In your research paper, be sure to include the following elements:
Distinguish between a group and a team.
Discuss ethical decision-making in team leadership that promotes social responsibility.
Discuss leadership styles and traits that are effective for successful management of groups and teams.
Include a discussion on any aspect of leadership covered in the course that was of particular interest to you. All topics do not need to be included; yet, followership, ethics, leadership styles, multicultural leadership, and conflicts of interest are all topics that have been studied, and anyone (or more) that you found particularly interesting could be incorporated into the discussion.
Your research paper should be a minimum of three pages in length, not including the title and references pages. Utilize the CSU Online Library to locate a minimum of three sources to use as references that support your research paper. All sources used must be cited and referenced according to APA guidelines.
Be sure to include the rubric elements from the guidelines below.
Your introduction should engage the reader and clearly present the thesis and a summary of the main points to clarify your point of view.
The review of the literature should present a critical analysis and synthesis of the existing research.
The discussion should reveal insightful analysis of research.
A summary should be present that reviews or summarizes key points and provides a smooth transition between sections.
The writing should be clear and concise with proper sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation, and it should be free from spelling errors.
The number of academically credible sources should meet the requirements and should be properly cited, per APA standards.
Methods Used To Ethically Manage Teams and Groups within Organizations
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Methods Used To Ethically Manage Teams and Groups within Organizations
In many organizations, collaboration among employees has become a common strategy for sharing ideas, experiences, and points of view and ensuring that employees work together to meet specific goals. Groups and teams create work environments that encourage collaboration as employees with unique abilities, perspectives, and talents work together. Generally, teams and groups are linked to improved productivity and performance (Kozlowski, 2017). The purpose of this assignment is to present a literature review of the methods used in an organization to manage groups and teams ethically. Leaders must possess specific traits, skills, and abilities to effectively manage teams and groups.
Literature Review
There is a significant difference between teams and groups within the organizational context. As per Reimer et al. (2017), a group refers to two or more employees who come together and coordinate their efforts. In organizations, groups can be created either formally or informally. Formal groups are created by organizations and the subjects of discussion are usually pre-determined. Informal groups may be created by employees to meet work or social needs. Sanyal and Hisam (2018) explain that teams refer to a group of people who come together collectively to achieve a common goal. Team structures are used in organizations to improve the quality of services, profitability, and productivity. Since the benefits of teams and groups are well-known by many managers, they have become a common practice in organizations.
Ethical Decision-Making in Team Leadership
Team leaders are individuals tasked with the provision of instruction, guidance, and direction to a group of people. They are responsible for developing a set of norms or ethics that guide the behaviors of team members. In organizations, decision-making is very important since major decisions influence performance and productivity (Scholl et al., 2018). At a team level, the main component of ethical decision-making for leaders is to involve all members. The decision-making process should follow ethical standards and must align with the organization’s social responsibility. For example, team leaders may work with members to decide on decisions that promote the good of the organization as well as the society (Scholl et al., 2018). Additionally, all decisions should follow major ethical principles including justice to employees and to other people in the society, equal treatment of all people, and fair practices to promote corporate social responsibility. Moreover, leaders must expect disagreements and conflicts among the members and must find effective ways of dealing with them. Ethical dilemmas should be solved by considering organizational policies as well as legal requirements (Metwally et al., 2019). Therefore, team leaders are responsible for ensuring that team members adhere to ethical principles and reasoning when making decisions.
Leadership Styles and Traits for Successful Management of Groups and Teams
Successful team managers must possess specific traits and utilize specific leadership styles. Research evidence indicates that different leadership styles result in different benefits to teams. According to Paolucci et al. (2018), transformational leadership is an approach where leaders focus on motivating employees to perform their roles. In a team setting, transformational leadership can boost team performance and morale. Usman et al. (2021) explain that participative leadership is an approach where leaders incorporate whole teams when making decisions. This approach entails welcoming the input provided by all members. The main benefits of using the participative leadership approach include enhanced commitment to the organization and better motivation to perform better. As per Gemeda and Lee (2020), transactional leadership relies on rewards and punishment to enhance compliance among followers. Transactional leaders may successfully manage teams in situations where there is a clear plan and goal for improving productivity. However, individual rewards should not be used since they may enhance competition among team members thus leading to individuality and less collaboration. Therefore, transformational, transactional, and participative leadership styles are most effective when working with teams.
Effective team and group leaders must possess traits that enable them to interact with team members. They must always demonstrate honesty and integrity in all their interactions and lead by example which sets the benchmark for the team. They must be able to hold the team and themselves accountable for any decisions and actions. Moreover, team leaders must be committed to specific visions and must be able to effectively communicate them to the team. Additionally, team leaders must possess conflict resolution skills and should be able to empower the team members. When team members make effort, leaders should show appreciation and give rewards possible to encourage better performance and organizational commitment (Khoshhal & Guraya, 2016). In summary, effective team leaders are honest, take accountability, and possess conflict resolution and communication skills.
Multicultural Leadership
Multicultural leadership refers to the ability to guide and inspire people from diverse backgrounds. Teams are often multicultural hence leaders need to possess culturally-sensitive skills by showing respect for individual diversity. Leaders must be open to diverse opinions and ideas from the members. They must also improve their cultural intelligence to effectively deal with any cultural barriers that may arise during group processes (Hanges et al., 2016). Moreover, multicultural leaders must be able to solve conflicts that may be exacerbated by cultural differences. They should also ensure that each team member is treated equally with no discrimination and exclusion. Multicultural teams have several advantages linked to diversity in experience and knowledge hence it is important for leaders to develop trust with all team members and encourage creativity and productivity (Knap-Stefaniuk, 2020). Therefore, multicultural leadership is all about treating everyone equally and respecting their differences.
Discussion
The literature review illustrated that the main difference between a group and a team is that groups are made up of individuals who focus on coordinating their efforts while teams comprise people with common goals. Ethical decision-making in team leadership entails asking for input from team members and adhering to organizational ethics and legal standards. Concerning leadership style, transformational, participative, and transactional leadership can result in the successful management of teams. Leaders must possess traits such as honesty, integrity, and accountability. They must also possess communication and conflict resolution skills. The concept of multicultural leadership entails possessing and implementing culturally-sensitive skills when interacting with diverse team members.
Conclusion
Successful team leaders must possess specific traits and abilities, including honesty, integrity, conflict resolution, and communication skills. They must also follow leadership approaches such as transformational and participative leadership to engage effectively with their followers. Moreover, they must possess cultural competence skills and follow ethical principles such as justice when making decisions.
References
Gemeda, H., & Lee, J. (2020). Leadership styles, work engagement and outcomes among information and communications technology professionals: A cross-national study. Heliyon, 6(4), e03699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03699
Hanges, P., Aiken, J., Park, J., & Su, J. (2016). Cross-cultural leadership: leading around the world. Current Opinion in Psychology, 8, 64-69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.10.013
Khoshhal, K., & Guraya, S. (2016). Leaders produce leaders and managers produce followers. Saudi Medical Journal, 37(10), 1061-1067. https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2016.10.15620
Knap-Stefaniuk, A. (2020). The Role of Leadership in Managing Multicultural Teams. Polish Managers’ Point of View: Preliminary Research. Studia Paedagogica Ignatiana, 23(3), 43. https://doi.org/10.12775/spi.2020.3.002
Kozlowski, S. (2017). Enhancing the Effectiveness of Work Groups and Teams: A Reflection. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(2), 205-212. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617697078
Metwally, D., Ruiz-Palomino, P., Metwally, M., & Gartzia, L. (2019). How Ethical Leadership Shapes Employees’ Readiness to Change: The Mediating Role of an Organizational Culture of Effectiveness. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02493
Paolucci, N., Dimas, I., Zappala, S., Lourenco, P., & Rebelo, T. (2018). Transformational Leadership and Team Effectiveness: The Mediating Role of Affective Team Commitment. Revista De Psicología Del Trabajo Y De Las Organizaciones, 34(3), 135-144. https://doi.org/10.5093/jwop2018a16
Reimer, T., Russell, T., & Roland, C. (2017). Groups and Teams in Organizations. The International Encyclopedia of Organizational Communication, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118955567.wbieoc092
Sanyal, S., & Hisam, M. (2018). The Impact of Teamwork on Work Performance of Employees: A Study of Faculty Members in Dhofar University. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 20(3), 15-22. https://doi.org/10.9790/487X-2003011522
Scholl, J., Mederer, H., & Scholl, R. (2018). Leadership, Ethics, and Decision-Making. Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, 3687-3696. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_2407
Usman, M., Ghani, U., Cheng, J., Farid, T., & Iqbal, S. (2021). Does Participative Leadership Matters in Employees’ Outcomes During COVID-19? Role of Leader Behavioral Integrity. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.646442