Managing Individual Performance-Change

Managing Individual Performance

ORG/502 Human Relations and Organizational Behavior

October 22, 2007

Richard VanCleave

Terry Gray

Managing Individual Performance

Teams are replacing individuals as the framework within organizations to improve performance (Wisner & Feist, 2001). Team characteristics are an important part in the effectiveness of teams, which affect financial performance of the organization (Stewart & Barrick, 2000).

This author participated in a simulation questionnaire on selecting team members, keeping the team motivated, and reducing conflict. The simulation goal was to implement an addiction resource program. This paper will inform the reader of the author’s process for team selection, motivation strategies, and knowledge gained from the simulation.

Team Selection Criteria

Composing a team with the appropriate knowledge and skills is essential for team performance (Stewart & Barrick, 2000). Leaders and managers who are involved in the selection process of team members chose individuals who have knowledge and skills that they believe would be beneficial to the team (Stewart & Barrick). Managers select team members based on criterion such as communication skills, current workplace assignments and availability, prospective team member interest in belonging to the team, and if they have explicit and tacit knowledge that could add to the team (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005). Recent studies support the idea that team selection criteria should also include personality such as neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experiences, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (Quigley, 2003).

Simulation Team Selection

The team selected in the simulation by this author included team members Nicola Minelli, Lisa Stafford, Michelle Levy, and Daniel Nichols. The first step, collecting case files, required someone with analytical, communication, and investigative skills. I selected Nicola because of her strong analytical skills, ability to focus on core issues, and quite nature that eases people. The next step, moderating self-help groups, required someone to arrange and facilitate meetings, handle conflict, build records, and patience in stressful situations. I selected Lisa for her communication and quick thinking skills, which would be beneficial in groups meetings, her ability to connect issues and analyze situations, and her comfort and previous experience with groups. The third step, performing follow-ups, required monitoring participants in various environments, which required observation skills and the ability to interpret, report, and validate data. Michelle, chosen because for her practical, logical, and analytical skills in identifying problems, also possess natural problem solving skills that would be helpful in recognizing relapse factors. The final step, supervise confrontation sessions, required an individual to handle relapsed victim sessions, which included analyzing reasons and situations for relapse and help victims handle stress. Skills included strong personality, ability to motivate, discipline, and communicate, build mutual respect, and help with personal situations. Daniel’s extroverted personality, experience as a production manager and ability to motivate teams, and his personable nature to help resolve personal problems made him the logical choice for this position.

Team Management Factors

The factors that needed managing for team effectiveness included job-fit, needs-based theory of motivation and interventions, and leadership theories. According to McShane and Von Glinow (2005), matching an individual with a particular team role achieves optimal person-job fit. The success of a project is completely dependent on the kind of volunteer selected for the task. Understanding motivational theories provides the manager with knowledge on which motivational intervention to use because team members are motivated for different reasons. While one member prefers monetary motivation, another prefers public recognition, another may prefer extra duties, and in some cases, the threat of punishment motivates. Understanding leadership theory enables the manager to apply appropriate resources, involvement, and support the team needs. In this simulation, the self-managing work team influence appears to come less from power in the role and more from the manager’s ability to persuade members to talk, listen, and accept advice (Druskat & Wheeler, (2003).

Individual Personality and Success of Team

Personality traits are associated to behavior, which is a response to a situation or repeated situations that result in habits (Quigley, 2003). Habits become characteristics that lead to development of traits (Quigley). Success of a team is dependent on individual’s personality traits. Understanding, knowing, and recognizing individual personality traits achieve optimal person-job fit. Individuals with extraversion personality are likely to have competencies such as motivating others and peer relationships. An agreeable personality would most likely have competencies such as approachability and compassion. One who is conscientiousness would probably be action oriented and have planning competencies, while a person who has Openness to Experience would most likely have creativity and strategic agility as competencies (Quigley).

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality inventory to identify how individuals perceive and process information and is an extension to Carl Jung’s personality theory (McShane & Von Glinow, 2005). Myers-Briggs generated four scales, ExtroversionвЂ"Introversion, SensingвЂ"Intuition, ThinkingвЂ"Feeling, and JudgingвЂ"Perceiving. Extraverts relate easily to the outer world of people and things while Introverts’ interests are in the inner world of concepts and ideas. Sensing and Intuition are ways of perceiving; Sensing through the five senses and вЂ?вЂ?known factsвЂ™Ð²Ð‚™ while Intuition is more вЂ?вЂ?unconsciousвЂ™Ð²Ð‚™ looking for possibilities and relationships. Thinking stresses logic and impersonal processes and Feeling based on personal values and judgments. Judging types show preferences for a planned, decided, orderly way of life while the Perceiving type prefers a flexible, spontaneous way of life (Furnham, Dissou,