MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
The importance and relevance of learning within teams has been on the rise as the use of team-based work is being increased by organizations (Cacioppe, 1999). In business, organizational knowledge development and organizations realizing that working in teams makes better use of the skills available are two reasons for the rise in team-based work (Cacioppe, 1999). The theory supports this as Ellemers et al. (2004: 461) state, “as organizations continue to move toward group-based systems, research on knowledge development within (teams) is increasingly important.” Gaining an understanding for adaptive learning helps to energize people to work for the team as well as strengthen their loyalty to it (Ellemers et al., 2004).
Knowledge Development is an essential part of the leader’s role. The leader must motivate the team to adapt new skills and share knowledge so that each person performs well individually and as a team. Teams cannot be successful without the guidance and leadership of a member who is responsible for motivating the team. Since effective communication enhances learning oppurtunities, the leader needs to ensure that they effectively communicate with their team, thus, the leader’s ability to communicate becomes critical (Horowitz et al., 2003; Brenner, 2007; Spiers, 2007). This ability can be developed and strengthened in a number of ways. First, leaders should engage in regular communication with their team members. Regular communication consists of regular contact with staff, allowing for staff decision-making, as well as regular performance support (Horowitz et al., 2003; Spiers, 2007). Regular knowledge development with the staff involves the leader being on the ‘front-lines’, visible to employees, and engaging in conversation to field team member questions or concerns (Horowitz et al., 2003; Spiers, 2007). Allowing for staff decision-making entails allotting team members the freedom to take charge and make and learn from situations (Horowitz et al., 2003; Spiers, 2007). Regular performance support involves the leader providing team members with frequent feedback concerning the strengths of their performance as well as how they can improve (Horowitz et al., 2003; Spiers, 2007).
Since cohesiveness is a product of standard knowledge and also enhances motivation, the leader needs to ensure that the team is united. Thus, the leader’s ability to foster cohesiveness becomes critical (Cacioppe, 1999; Peterson, 2007). The application of adaptive Learning Approach suggests this ability can be developed through the use of team building exercises and through increasing the significance of interpersonal relations.
The leader’s implementation of Adaptive Learning Approach is one way that Knowledge Development can be strengthened. Organization building activities can take on many forms such as; integrated learning outcomes which may be collectively achieved by the application of these two concepts. However, the most important element of these activities is that knowledge and learning are brought together and have the opportunity to build relationships with one another and are clearly informed of the goals of the team.
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There are lot of organizations that operate and provide the same service types in major IT industries however there are a few that meet great level of success and there are few which are not able to sustain the market and competition, hence there must be a difference between the operational theory of the successful organization due to which they become so successful. If we talk about the major factors, the first one would be the organization size and it is one of the significant factors that drive innovation and profit-making within an organization. The size of the organization may not majorly impact the initiation of innovative techniques however the implementation is a factor where size does matter. Another reason behind the success of large sized organizations is that they have a better capacity to take risks and therefore they can easily manage their resources and retain the best possible talent available in the market.
The next important factor which makes a difference of is the organisational readiness and this may be related to both financial and technical resources. There is a strong requirement of financials in order to promote and initiate the innovative approach taken by an organization and similarly it is also important to have resources with the required skills in order to deliver according to the expectations and the requirements for successful running of an IT organization. One of the most important areas that make a difference to the success level of an organization is the organization structure which is mostly defined according to the centralization of power. For an IT organisation the structure can primarily be of two types mechanistic and organic. If mechanistic approaches taken, there is a little bit of rigidity between the assigned roles and the hierarchical structure. This type of organisation is more like a chain where command and control theory is applied and the decision-making is primarily in the hands of senior management. On the other hand and organic structure for an information technology organisation is about creation of a system which is more dynamic, flexible, decentralised and informal. Companies like Facebook follows this model where the adoption of new technology is very quick and there is always a dynamic environment for the execution of new ideas and innovative techniques that may be implemented to move ahead with the changing technology (Spiers, 2007).
El Paso is one of the giants in the energy sector, and they primarily deal with natural gas transmission and exploration. In the year 2002 it was reported that there were approximately 23 round-trip trades that took place in order to boost the trading volumes and the showcased revenue. The issue was reported to the Houston, United States attorney’s office and also do the Federal energy regulatory commission. There was an investigation which was set up in order to study the reason behind these roundtrips and the investigation revealed that although these are against the policy however even though after these roundtrip trades have taken place, they have not put any material impact on the financials of the company at any given point of time. The company also agreed with the fact that these were improper trades and was against the policy laid out for healthy operation of your revision and therefore there were changes made to the organization policies, procedures and responsible personnel.
Policy reviews are very important and must be done regularly to ensure that if there are any loopholes in the system they are thoroughly checked and eradicated. This means that, from time to time there are cases of corporate scandals which are reported and any given company should ensure that they regularly audit in the policies and procedures laid down to check such issues and to make changes to the policies once identified.
Most of the organizations have a structure which is customized to their own internal environment and may efficiently work till the time there is a requirement to update the system in order to perform at a global level. From the command and control management structure point of view, Energizer noticed that they need to revamp their technology in order to maintain their consistency at the global level. Although, Microsoft provided them with assistance and support related to the new technology and customized innovative approach, it was not easy for them to accept and adapt the changes which were introduced. The reason behind this issue was in effective knowledge management within the organization, lack of control over the distribution system and unplanned strategy of distribution within internal operations.
There was a strong requirement to create knowledge sharing structure which may be helpful to streamline the overall operations of the company. Since the primary problem was adaption to the new technology which was required to operate globally, it became important for Energizer to centralize the information flow system so that there can be a cohesive flow of information within the organization. Microsoft's desktop management service enabled the company to operate under one platform and ensure a standardized way of service delivery across processes and across geographies. The information system of the company was extremely improved with the help of Microsoft exchange which was available online and helped the entire organization to use information tools like exchange and Outlook on the same platform. Similarly, there were other tools which were implemented by Microsoft like the SharePoint and communication system which enabled Energizer to spread knowledge and automate their processes so that they can deliver according to the expectations of their customers.
With the applied concepts as discussed above, Energizer was able to increase the responsiveness towards their customer expectations and was able to improve the business agility within a short span of time. Also, with the application of the system there are various tools that could be used in order to implement command and control over the entire organization and therefore in return Energizer was equipped with the benefits which helped them to reduce costs, reduce IT issues and improve security. Overall, if we look at the entire process it is clear that due to the initial command and control structure it became difficult for the organization to accept changes which would help them to operate globally however posts the implementation of tools and technology which centralize the effort is however retrained the local channel of execution, there were immediate positive results that Energizer pain within a span of 2 to 3 years only.
Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska (1989) was one of the major disasters that took place due to spelling of oil by Exxon Valdez Oil. It was reported millions of gallons of oil got mixed with water thus impacting the wildlife adversely and doing a lot of damage to the nature. There was an analysis done in order to study the reasons behind this mishap and the reports revealed that the tanker crews of Exxon Valdez did not have this information that the previous practice of the Coast Guard to track the ships out to Bligh Reef had already seized. Moreover, the container did not have any iceberg monitoring equipment which is one of the requirements of any organization hailing from oil industry.
Exxon Valdez took a few immediate steps to counter the issue and chucked out the employees who were responsible for this however it was also reported that the crew that was working for Exxon Valdez had to work in inhuman shifts that lasted for 14 to 16 hours and while the tanker reach the deck they were in a rush to leave. It was also reported that the investigations which are ideally done by the Coast Guard were not done and the number of staff that should be taking care of the tanker was also reduced. Exxon Valdez had to pay approximately US$ 7 billion for the damages caused however the company was clearly held responsible for the mishap. Since then the company has grown and now has strong plans to control the harm to the environment and employ effective measures in order to ensure safety and security of the environment. In order to control the situation the company used burning, mechanical cleanup and chemical dispersants as the primary methods to clean up the spill. Although, the company did their best to control the situation however the impact on wildlife and the loss of economy for the people impacted by the spill did not improve immediately.
A similar incident happened with British Petroleum however a more advanced approach was observed where the company immediately applied offshore strategies which included dispersants, booms, skimmers and in-situ burning. The company had said strategy in order to deal with the spell and there were multiple manual and mechanical ways which are applied to make sure non-toxic and to work upon by a re-meditation. The company showed a very structured organization approach by initiating BP operated projects in order to manage emergency. And the decision matrix was implemented so that immediate actions are taken in case if there is any such issue, so that the situation can be controlled without causing any harm to the environment or person. There were also customized training programmes which were implemented in order to train the crew members and other employees on practical aspects of oil handling and safety techniques.
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