Discussion Board Forum Instructions
In Modules/Weeks 3, 4, 6, and 8, you will participate in a Discussion Board Forum based on concepts from the required reading for a given module/week, organizational situations from your own current, professional experience, and your own research. Each forum is completed in 2 parts: a thread and 2 replies to classmates' threads. Below are the general requirements for each forum.
Note: The audio PointeCast lessons that are required for citing in both posts are not to be confused with the PowerPoint summaries from the textbook. Also, remember that a major theme of these lessons is how the biblical idea of covenant can provide a solid foundation for organizational leadership and behavior. When you cite them, make sure you build upon that major theme and apply it to the ideas in your posts.
Thread: Find a business problem from your own professional work experience or from peer-reviewed journal articles and apply 2 concepts in your thread from the required reading for that module/week. Each thread must be 500-750 words.
The following 4 sources must be included in your thread:
The textbook;
At least 1 peer-reviewed journal article;
1 passage of Scripture; and
At least 1 reference from the lesson presentation found in the corresponding modules/weeks in a manner that captures the essential ideas of those lessons.
If you choose to research a professional situation, you must cite all sources you used in current APA format.
Replies: Provide 2 thoughtful replies to the threads of classmates. Each reply must include an analysis of your classmates' threads, based on any experience from your own professional career (if applicable) that might be relevant. All replies must be 200-250 words. Also, be sure to integrate the required reading in a logical and relevant manner.
You must cite:
The textbook or at least 1 peer-reviewed journal article;
1 passage of Scripture; and
The audio lesson presentation.
Preserving a Positive Organizational Climate through Change
Virtuousness represents "what individuals and organizations aspire to be when they are at their very best" (Kinicki & Fugate, 2018, p. 281). Individuals, teams, and organizations must be at their very best amidst change to preserve a positive organizational climate.
"Organizational climate reflects employees' beliefs about what they see going on at work and what is happening to them" (Kinicki & Fugate, 2018, p. 279). The employees' perceptions of the climate or environment around them can range from inspiring (positive) to devastating (negative).
An example of a negative climate is an organization supporting an abusive leader. An abusive leader can breed fear, negativity, and low performance. On the other hand, an organization that celebrates the heart and work of a virtuous leader and individuals will create a positive perception of the organizational climate.
The foundation for creating a great workplace and an environment for everyone to do their very best is the building of high-quality relationships. What is one way that can help build high-quality relationships? I believe it starts with a virtuous leader. "Virtuous leaders are more focused on the greater good than on self-interest" (Kinicki & Fugate, 2018, p. 281). The four components that make a virtuous leader are a focus on the greater good, trust, integrity, and forgiveness. Virtuous leaders treat everyone with honor, dignity, and respect. This type of leadership must be voluntary and have the overarching purpose of doing good.
Having a Covenant perspective can help any leader become a virtuous leader. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
(Ephesians, 4:29-32 New International Version). When a team is led by a virtuous leader, they help breed virtuous aspirations to the individuals in the group - "authentic leaders set high standards for moral and ethical behavior, they nurture honesty, integrity, and trust within the team, developing positive/upward spirals within the team, making it more virtuous (Rego, Vitoria, Magalhaes, Ribeiro, & Pina e Cunha, 2013).
When a new team is formed through an organizational restructure, a positive climate can be attainable through the aspiration of virtuousness, both through the leader and the individuals on the team. When the new team has both virtuous aspirations and a Covenant perspective, they can safeguard the overall group process. We learned in the audio lesson presentation that "mutual accountability, Hesed, affirms individuals to affirm the group.
Hesed also helps with a smoother integration of the group process (forming-storming-norming-performing-adjourning)" (Fischer, 2012). Through mutual accountability and virtuous behaviors (focus on the greater good, trust, integrity, and forgiveness), the group can achieve high performance at a faster pace than groups that might not have virtuous aspirations and a Covenant perspective.
The organizational output of virtuous leadership (and teamwork, in my opinion) can be an increase in financial performance, customer satisfaction, organizational climate, and subjective measures of organizational effectiveness one to two years later" (Kinicki & Fugate, 2018, p. 281).
References:
Ephesians. (n.d.). Ephesians 4:29-32. Bible
Fischer, K. (2012). BMAL 500 Audio Lecture Series. Lynchburg, VA, United States of America.
Kinicki, A., & Fugate, M. (2018). Organizational Behavior. New York: McGraw Hill Education.
Rego, A., Vitoria, A., Magalhaes, A., Ribeiro, N., & Pina e Cunha, M. (2013). Are authentic leaders associated with more virtuous, committed and potent teams? The Leadership Quarterly, 61-79.
Building trust Attachment
One of the biggest challenges I have faced at my current job is building trust. In the last five years the laboratory has had several different directors and supervisors. Most off these employees only stayed four months to a year. When those in a position of leadership are not committed to the organization it becomes hard for followers to trust them. In this case most of the employees believed that in time, just like the previous leaders, the new leaders would simply give up and leave. I found a great deal of insight when reading about group forming and trust building.
There are three forms of trust described in chapter eight. Contractual trust is the trust of character, communication trust is the trust of disclosure, and competence trust is trust of capability (Kinicki &Fugate 2018). One of the first things new leadership did in the laboratory was establish expectations of one another. They build contractual trust making it clear that the new leadership was there to lead, there would be change, and that the only way they could change for the better is if everyone worked together.
Communication trust was built through daily huddles where leadership would inform the entire staff of any changes that would be taking place and as ask for input or concerns. Staff members felt included, valued, and engaged in the decision making and implementation of change. Finally, competence trust was built by showing the team that the leadership staff is able and willing to do the work.
Within a week of arriving the new director was able to find qualified traveling technologists that would temporarily help alleviate short staffed shifts while permanent positions could be filled. I provided the staff with a training schedule to guide them to effectively train new staff members. The director and I were able to show staff members that we were competent enough to make positive changes that would provide solutions to problems within the lab. once some trust is established, it is necessary to build upon it.
Respect is an effective way of building and maintaining trust through delegation (Kinicki & Fugate 2018) and has also proved to be successful within my organization. As a supervisor there are many tasks I am responsible for which my employees are fully capable of performing. Rather than taking over all tasks I share my responsibilities, oversee, and encourage my employees to complete these tasks successfully.
Truly delegating responsibilities and giving people the autonomy to make decisions builds trusts and empowers (Fisher). Through empowerment I can help develop employee's skills and share knowledge that will contribute to their success. There is a positive relationship between trust and employee engagement (Engelbrecht, Heine, & Mahembe, 2017). Not only am I showing my employees I trust them, but I also believe in their ability to accomplish these tasks which improved self-efficacy. Employees feel they can achieve goals and put forth more effort into organizational goals. Building trust though delegation has improved employee engagement within my organization.
Employees need to trust leaders, but they also need to trust each other in order to increase team effectiveness. A positive climate of trust within team members is built through positive conflict resolution and supportive leaders. This allows employees to remain focused on the tasks rather than being worried about their standing within the organization or others (Fisher). In order to build this climate there needs to be a degree of fairness where leaders remain objective and ethical. Proverbs 29:2 says, "when the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan."
It is important as leaders to stay righteous, authentic, and ethical in order to be trusted. When leaders treat members of the team equally and fair they can better solve conflicts and build cohesiveness within the group. Leaders who are ethical and genuinely care for followers will display fairness towards employees and treat them with respect; in return employees will have confidence, belief, and trust in their leader (Engelbrecht et al., 2017). When leaders thrive in righteousness followers will rejoice, trust is built, and success is achieved.
It is in the leader's best interest to remain ethical and fair. Proverbs 21:21 tells us, "whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor." Maintaining fairness helps foster teamwork and trust between members and between leaders and followers. Building trust is an important first step to succeeding in creating a team that will ultimately lead to achievement of organizational goals and successful leadership.
References
Engelbrecht, A. S., Heine, G., & Mahembe, B. (2017). Integrity, ethical leadership, trust and work engagement. Leadership & Organization Development Journal,38(3), 368-379. doi:10.1108/lodj-11-2015-0237
Fischer, K. (n.d). Lesson 4: Group Behavior and Work Teams [PowerPoint Slide]. A., & Fugate, M. (2018).
Organizational behavior: A practical, problem-solving approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Proverbs. (2011). In Holy bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.