Essay about MGT 311 Week 4 Team Discussion

Submitted By riggs1021
Words: 548
Pages: 3

Week 4 Learning Team Reflection
Learning Team A
LeTawndra Wilkins, Clifton Riggins, Rodney Goudy and Shajuiana Hill
MGT/311 Organizational Development
December 22, 2014
John Presis

In week four our team learned how behavior has an influence on organizational structure. As a team we also discussed the common characteristics of organizational culture. Our team discussed the difference of functional and dysfunctional effects of organizational culture on people and the organization. After learning about the characteristics and behaviors of an organizational culture we discovered how power and politics tend to influence the behaviors of individuals. The team briefly discussed the foundations of organization structure, which included the six elements of an organization’s structure, identifying the characteristics of bureaucracy and describing a matrix organization. Our weekly reflection will present topics which we felt comfortable discussing and topics we struggled with as a team.
This week’s discussion proved to be invaluable and caused me to consider the power and politics of organizations. The different power tactics stood out to me most, as a manager will have to use each one at some point within their career. Expert and referent powers are relatable to me as I utilize each one as a motivational tool. Expert power is based off a manager’s skill set, experience or knowledge. Because of these attributes leadership is gained along with respect. Referent power refers to how a leader is regarded based off of his or hers track record. For example, if a manager that is known to be effective and great at their position, their employee will respect and trust them. This week also caused me to consider the power and politics of my company and how to improve these aspects.
This week’s discussion about ethical and unethical actions was very interesting. The problems that result from unethical behavior can be devastating to the moral of employees and could end up harming the company’s reputation. Unethical behavior has an impact on employees because they can lose trust in the company and in its management resulting in low morale and lower work standards. In business it should be every company’s goal to be as ethical, honest