant than others. In an organization that consists of individuals from different cultures, the challenge of majority hegemony may arise due to the dominance of a given group over another. In such a case a company may tend to develop a business culture that favors the majority group over the minority group. This can discourage the minority group resulting into underperformance of the team. Alternatively, the less dominant group may join the dominant group to feel as part of the company. It is, therefore, important for the team leader to understand the differences that exist in his or her team and try to have them work together without making a particular group or individual feel as an outsider.3. ResistanceA given team may consist of individuals who are not ready to accept the diversity that the team has. Such individuals may not be ready to cope with the existing diversity plan in a team and therefore, its implementation may be a challenge. With such attitudes in a team, some individual become demoralized and demotivated leading to a decrease in the performance of the team. Leaders should be able to motivate their team members so as to overcome this resistance and improve the performance of the team (Siegel 2015).4. GroupthinkThis refers to a decision that has been generally arrived at by a majority of people. Groupthink is normally used by team members as a means of simplifying meetings and minimizes arguments in an organization. This would in effect lead to assimilation of other individuals perspectives and thus, the teams potential might not be fully expl oited. A leader should devise an effective strategy that will allow all the team members to share their perspectives without being forced to assimilate their thinking with that of the groupthink.Meaning of WorkThe advancement of technology has led to a different perspective of work. Work can be defined based on the following three aspects; the significance of work, the work values, and the work coherence (Shek Chung 2015).The significance of work describes the attributes that an individual attaches to his or her work and how he or she represents it. It also explains the importance of work to ones life.Work values describe the commitment that one has towards life and the aspects that guide one in his or her work. There are generally five major aspects including; autonomy, self-achievement, risk-taking, social interactions, and social advancement.Work coherence defines the balance that exists between ones work and him. The Needs HierarchyFor a team to perform efficiently, the members need to be motivated. There are a lot of techniques used by leaders to keep their team members motivated so that they may work effectively to achieve a companys objectives. The needs theories explain some of the internal factors that may motivate an individual to act in a given way. Needs may be defined as shortages in certain aspects of an individuals life and these will always influence the behavior of that particular individual.One of the most common needs theory is, Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs theory which states that ones motivation is as a result of an attempt to satisfy the five basic needs that include; self-actualization, physiological, esteem, social, and safety.In the international context, leaders should consider the above five needs so that every employee stays motivated to perform according to his or her potential. This will include;Physiological needs; this describes the basic needs necessary for survival. Employees should be provided with good working conditi ons. The conditions need to be favorable for everyone and not just a selected few.Safety needs; the leader should be able to guarantee the team members security for their finances, health etc. without showing favoritism.Social needs; managing a team consisting of individuals from different nationalities will involve developing effective means that will encourage interaction and collaboration among employees (Drucker 2007).Thus, it is necessary for a leader to consider the above needs among others while managing a diversified team.Motivation of PeopleMotivation is a word that originates from the noun motive, a motive is referred to as that aspect or thing that prompts an individual to act in a certain way (Wood 1991).Motivation refers to a persons direction to behavior or an aspect or factor that may make an individual have the want to repeat some behavior. The motivation of people is however associated with some advantages and disadvantages. These may include;Advantages Interest and Responsibility When employees are always motivated by their employers, the interest level and the zeal to work for that company tends to be so much increased. Assets Employ motivation plays an important part on the behavior employees behavior. It is easier, therefore, to convince an employee who is continuously motivated to always remain working in your organization. In this way, an employ may become an asset of a company. Efficiency In an organization where the employees are continuously motivated, the organization of such company tends to be a working one. Disadvantages Lack of interest - A company may at times award a group of employees as a sign of motivation, the group that is not motivated may, therefore, lack interest in the organization. Lack of co-operation group of employees who are not motivated in a company will always tend to lose hope and trust in the company and thus, fail to co-operate with other employees. Tension Strike, demos, rumors etc from a group of empl oyees who are not motivated may always cause chaos, tension or disruption at the business premises. Motivation is divided into two types. The following are the two types of motivation;1. Intrinsic MotivationThis involves the desire of oneself to seek out new things or technologies and technical challenges to make a self-evaluation on an individuals ability to make observations and acquire knowledge. For instance, an employ may opt to be an IT professional so as to learn more about computers. The employee is thus, said to have intrinsic motivation to acquire more understanding and knowledge (Lussier Achua 2015).2. Extrinsic MotivationHere, the performance of an individual is based on the outcome that they desire to achieve. For instance, when the crowd is cheering for a team to win a match on which some trophy is tagged. LeadershipLeadership is the acts of making somebody do a task you want to be done because he is willing to do it (Dwight D. Eisenhower).Leadership can also be defin ed as an act whereby a person gets other people to achieve a set goal or objective and drives these people in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. An effective leader should always portray the following attributes; Should be able to make a vision that is inspirational on the future. Should motivate people and inspire the people to engage with the vision Should be able to manage the delivery of the vision Should train and build a team that will be helpful in achieving the vision.Factors of LeadershipThere are four major factors of leadership. These factors may include; Situation Leader Communication Follower1. FollowerA leader must now his people. Followers require the attention of different levels. A more experienced worker will require more supervision as compared to a less experienced worker. Likewise, an employee with a higher degree of motivation will tend to have more understanding of the company than the one who not motivated.2. CommunicationFor an effective leader ship, there has to be a two-way communication between the leader and his followers.Whatever the communication and how the communication is made by a leader towards the followers will either build or harm the relationship between them. For instance, in a company, when the leaders communicate positively about the remuneration of the employees, the employees would react positively and this would directly build on their relationship (Prochaska, Sampayo Carter 2015).3. SituationSituations that may meet people are totally different. How you handle one situation will totally be different from how you will be handling another. It is, therefore, advisable that ones judgment and the leadership style will make him/her decide on the best course of action. 4. LeaderA leader must have a true understanding of whom they are, their knowledge, and what they can actually, manage to do. The followers are always the determinants of a good leader; they will only be inspired if they have trust and confid ence in their leader. To be successful, a leader needs to convince the followers, not himself or his superiors, that he is actually, worthy to be followed.Cross-Cultural Research on LeadershipLeadership is an aspect applicable everywhere in everyday life. Leadership is applicable institutions, entities, states and all over the world.Leadership NatureLeadership can be referred to as both a process and a property. As a process, leadership usually hails on what is basically done by the authorities. As a property, leadership refers to set of characteristics of the individuals who are perceived to be leaders. The different natures can be as follows; Leaders should be very much influential to their followers behavior. They can influence the employees to either work recklessly or do good work for the company. A good leader should, therefore, empower and motivate hi/her followers to positively influence their behavior (Wrzesniewski, Dutton Debebe 2003). Leadership is much concerned with va lues. Leaders can be good teachers of ethics and thus, they can reinforce ideas. Leaders should therefore not be hypocritical but should portray positive statements of ethics. This will influence the behavior of the followers.Types of LeadershipThere are quite a number of leadership styles/types. Some of these types are explained below;1. Situational LeadershipThis leadership style is based on the situation of the followers as well as the situation of the economy. Situational leadership model majorly focuses on the nature of the task as the major variable. There are four options in the practice of this model; telling, selling, participating and delegating (Hershey and Blanchards Model of Situational Leadership).2. The Autocratic Style of LeadershipIn this leadership style, it operates on control and ones perception of how much control should be given to others. For instance, the kind of leadership in firms where there are the Chief Executive Officers.3. Bureaucratic Leadership Style This is more of similar to the autocratic style of leadership. The two types of leadership styles go together like the car and fuel. Bureaucratic style of leadership has to do with obedience to authority (Murphy Johnson 2016).4. Cross-Cultural Style of Leadership This style of leadership is basically based on the culture of the followers that a lead is having authority over.5. Strategic LeadershipThis style of leadership is more operational among the military services such as the United States Army, US Air Force, and large corporations. This leadership aims to outwit this competition through strategized methods of accomplishing this (Deci Ryan 1975).Contingency LeadershipContingency theory of leadership postulates that for leadership to be effective, the leaders style of leadership and strategies must match the right situations. Contingency Leadership tends to define a number of factors. These factors may include; The structure of the task This refers to the measure of task that has been levied and the methods to achieve the desired results. Positional Power This refers to the authority that a leader has to influence how productive the followers can be. The leader should be in a position to either reward or punish the followers. Relationsh ip The relationship that exists between the leader and his followers should be a good one to enhance the productivity of the economy. Conclusion Some aspects have been covered in this study and each of them has been given the best attention. Some of the conclusions from the above discussion include; It is evident that the best leadership solely depends on the relationship between the leader and his followers. The followers will support the leader if he actually delivers to the expectation of the followers. The leaders, therefore, need to build trust and confidence among their followers in an organization. Good leadership has basic four elements that must be understood in order to lead efficiently. It comprises the leader, followers, situations, and communication. All these four must be properly in good rapport to enhance efficiency in leadership. Therefore, situation and how it is handled will depend much on the factors that are surrounding the organization or the person in such a situation. Motivation is an aspect that can positively influence the behaviors of the employees. Leaders, therefore, should regularly motivate the employees so that they can maintain the zeal of giving their best to the company. Management is often associated with a number of challenges. These challenges, however, may be dealt with by setting up strategies such as motivating the employees and always understanding their situations and the situation of the economy. The employees who are continuous motivation are more productive and more quality oriented. This will mean the working environment will be very much favorable. Leadership to depend much on your followers. The number that follows a leader can actually, suggest if actually the leader is hated or loved by the individuals he/she is leading. People tend to follow those leaders who seem to accomplish their set goals and objectives. A leader who is delivering according to the peoples expectation will consequently, have a huge number of followers. Leadership requires physical and psychological fitness. A leader must have the strength, power and ability to meet the bodily requi rements; zeal, energy and patience to meet the mental requirements for leadership. 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