Task Description:
1. You are required to write a persuasive essay addressing the debate outlined in the point/counterpoint “To Get the Most Out of Teams, Empower Them”.
2. Using the above point/counterpoint as the basis, along with relevant theory and concepts related to motivation and team dynamics in other articles/texts, you are to write a persuasive essay arguing for or against the belief that teams should be empowered for more effective performance.
3. A persuasive essay requires you to develop a perspective on the topic and defend it. Usually there is no right or wrong answer, so the ability to argue your viewpoint becomes critical to your mark. You are required to use research to define what you are arguing about and present the facts in an orderly fashion as you see them – all of which lead to an inevitable conclusion (as you would want the reader to come to). The specific stance you take must be supported with references to academic literature and research. A minimum of 8 academic sources are required. You should refer to these sources using Harvard Referencing style.
4. Essays need to be written in “third person” – to appear objective you need to take yourself, as the author, and also the reader out of the equation. This means not using “I”, “me” (or first person) and “us”, “we” (or second person). Another reason for following this convention is some readers may so object to being openly co-opted or coerced to your point of view, that in the end they express their displeasure at your presumption by disagreeing with your viewpoint entirely.
5. Essay Structure:
– The introduction in a persuasive essay should have links between the topic and an outcome; could contain a question; should state a counter-position to your viewpoint and contain your viewpoint. It should not have supporting evidence for your viewpoint, nor a solution.
– The body of the essay should address key issues and provide supporting evidence. Where a key issue and evidence can run over a few paragraphs, one paragraph should not contain more than one issue or provide supporting evidence for more than one issue. It is a good idea to re-state your position throughout the essay as it is easy for readers to forget what you are arguing. The conclusion should mirror the introduction, re-state key issues raised in the body, and offer a solution or suggestion.
Criterion Description:
1. Identify and define theories and concepts related to managing teams of people in organizations.
2. Use the concepts and language of professional management in context.
3. Apply management theories and concepts to practical management contexts
4. Identify management theories/models and describe their implications for managing teams in organizations.
5. Use judgement to identify specific team work issues.
6. Use written or oral communication (including Harvard referencing) to recommend managerial solutions to specific teamwork issues.
ASSESSMENT TASK 3: PERSUASIVE ESSAY: “TO GET THE MOST OUT OF TEAMS, EMPOWER THEM”
Assessment Task 3: Persuasive Essay: “To get the most out of Teams, Empower them”
All employers and managers prefer to work with motivated individual employees and teams to get the most out of them regarding performance outcomes. Companies in the knowledge-based economy require employees who can take the initiative and make decisions for their teams and the organization as a whole. Traditionally, managers have used different types of motivators, such as financial rewards and promotions. However, it has reached a point where such motivators alone are no longer working effectively to improve individual employees and teams’ performance. As a result, managers are seeking more ways to motivate their workers to improve their performance for the company’s benefit in the highly competitive business environment. As a result, managers ask the question, what are some of the new mechanisms they can use to increase motivation and create highly effective teams. While many answers to this question exist, the most convincing is that “To Get the Most out of Teams, Empower them.” Therefore, managers should seek and improve their employees’ means of creating effective teams to increase performance.
When companies face challenges in the modern economy, such as recession and increased competition, they need to get the most out of their employees. They should learn how to motivate them to increased performance. While financial rewards, such as salary increments, are necessary, they are no longer enough to build highly effective employees and teams. To deal with the challenge of building a competitive advantage on the worldwide level, managers should master the art of empowering their employees. They should create effective teams of individuals who understand and decide strategically (Wu & Chen 2015). Aslam (2017) challenges organizations to reinvent and become more innovative to be competitive and innovative through implementing empowerment strategies, such as autonomy in workplaces. Empowerment involves understanding what motivates employees apart from financial or material rewards to make them more innovative and productive. The knowledge further helps managers to create the kind of workplace that supports creativity and innovation through empowerment. Empowered teams are motivated and prepared to give their best to create a successful business.
Times have changed, and it is no longer when employees were motivated solely by financial rewards. In modern knowledge-based economies, workers are more aware of their needs and purpose in the organization. They understand what they want and the organizations that can provide them the satisfaction and fulfillment (Wang, Law, Zhang, Li, & Liang 2019). According to Li, Chiaburu, and Kirkman (2017), the modern economic reality, empowerment is the most effective means to get the most out of employees. Empowerment leadership enables leaders and managers to deal with complicated employment situations since they improve subordinates’ ability to work effectively through motivation and self-efficacy. They ensure that employees can lead in various situations, building effective teams (Qian, Song, Jin, Wang, & Chen, 2018). For example, in team tasks, any empowered member of the team can lead and generate positive team and organizational objectives. Empowered employees are usually creative and innovative since organizational leaders give them room to explore and use their talents. Therefore, employees’ empowerment is the most effective way of getting the best out of individuals and teams.
Traditional organizations were bureaucratic, and many decisions came from the top. However, managers should understand that human resources are the most critical assets in the company and contribute immensely to its success. Therefore, they should trust them to make critical decisions, especially those which affect their work directly. Undue control affects motivation negatively and creates ineffective teams, which is the reason for freedom in decision-making in teams (Ugwu, Onyishi & Rodríguez-Sánchez 2014). While employees could fail when given a lot of authority due to the risk of misusing it, an organization will benefit from team leadership if power is distributed and members particulate in decision making (Wang, Law, Zhang, Li & Liang 2019). Besides, empowered employees understand the management’s expectations from their input in achieving team and organizational goals. Therefore, empowerment is the most effective way for managers to take advantage of ineffective leadership and decision-making capabilities. They should train and use the skills of employees to enhance their performance outcomes and competitiveness.
Traditionally, managers used financial rewards, and some people believe that such strategies, as high compensation packages, and promotions are effective motivators for their employees. Some organizations still use these conventional mechanisms, but they have become redundant in the modern knowledge-based economy (Qian, Song, Jin, Wang, & Chen, 2018). While financial rewards are still necessary, they are ineffective without employee empowerment. Empowered employees are usually creative since the management gives them space to practice their skills and experience in an independent environment. Empowerment enhances the effectiveness and flexibility to create an edge over the intense rivalry in the modern business environment (Aslam, 2017). Empowered employees also search and use improved procedures and ideas to increase their work performance and productivity. Therefore, any employees seeking to get the most out of their employees in terms of creativity should empower them by giving them the autonomy to use their competence and ability. Companies benefit from creative employees through increased productivity and productivity using their skills and experience.
While some organizations and managers might underplay the role of empowerment, the concept has played an essential role in team development and organizational effectiveness (Jose& Mampilly 2014). Management scholars and practitioners have supported the significance of empowerment in organizations to motivate employees to achieve performance outcomes (Li, Wei, Ren & Di 2015). Psychological empowerment affects work-related outcomes in the organization, such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and innovation performance (Fong & Snape 2015; Schermuly & Meyer, 2016). Empowerment also enhances creativity in the workplace, hence improving employee performance for the general good of the company. The creative capabilities of employee empowerment is a key factor for leaders in organizations operating in all sectors of the economy. Psychological empowerment should be emphasized in companies where the management strives to improve performance by getting the most out of employees and teams. Empowered employees are fully engaged in their organizations and strive to give their best and work to their highest potential. They make important decisions that benefit the organization by improving productivity.
Some people argue that no single factor is sufficient to motivate employees to perform effectively. The argument is that empowerment alone cannot motivate employees to become creative and innovative to achieve their highest potential. While the claim might be valid, psychological empowerment encompasses many aspects of motivation, such as intrinsic motivation, autonomy, and abilities of employees (Li, Wei, Ren & Di 2015). Although extrinsic motivation is also necessary for the workplace, it is no longer more important than intrinsic motivation. The management should answer the question, what makes employees behave the way they do? The answer lies in learning the sources of internal motivation, such as the freedom to perform tasks without undue supervision. Empowerment means that managers trust employees to give their best without unnecessary control since they have the abilities and resources to perform their tasks (Qian, Song, Jin, Wang, & Chen 2018). For example, an employee working on a software program can work outside the company and deliver it within time and budget due to the company’s high level of empowerment. Thus, empowerment is the source of internal motivation that drives employees to use their creativity and innovation.
Empowerment is one of the essential variables in organizational settings to increase performance through motivation. While some critics believe that empowering and giving employees a lot of autonomy and decision-making power can be counterproductive, it is the most effective way to address team issues associated with low motivation levels. Competent employees in the knowledge-based economy are seeking much more than financial rewards for their work. They are seeking psychological empowerment to gain intrinsic motivation and improve their performance. Empowering leadership includes creativity, innovation, and organizational commitment, all of which are necessary to achieve performance goals. Therefore, leaders should understand the importance of empowerment by assessing each employee’s needs and meeting them effectively to empower and motivate them. All organizations in all sectors will achieve their goals and objectives by empowering all their employees, giving them autonomy in decision-making, and encouraging their creativity. Influential leaders should learn the art of empowering employees to get the most out of them.
Reference List
Aslam S 2017, ‘Psychological empowerment on creativity among employees of IT sector: The mediating role of creative process engagement and intrinsic motivation,’ Canadian Social Science, vol. 13, no. 6, pp. 11-34.
Fong KH & Snape E 2015, ‘Empowering leadership, psychological empowerment and employee Outcomes: Testing a multi‐level mediating model,’ British Journal of Management, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 126-138.
Jose G & Mampilly SR 2014, ‘Psychological empowerment as a predictor of employee engagement: An empirical attestation.,’ Global Business Review, vol. 15, no, 1, pp. 93-104.
Li Y, Wei F, Ren S & Di Y 2015, ‘Locus of control, psychological empowerment and intrinsic motivation relation to performance, ‘Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 30 Iss. 4, pp. 422 – 438
Li N, Chiaburu DS & Kirkman BL, 2017, ‘Cross-level influences of empowering leadership on citizenship behavior: organizational support climate as a double-edged sword,’ J. Manage. Vol. 43, pp. 1076–1102.
Qian J, Song B, Jin Z, Wang B & Chen H 2018, ‘Linking empowering leadership to task performance, taking charge, and voice: the mediating role of feedback-seeking,’ Frontiers in psychology, vol. 9, p. 2025.
Schermuly CC & Meyer B 2016, ‘Good relationships at work: The effects of Leader–Member Exchange and Team–Member Exchange on psychological empowerment, emotional exhaustion, and depression’ Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 673-691.
Ugwu FO, Onyishi IE & Rodríguez-Sánchez AM 2014, ‘Linking organizational trust with employee engagement: The role of psychological empowerment,’ Personnel Review, Vol. 43 No. 3, pp. 377-400
Wang, L, Law KS, Zhang MJ, Li YN, & Liang Y 2019, ‘It’s mine! Psychological ownership of one’s job explains positive and negative workplace outcomes of job engagement,’ Journal of Applied Psychology, vol.104, no. 2, p. 229.
Wu, C. M., & Chen, T. J. (2015). Psychological contract fulfillment in the hotel workplace: Empowering leadership, knowledge exchange, and service performance. International Journal of Hospitality Management, vol. 48, pp. 27-38.
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