Explain how your example validates your colleague’s viewpoint.

Brent

 

Case Study Analysis of Globalized Workforces

Modern leaders of globalized workforces face new challenges in developing leadership, engagement, and measuring performance and outcomes. As more workforces are working remote, different geographical locals, and time zones, the ability to establish a leadership structure to improve engagement and performance is increasingly more difficult (Northouse, 2016). As presented in the case by Dr. Craig Marsh, the need to establish a leadership structure to manage the past and future growth of the business was critical (Laureate Education, 2016c). Marsh developed three objectives which focused on employee engagement, performance management, and leadership structure (Laureate Education, 2016c). The employee engagement aspect was positive and yielded longevity amongst the contractors. The practitioner research by Perrin applied to the challenge of non-employee engagement and discussed below.  Also, presented below is a proposal for an alternative solution for performance management.

Employee engagement

The employee engagement was challenged by the global workforce that was not a direct employee but rather a temporary contractor (Laureate Education, 2016c). The leadership had to develop methods to make the non-employees feel part of the organization. The establishment of the center of excellence website was effective in building engagement. A leader must provide an ability for employees to see the value of others works and to develop a commitment to the processes and services of the company (Westcott, 2014). Perrin (2007) highlighted three elements of employee engagement that fit the case which are rational/cognitive understanding, emotional/affective attachment, and motivation/willingness. Marsh used the three elements in the development of the center of excellence thus increasing the tenure of non-employees.

Performance management

The performance management and leadership structure impacted each other. The dashboard principle used by Marsh, although yielded positive results, the underlining front line management was not improving. The challenge with performance tools is the acceptance of the specific areas of measurement, use of the measurement results for future development, and balancing the impact of the negative results with coaching (Dusterhoff, Cunningham, & MacGregor, 2014). The employees that view the performance measurement as justified and morally right accept the measurement (Dusterhoff et al., 2014). The alternative, those employees that disagree with the measurement are not likely to provide accurate information (Dusterhoff et al., 2014). As indicated, the front line leadership’s views are not a part of the performance measurement dashboard. As a result, the dashboard did not indicate the issues with front-line managers ability to coach.

From experience, single page dashboards with three color indicators rarely tell the whole story. The use of a limited set of measurements is not indicative of the issues all employees face. Also, the measurements evolve with the business and are not static. The front line leaders need to be part of the development of the measurements and provide input and feedback. The inclusion of front-line leaders ensures their acceptance of the measurements (Dusterhoff et al., 2014). Also, the inclusion of the front-line leaders increases employee engagement. The rational and emotional understanding of the company goals, values and the employees fit in the organization impacts engagement (Perrin, 2007).

Conclusion

Leadership structures in a modern global workforce are necessary to manage a business. As presented in the case, Marsh focused on three objectives that include employee engagement, leadership structure, and performance measurement (Laureate Education, 2016c). Employee engagement focused on including employees and non-employees into a platform called the center of excellence (Laureate Education, 2016c). The use of the center of excellence was to rationally explain the employee’s roles in the company, to provide information about other employees work, and to motivate other employees to do more. The measurement of discretionary effort increased as employees did more without additional incentive (Laureate Education, 2016a). The leadership structure and performance measurements missed the inclusion of the front line leaders perspectives. Although some measurements improved, the front line managers ability to coach did not improve.

References

Dusterhoff, C., Cunningham, J. B., & MacGregor, J. N. (2014). The effects of performance rating, leader-member exchange, perceived utility, and organizational justice on performance appraisal satisfaction: Applying a moral judgment perspective. Journal of Business Ethics, 119(2), 265–273. doi:10.1007/s10551-013-1634-1Laureate Education (Producer). (2016a). Leading a virtual organization: Conclusions [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2016c). Leading a virtual organization: Introduction [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2016e). Leading a virtual organization: Performance management [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Perrin, T. (2007). Confronting myths: What really matters in attracting, engaging and retaining your workforce. Global Workforce Study.

Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Westcott, R. (2014). Leadership challenges. Journal for Quality & Participation, 37(1), 8–32.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Josh

 

Leading a Virtual Organization: Critical Decisions

A virtual team or organization has its members or employees dispersed in different locations around the world, connected with the aid of communication technology, working together to achieve a common objective (Northouse, 2016). Due to globalization, the growth of international business and improved internet and communication connectivity, more organizations are using virtual teams to remain competitive (Northouse, 2016). As such, it is important for leaders to understand how to make work teams more effective. In the case study for this week, Dr. Craig Marsh presented an example of effective virtual team leadership from which valuable lessons can be learned.

Reference to Academic and Practitioner Literature

Dr. Marsh conducted extensive review of existing scholarly and practitioner literature on the topics relating to the business problem he identified. These included an organization with a loose structure and virtual employees working part-time on contract basis resulting in employee disengagement. The literature on employee engagement was particularly applicable to the organizational challenge he faced. From existing literature, job design was identified as a contributing factor to employee engagement. Bailey, Madden, Alfes, and Fletcher (2017) conducted a review of 214 studies on employee engagement and found five factors that are antecedents of employee engagement; job design, leadership, psychological states, organizational and team factors, and organizational interventions. The approach employed by Dr. Marsh, which focused on developing a vision statement, an effective internal communication and performance management system for the virtual teams, and a coaching leadership style for all managers addressed the core antecedents of employee engagement.

Seminal Works that Would Influence My Strategy

I would adopt the seminal work of Kahn (1990) who found three key dimensions that explain the person-role relationships of engagement or disengagement; emotionally – the emotional reactions to the phenomena and objective properties of the job or work roles; physically – the experiences of employees on the job and how they express or defend themselves in response; and cognitively – the evaluation of self-in-role. The work of Hackman stressed the importance of job design to employee engagement. With respect to organizational or team effectiveness, a seminal work of note is that of Hackman (2012) in which the author proposed six conditions for fostering group effectiveness. These include ensuring that the group; is a real team, has a compelling purpose, consists of the right people, has clear norms of conduct, has a supportive organizational context, and has team-focused coaching (Hackman, 2012; Northouse, 2016. Another seminal work, more specific to leading virtual teams, is that of Malhotra, Majchrzak, and Rosen (2007) in which the authors outlined six leadership practices of effective virtual teams that are globally dispersed. Some of the practices proposed by Malhotra et al. are; establishing and maintaining trust through the use of communication technology, monitoring team progress through the use of technology, enhancing the visibility of virtual teams and their members, and ensuring that individuals benefit from participating in virtual teams. Elements of the frameworks of Kahn, Hackman and Malhotra et al. were used in Dr. Marsh’s strategy.

Additional Strategies

I would employ additional strategies to help establish the desired organizational culture of engaged employees in the virtual organization. This includes giving the work back to the people by letting them participate actively in defining and creating the new organizational culture or norms of conduct (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997). As such, team members would be encouraged to take ownership and responsibility for their success and growth, and that of the organization. Finally, ensuring teams get the support they need and establishing rewards that recognize outstanding performance of individuals and teams would also enhance team effectiveness and establish the organizational culture (Hackman, 2012; Malhotra et al., 2007).

References

Bailey, C., Madden, A., Alfes, K., & Fletcher, L. (2017). The meaning, antecedents and outcomes of employee engagement: A narrative synthesis. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19(1), 31-53. doi:10.1111/ijmr.12077

Hackman, J. R. (2012). From causes to conditions in group research. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33, 428-444. doi:10.1002/job.1774

Heifetz, R. A., & Laurie, D. L. (1997). The work of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 75(1), 124-134. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2001/12/the-work-of-leadership

Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692-724. doi:10.5465/256287

Malhotra, A., Majchrzak, A., & Rosen, B. (2007). Leading virtual teams. Academy of Management Perspectives, 21(1), 60-70. doi:10.5465/AMP.2007.24286164

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.