Discussion Post 1 - Job Characteristics Definition Job characteristics are the descriptive features of a job, such as the degree of complexity, ambiguity, interdependence, variability, change, technological integration, and organizational integration of a job (Levi, 2017). Summary Karen L. Medsker, PhD, has been published in multiple scholarly journals, has thirty-five years of experience working for corporations, the government, universities, and consulting, and is currently a principal at Human Performance Systems, Inc. (HPSI). Stephen R. O’Conner is a senior instructional designer at HSPI with more than forty years of experience in sales, management, training, development, performance improvement, and more. In their article Maximizing Motivation: Career Fit and Job Characteristics, Medsker and Connor (2015) discussed their observations on how career fit and job characteristics affect an employee’s work motivation, including a case study on Stephen O’Conner’s personal experience. Prior research demonstrates individuals value a core set of values and needs – a career anchor – which remain constant despite the individual’s job or jobs. These career anchors influence which job characteristics are most important to an individual to encourage motivation and promote job satisfaction. Some even “lead to psychological states of experienced meaningfulness of work, experienced responsibility for work outcomes, and knowledge of the results of work activities.…presumed to enhance motivation” (Medsker & Connor, 2015, Job Characteristics section, para. 2). The modern work environment focuses more on teams than individuals, however, so Medsker and Conner (2015) call for further research to determine how previously identified job characteristics that individuals value influence a team environment. Discussion While Levi (2017) defines job characteristics as descriptive elements, other categories of job characteristics, such as psychological aspects of a job, exist as well. Other parts of a job description include benefits and non-monetary perks of a job which influence employee satisfaction and retention (Sullivan & To, 2014).This category of job characteristics influences whether an individual accepts a job offer, seeks to leave their current employment, or chooses one job over another. These include wages, whether the employer provides retirement benefits, health insurance, flexible scheduling, and paid vacation, how long the commute would be, and the risk of injury or death on the job (Sullivan & To, 2014). In 1980, Hackman and Oldham proposed the Job Characteristics Theory (JCT) and identified five job characteristics that influence individual motivation, well-being, and performance more than other job characteristics: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and direct, clear feedback (Medsker & Connor, 2015; Oerlemans & Bakker, 2018). These job characteristics have been repeatedly researched, validated, and proven over almost forty years and continue to be confirmed even as contemporary work environments move more toward nonroutine jobs and an increased use of teams (Levi, 2017; Oerlemans & Bakker, 2018). In addition, employees tend to value wages much less than other job characteristics. They consider benefits, such as 201k matching, health insurance, and accept lower-paying jobs with more valuable job characteristics (Sullivan & To, 2014). Additional factors individuals consider when job-hunting or reevaluating their current career include include the psychological satisfaction an individual feels when learning and using a diverse range of skills, personally identifying with their task(s) and job, knowing the significance and importance of a task, having the autonomy required to complete the task, and clear feedback on task performance (Medsker & Connor, 2015; Oerlemans & Bakker, 2018). Job characteristics are often listed in a job description and incorporate many components, including psychological components, job benefits, organization-specific degrees of routine, interdependent, complexity, integration, and more. According to Medsker & Connor (2015), every individual values a slightly different combination of these characteristics and should seek a job and career that supports these characteristics. References Levi, D. (2017). Group dynamics for teams (5th ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Medsker, K. L., & Connor, S.R. (2015). Maximizing motivation: Career fit and job characteristics. International Society for Performance Improvement. Retrieved from https://doiorg.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1002/pfi.21483 Oerlemans, W. G. M., & Bakker, A. B. (2018). Motivating job characteristics and happiness at work: A multilevel perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology. Advance online publication.http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1037/apl0000318 Sullivan, P. & To, T. (2014). Search and Nonwage Job Characteristics. Journal of Human Resources 49(2), 472-507. University of Wisconsin Press. Retrieved from https://muse-jhuedu.ezproxy.liberty.edu/article/543141 Discussion Post 2 – Group Dynamics Definition: According to Asci (2016), “Group dynamics is defined as the social process of little groups having face to face interactions (p. 67). Asçi, M. S. (2016). Providing an efficient organization structure and company culture by embedding group dynamic consciousness. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 5(6), 62-69. doi:10.20525/ijrbs.v5i6.623. https://search-proquestcom.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1833924212?accountid=12085&pq-origsite=summon Summary: The author of the article “Providing an efficient organization structure and company culture by embedding group dynamic consciousness”, Mehmet Saim Asci, PhD, Medipol University in Istanbul, Turkey discusses how effective group interaction can affect group members through their emotions, behaviors which can help an organization run more efficiently. His study begins with the “theoretical framework for efficient organization structure by creating and active organization structure on group” (Asci, 2016, p. 63). First, the author starts with discussing humans and organizations. He also gives an overview of the differences between official and unofficial organizations. In this portion of the article, the author briefly states the four important factors of defining official organizations. Second, the author demonstrates how groups achieve common goals in an organization. The author gives a brief overview of informal and formal groups. According to Asci (2016), when they face dangers or challenges, they can’t overcome or if they believe they can’t solve their problems with their own means, discontent, discomfort and lack of balance appears within the group (p. 64). Asci further discusses group dynamics, the normative effect of group on an individual, the effects of the group to individual attitude change and interpersonal attraction and repulsion in groups. The study “concludes with suggestions by assessing the effects of groups on individuals in an efficient organization” (Asci, 2016, p. 63). Asci states that “Groups are keystones of an organization s structure and they are valid in every level of hierarchy chain (p. 68). Discussion: The importance of understanding teams and how they work is vital in an organization. I believe this is where this article relates to Chapter 1 of Understanding Teams in our textbook and the key term group dynamics. The author explores some of Kurt Lewin’s approaches of action research and social change. According to Levi (2016), “The process of applying a theory and evaluating its effects is then used to refine the theory and improve the operations of the group” (p. 13). The emotions and behaviors of group members are key aspects of social change and group dynamics. How team members behave in a group can affect the group’s interactions and performance. Lewins’s approaches reflects on characteristic patterns in unstructured conditions (Hermann, 2015). According to Schruijer (2016), “Lewin demonstrated that the group as such could be studied experimentally, that is, at the level of the group. His ideas initiated much social psychological research into group processes” (p.258). Schruijer (2016) states, “Group dynamics is an important domain for learning, certainly for managers”. The ability to be aware of your experiences can be taught through different teaching tools (Schruijer, 2016). Schruijer (2016) states “Encouraging exploration is important as is facilitating openness to new experiences and turning one’s gaze inside, learning through experience, creating space for the affective aspects of learning, involving someone’s work and life space beyond the school in the learning process and, finally, reflecting on learning itself” (p. 265). Ephesians 4:16 (ESV) states, “From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love”. This biblical comparison shows the importance of learning to work together this is critical in ensuring that any group performs well. References: Asçi, M. S. (2016). Providing an efficient organization structure and company culture by embedding group dynamic consciousness. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 5(6), 62-69. doi:10.20525/ijrbs.v5i6.623. https://search-proquestcom.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/1833924212?accountid=12085&pq-origsite=summon Hermann, K. (2015). Field theory and working with group dynamics in debriefing. Simulation & Gaming, 46(2), 209-220. doi:10.1177/1046878115596100.http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/full/10.1177 /1046878115596100?utm_source=summon&utm_medium=discovery-provider Levi, D. (2017). Group dynamics for teams (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Schruijer, S. (2016). Working with group dynamics while teaching group dynamics in a traditional classroom setting. Team Performance Management, 22(5/6), 257-268. doi:10.1108/TPM-052016-0023. https://www-emeraldinsight-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/full/10.1108/TPM-05-20160023 Discussion Post 3 - Conflict Management Definition Tjosvold (2014) defines conflict management as “occurring when persons have incompatible activities: One person’s actions interfere, obstruct, or frustrate another’s action.” Conflict management/resolution is then the actions taken by individuals or teams to minimize the negative effects of the conflict. Summary Dean Tjosvold, the author of “Reflecting on Reviewing: Applying Conflict Management Research”, studies conflict management research to determine the best ways to use it in business environments for other researchers. Throughout his studies, he witnessed many people who believed conflict has completely a bad occurrence, however he outlines that there are “dark” and “bright” sides of conflict. In the studies that he reviewed, he saw the dark side of conflict occur when researchers disagreed over what information should and should not be considered correct. This went further to some journal publishers not promoting content due to conflict and disagreement of the information contained in the papers. Though the “dark” side of conflict can occur in businesses such as these research teams, there is also the “bright” side. This often occurs when team members disagree but use that conflict to sharpen each other. In Tjosvold case of studying researchers and reviewers he states, “…minimizing conflict is not a viable, practical solution to improved reviewing. Conflict management research can help clarify the role of conflict in reviewing and suggest the conditions under which conflicts contribute to effective reviewing.” With these statements, he is saying that our focus should not necessarily be on stopping conflict in team situations, but rather focus on using that conflict to improve each other and build upon each other. Discussion Daniel Levi’s book “Group Dynamics for Teams” quotes DeChurch saying “The way a team manages the conflict process determines whether the conflict is constructive or destructive to the team” (2017, Ch 7.3) This statement agrees with what Tjosvold writes about in the formentioned article publication, that team conflict can be used for the good of the team, hence “bright side”. Levi gives five main ways conflict can be approached and managed within a team. These ways are avoidance, accommodation, confrontation, compromise, and collaboration. He later mentions that although the first three methods can be used to resolve conflict, each create winners and losers; whereas compromise works better for fairness and collaboration works best for team situations. Levi goes on to say that there may be times were collaboration may not be a suitable approach, and other methods will need to be utilized. Tjosvold (also talks about this same issue when it comes to leadership and team dynamics saying, “leaders with different kinds of styles are effective the more they develop teamwork, specifically cooperative conflict management among followers”. Leaders, as well as the rest of the team, need to be able to analyze the conflict in the situation and utilize the best methods to manage or resolve it. Laura Berger (2017) also gives some strategies for conflict management in her article “Five Conflict Management Strategies”. The strategies she lists are identify the opportunity, build a culture that encourages giving and receiving feedback, be proactive, do not use e-mail for conflict, and engage productively using storytelling. “Identifying the opportunity” aligns with Levi and Tjosvold’s’ statements that it is beneficial to have people on a team that are able to understand what methods work best depending on the situation. Berger’ strategy of having a culture that encourages giving and receiving feedback also plays an important role in how a team’s conflict management will play out. If the team works well together and is able to give and receive feedback, they can better utilize methods such as Levi’s “collaboration” to manage the conflict of the situation. Question: What scenarios can you think of where a team or group you were in experienced conflict, and what method(s) were you to manage or resolve it? Verse to go along with the theme of working together to resolve conflict: Proverbs 27:17 – “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (HCSB) References Berger, L. (2017, October 12). Five Conflict Management Strategies. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/06/07/five-conflictmanagement-strategies/#7e125425521d Levi, D. (2017). Group Dynamics for Teams (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage. Retrieved from https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781483378350/cfi/6/2!/4/2/2@0:0 Maltarich, M. A., Kukenberger, M., Reily, G., & Mathieu, J. (2016, December 26). Conflict in Teams: Modeling Early and Late Conflict States and the Interactive Effects of Conflict Processes. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1177/1059601116681127 Tjosvold, D. (2014, November 17). Reflecting on Reviewing: Applying Conflict Management Research. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/job.1964 Discussion Post 4 - Psychological Safety Definition Levi (2017) defines psychological safety as “the perception that members are free to take interpersonal risk and to expressed their thought and feelings without fear of consequences” (6.2). Levi, D. (2017). Group Dynamics for Teams (5th Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Summary In her article “Exploring The Importance Of Team Psychological Safety In The Development Of Two Interprofessional Teams”, Denise Fiona O’Leary discusses the result of a study done on two interprofessional teams. In her article O’Leary states that a psychological safety (TPS) is a concept that is characterized as a climate where team members feel safe enough trust each other. “In this type of climate, individuals can take the risk of admitting ignorance or uncertainty without fear of censure or ridicule” (O’Leary, 1016, p.29). Because of this freedom of fear, these teams can be more productive in meetings and at work. The study was conducted on two private facilities of care providers that take care of impaired clients, one called Oakwood Heights and the other called Sheltered Cove. Each facility met once a month over a 9-month period to discuss potential improvements and evaluations. The researchers collected data for over two years. They then analyzed the data and broke it down into themes. The two teams started the study with team leaders listening better, treating each member with respect, and giving more constructive feedback. This helped the Oakwood Heights team feel more confident to insert themselves in meetings. This open climate gave light to what knowledge each team member contributed to the facility. On the other hand, only some team members at Sheltered Cove felt comfortable enough to open up at meetings. This lead to some confusion about the knowledge of what some of the team members possessed. The study shows that the climate plays a big part of how TPS develops in interprofessional teams. “The results of this study indicate that open communication and shared decision-making is more difficult to achieve within teams embedded in hierarchical organizations where shared decision-making is not an organizational norm” (O’Leary, 2016, p.33). Discussion Teams work best when all members feel comfortable enough to speak during a planning meeting and share their opinion or what knowledge they possess to contribute to the subject at hand. A climate of psychological safety makes it easier for team members to speak up. Levi (2017) describes this as “a climate of interpersonal trust and mutual respect where team members are able to offer ideas, provide feedback, raise issues, admit mistakes, and ask for help without fear of retribution” (6.2). In the article, O’Leary (2016) states that “Interprofessional teamwork should be viewed as an emergent process, since to achieve shared understanding, shared goals, and interdependency a team must undergo a development process where they learn more about each other, learn to communicate effectively, and learn to share responsibility and decisionmaking” (p.29). In teams like this where it is of the utmost importance for each member to contribute what they know, a climate of psychological safety is critical. If some of the members are hesitant to contribute their views or knowledge, the entire team is likely to suffer the consequences. There are a few ways team leaders can build psychological safety. One way is to make sure that everyone feels included and important. Another way is to encourage failure. Mistakes are inevitable, so team members need to know that they are supported even when something goes wrong. The most important way to build psychological safety is to promote and cultivate team members mindsets to value listening and diversity. The Forbes Coaches Council (2017) states “Psychological safety at work is impossible as long as peers and bosses celebrate sameness, and feel threatened by opposing voices or differences in points-of-view” (para.14). The best way to eliminate this is to foster a climate that embraces diversity and encourages everyone to listen to each other. There are many other ways to build psychological safety among teams. Can you think of other ways to help foster a climate of psychological safety? References Cuellar, A., Krist, A. H., Nichols, L. M., & Kuzel, A. J. (2018). Effect of Practice Ownership on Work Environment, Learning Culture, Psychological Safety, and Burnout. Annals Of Family Medicine, 16(Suppl 1), S44–S51.https://doiorg.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1370/afm.2198 Forbes Coaches Council. (2017, November 15). 14 Ways You Can Improve Psychological Safety At Work. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2017/11/15/14-ways-you-canimprove-psychological-safety-at-work/#37437dd85610 O’Leary, D. F. (2016). Exploring The Importance Of Team Psychological Safety In The Development Of Two Interprofessional Teams. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 30(1), 29–34. https://doi-org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.3109/13561820.2015.1072142 Wanless, S., & Winters, D. (2018). A Welcome Space for Taking Risks: Psychological Safety Creates a Positive Climate for Learning. Learning Professional, 39(4), 41–44. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=t rue&db=eric&AN=EJ1190298&site=ehost-live&scope=site Discussion Post 5 – Individual Creativity Definition Individual creativity “develops from an interaction of personal and situation factors” (Levi, 2017). This concept is used for people that are being creative and have relevant skills masked with creativity to bring motivational tasks to the table. Summary The article that I chose to do this post on is called Good marriage at home, creativity at work: Family-work enrichment effect on workplace creativity by Yipeng Tang and Xu Huang. Tang has a degree in Human Resource Management as well as working at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law with the School of Business Administration. Huang has a degree in Department of Management and works at the School of Business from Hong Kong Baptist University. This article conducted a study and reported how they believe that having a good family and marriage life outside of work can help increase good workplace creativity. The authors give insight into their study talking about how a healthy marriage can spill over into our psychological mindset that will help employees produce good work ethics not just as a team but mostly individually. The study that Tang and Huang conducted had over 500 employees that are marriage and found that they had a positive relationship with other employees and workplace creativity through the positive effects because they are happier at home which spills into their work. Discussion This article relates to the textbook concept of Individual Creativity because the textbooks says that this concept happens with personal situational interactions and with this article it explains how a happy healthy marriage will affect a person’s workplace creativity. As I read through this article and how they conducted the study I can say that I can agree with this article. What I liked about this article is they didn’t just conduct a study on just one working spouse but on both parties seeing what happens when they are both happy within the marriage and what happens when just one spouse is happy, and the other isn’t. They found that when both parties are satisfied, the marriage “provides a haven for partners to incubate interpersonal intimacy and enables them to accumulate greater psychological resources” (Tang and Huang, 2017). Basically, the take away is that when two people are happy within the marriage the party they studied in the workforce area was able to bring happiness and different way of thinking to the workplace allowing his creativity to rise and be happy in home life and work life. Personally, how many people can say that they are happy a work and at home? I haven’t thought about this before when thinking about individual creativity, but I believe that when a person has an allaround happy life, they will be able to use those skills and thoughts in all areas of life. In contrast to this study, they found that when one side of the marriage is high satisfaction, but the other isn’t very happy the employee’s psychological resource is interrupted because they are not fully focused. The authors concluded that an employee’s martial satisfaction on workplace creativity via family life can go over into how it effects the employees work life. I have two close friends who recently had a rough patch in their marriage where it affected not just their personal lives but also their work lives. He is a Pastor, so his life is constantly on the move and having to deal with people and taking time away from his family. An incident happened this last year that changed the way their marriage went, and it all dealt with factors from his job. She was unhappy with some people within the congregation that he had to work closely with and it made their marriage hard and were constantly fighting. Long story short the issue was resolved and now she is much healthier and happier within their marriage and with that, his life has gotten a lot easier and he has been able to think better and pastor the people better as well. After reading this post and posting about a personal testimony of someone I know that has been affected by this, have you known or personally dealt with a hardship in your family life that has affected your work life? Is it something that people should acknowledge more to see if a strong marriage on both sides affects work life which then allows creativity to flow to enhance work life? References Levi, D. (2017). Group Dynamics for Teams (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage. Retrieved from https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781483378350/cfi/6/50!/4/2/14/2@0:0 Matsuo, M. (2018). Effects of team unlearning on employee creativity: The mediating effect of individual reflection. Journal of Workplace Learning, 30(7), 531-544. doi:10.1108/JWL-03-2018-0045 Retrieved fromhttps://www-emeraldinsightcom.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/full/10.1108/JWL-03-2018-0045 Montiel-Campos, H. (2018). UNDERSTANDING EMPLOYEES´ ENTREPRENEURIAL ALERTNESS: THE ROLE OF CREATIVITY AND SUPPORT FOR CREATIVITY.Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 24(2), 1-16. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?url=https://search-proquestcom.ezproxy.liberty.edu/docview/2124681897?accountid=12085 Tang, Y., Huang, X., & Wang, Y. (2017). Good marriage at home, creativity at work: Family-work enrichment effect on workplace creativity: Good marriage at home, creativity at work. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38(5), 749-766. doi:10.1002/job.2175 Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/doi/full/10.1002/job.2175 Discussion Post 6 – Effects of Diversity Definition Levi (2017) describes diversity as “differences in demographic, psychological, and organizational characteristics. The effects of diversity are studied by looking at the results of research on how diversity in the workplace affects team performance, cohesion, and conflict. Summary The diversity of employees in the workplace is not just gender or race, but also the geographical, economical, and educational backgrounds of the employees. The differences of these backgrounds are what contribute to team effectiveness and efficiency in the workplace. What is studied here is how those differences directly contribute to how the team functions, being negative or positive to the team’s work. In “The Elusive Effects of Workplace Diversity on Innovation” (2015), Ozgen, Nijkamp, and Poot study research about the affect on innovation caused by diversity of geographical and economical backgrounds using data from the Netherlands. They found that in the end, these differences did not show any significant effect on the grand scheme of workplace innovation. The article “Harnessing Demographic Differences in Organizations: What Moderates the Effects of Workplace Diversity?” (2015), written by Guillaume et. al, took a more general approach and studied the differences of various demographics of workers. Within their research, they found that each demographic background could provide different personal traits that added to the overall good of the team. Noting, “diversity beliefs were found to promote social integration via positive intergroup contact and enhance performance through information‐elaboration in demographically diverse work groups performing tasks with a strong informational and decision‐making component in particular” (Guillaume et. al, 2015). Discussion “Diversity gives you access to a greater range of talent, not just the talent that belongs to a particular world-view or ethnicity or some other restricting definition” (Shemia, 2018). Overall, diversity adds to teams. It adds to the potential of the team and what they can accomplish, as long as they use their differences for the unified goal of the team. An important area of teamwork that diversity may affect is problem solving. A person with a different background may approach a situation differently than other may, which could provide alternatives to the solving the problem at hand. However, there may also be cases where diversity in the workplace could hurt a team. Members of a team may bring various amounts of pre-determined bias shaped from their background may cause problems for teams. Through the positive and negative aspect of diversity, it is important for a team to focus on their team object and learn to manage their differences efficiently. Levi says, “The impact of diversity is context dependent—it depends on the team’s purpose, members’ beliefs, and how diversity is managed” (2017). Having different backgrounds and perspectives can be very beneficial to a team, but they much manage those differences well. If they do not learn to manage their differences, the outcome will be negative. However, if they find out how to leverage those perspectives on work issues, they can work together to solve them. There are even examples in the Bible about people having different backgrounds and abilities, which can all be used as one unit: Diversity: “There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” - Galatians 3:28 (HCSB) Abilities: “Based on the gift each one has received, use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God” – 1 Peter 4:10 (HCSB) As Christians we are to use our differences to benefit each other. What are some ways you think diversity can add to the overall efficiency and strength of a team? References Guillaume, Y. R., Dawson, J. F., Otaye-Ebede, L., Woods, S. A., & West, M. A. (2015, July 22). Harnessing demographic differences in organizations: What moderates the effects of workplace diversity? Retrieved from https://doiorg.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1002/job.2040 Levi, D. (2017). Group Dynamics for Teams (5th ed.). Los Angeles: Sage. Retrieved from https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781483378350/cfi/6/2!/4/2/2@0:0 Ozgen, C., Nijkamp, P., & Poot, J. (2015, November 26). The elusive effects of workplace diversity on innovation. Retrieved from https://doiorg.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1111/pirs.12176 Shemia, M. (2018, August 22). Why Workplace Diversity Is So Important, And Why It's So Hard To Achieve. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/rsmdiscovery/2018/08/22/why-workplace-diversityis-so-important-and-why-its-so-hard-to-achieve/#760bd2d43096
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