Tyranny of Teams free essay sample

Some alternative perspectives on team behaviour elucidate the ways in which the prevailing paradigm ultimately hinders groups and tyrannizes the individual team member mdash; by camouflaging coercion and conflict with the appearance of consultation and cohesion. Examination of the limits and effects of the ideology provide the basis for an alternative understanding of the strengths, constraints and complexities of group work. Introduction Teams in various forms have become ubiquitous ways of working. As task forces, committees, work groups and quality circles, they are used to provide leadership, accomplish research, maximize creativity and operationalize structural flexibility (Peters and Waterman 1982; Payne The 1988) . prescriptions of much contemporary management thinking are based on a dominant ideology of teamwork. While teams have been narrowly construed as a tool of the Organization Development Model, the ideology is much more pervasive. Teams are embraced as tools of diverse models of organizational reform from organization development (Dunphy 1976) to work restructuring (Poza and Markus 1980), from quality management to industrial democracy and from corporate culture and Japanese management approaches to complex contingency prescriptions. We will write a custom essay sample on Tyranny of Teams or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 611 Beliefs about the benefits of teams occupy a central and unquestioned place in organizational reform. It is all the more surprising that, despite some differences in context, the team ideology has been espoused with such consistency. The hegemony of this ideology has been supported by researchers who offer the ’team’ as a tantalizingly simple solution to some of the intracDownloaded from http://oss. sagepub. com at Massey University Library on June 28, 2010 612 problems of organizational life. Teams appear to satisfy everything individual needs (for sociability, self-actualization, participative management), organizational needs (for productivity, organizational development, effectiveness) and even society’s needs for alleviating the malaise of alienation and other by-products of modern industrial society (Johnson and Johnson 1987). However, do work groups deserve the status they have acquired as multipurpose panaceas for organizational problems? As has been powerfully argued in organizational analysis (Burrell and Morgan 1979; Astley and Van de Ven 1983; Reed 1985; Alvesson 1987), the dominance of a particular paradigm has substantial costs in the institutionalization of table at once: mechanisms of control. The purpose of this article is to scrutinize the ideological basis of the prevailing team paradigm. Four sets of assumptions which underpin the ideology are identified: 1. Narrowly conceived definitions of work groups and group work are based on the assumption that mature teams are task-oriented, and have successfully minimized corruption by other group impulses. 2. It is an individual motivation formula and a ’unitary view’ of organizations which assumes confluence, not conflict, between individual, group and organizational goals (Burrell and Morgan 1979: 204). 3. Simplistic views of the superiority of participative leaders are held. 4. The views are also held that power, conflict and emotion are subversive forces which divert groups from work. Research from some alternative critical, psychoanalytic and other perspectives is used to suggest some areas in which the paradigm requires overhaul. A premise of this paper is that teams can contribute to getting work of all kinds done, but not when their application is informed by a narrow framework that nurtures inappropriate expectations. Further, and more critically, the team ideology embraced by these assumptions tyrannizes because, under the banner of benefits to all, teams are frequently used to camouflage coercion under the pretence of maintaining cohesion; conceal conflict under the guise of consensus; convert conformity into a semblance of creativity; give unilateral decisions a co-determinist seal of approval; delay action in the supposed interests of consultation; legitimize lack of leadership; and disguise expedient arguments and personal agendas. Definitions of Teams and Group Work theorists have defined a ’team’ as a distinctive class of which is more task-oriented than other groups, and which has a set group, of obvious rules and rewards for its members (Adair 1986). According to this view, high-performing teams substitute collective goals and an inter- Management Downloaded from http://oss. sagepub. com at Massey University Library on June 28, 2010 613 est in the task at hand for individual agendas and inter-personal conflicts. Group theorists have noted the parallels between therapeutic groups and other types of work groups (Foulkes 1964: 110). However, the emphasis of team ideology on the task-orientation of teams has tended to idealize and resist recognizing that groups with a task still experience anti-task behaviour, and indeed have much in common with other types of groups. Seeking to understand both individual and group work, researchers have, on the whole, been dogged by the search for discrete or measurable outputs of work. Work has many forms. Some definitions of individual ’performance’ and ’effectiveness’ in administrative and managerial (Likert 1967; Sorenson 1971) with creativity and innovation in research or scientific contexts (Gordon 1961; Sch6n 1963), yet such experimental measures often seem to bear little resemblance to individual experiences of work (Terkel 1974) . Efforts to define group work by researchers in the team ideology tradition have produced a range of measures referring either to the output or to the quality of group process.

A Collection of Cute Boy Quotations

A Collection of Cute Boy Quotations You know there is a boy around when there is more food on the table than on the plate. You know there is a boy around when deodorants make up for soaps. You know there is a boy around when you cannot find a matching pair of socks. Freedom without responsibility is their motto in life. Cute boys are every mamas pet and every girls dreamboat. Read these cute boy quotes and let your heart do a double flip. Collection of Cute Boy Quotations Mark TwainMy mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it. There comes a time in every rightly constructed boys life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure. Cyril Connolly Boys do not grow up gradually. They move forward in spurts like the hands of clocks in railway stations. Joseph Heller When I grow up I want to be a little boy. George Edward Woodberry The sweetest roamer is a boys young heart. Plato Of all the animals, the boy is most unmanageable. Maya Angelou If I have a monument in this world, it is my son. Robert Frost A mother takes twenty years to make a man of her boy, and another woman makes a fool of him in twenty minutes. George Burns When I was a boy the Dead Sea was only sick. Robert Benchley A boy can learn a lot from a dog: obedience, loyalty, and the importance of turning around three times before lying down. Jon Stewart Im not just a boy toy. I have feelings and dreams like anybody else. Robert Baden-Powell The spirit is there in every boy; it has to be discovered and brought to light. Helen Rowland Telling lies is a fault in a boy, an art in a lover, an accomplishment in a bachelor, and second-nature in a married man. Lewis B. Hershey A boy becomes an adult three years before his parents think he does, and about two years after he thinks he does. James Matthew Barrie What is genius? It is the power to be a boy again at will. Napoleon Bonaparte No one knows how it is that with one glance a boy can break through into a girls heart. Plato Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. Anne Frank Boys will be boys. And even that wouldnt matter if only we could prevent girls from being girls. James Thurber Boys are beyond the range of anybodys sure understanding, at least when they are between the ages of 18 months and 90 years. Charles Dudley Warner One of the best things in the world to be is a boy; it requires no experience, but needs some practice to be a good one.

The Efficiency-Wage Theory in Economics

The Efficiency-Wage Theory in Economics One of the explanations for structural unemployment is that, in some markets, wages are set above the equilibrium wage that would bring the supply of and demand for labor into balance. While it is true that labor unions, as well as minimum-wage laws and other regulations, contribute to this phenomenon, it is also the case that wages may be set above their equilibrium level on purpose in order to increase worker productivity. This theory is referred to as the efficiency-wage theory, and there are a number of reasons that firms might find it profitable to behave in this way. Reduced Worker Turnover In most cases, workers dont arrive at a new job knowing everything that they need to know about the specific work involved, how to work effectively within the organization, and so on. Therefore, firms spend quite a bit of time and money getting new employees up to speed so that they can be fully productive at their jobs. In addition, firms spend a lot of money on recruiting and hiring new workers. Lower worker turnover leads to a reduction in the costs associated with recruiting, hiring, and training, so it can be worth it for firms to offer incentives that reduce turnover. Paying workers more than the equilibrium wage for their labor market means that it is more difficult for workers to find equivalent pay if they choose to leave their current jobs. This, coupled with the fact that its also less attractive to leave the labor force or switch industries when wages are higher, implies that higher than equilibrium (or alternative) wages give employees an incentive to stay with the company that is treating them well financially. Increased Worker Quality Higher than equilibrium wages can also result in increased quality of the workers that a company chooses to hire. Increased worker quality comes via two pathways: first, higher wages increase the overall quality and ability level of the pool of applicants for the job and help to win the most talented workers away from competitors. (Higher wages increase quality under the assumption that better quality workers have better outside opportunities that they choose instead.) ​ Second, better paid workers are able to take care of themselves better in terms of nutrition, sleep, stress, and so on. The benefits of better quality of life are often shared with employers since healthier employees are usually more productive than unhealthy employees. (Luckily, worker health is becoming less of a relevant issue for firms in developed countries.) Worker Effort The last piece of the efficiency-wage theory is that workers exert more effort (and are hence more productive) when they are paid a higher wage. Again, this effect is realized in two different ways: first, if a worker has an unusually good deal with her current employer, then the downside of getting fired is larger than it would be if the worker could just pack up and get a roughly equivalent job somewhere else. If the downside of getting fired if more severe, a rational worker will work harder to ensure that she doesnt get fired. Second, there are psychological reasons why a higher wage might induce effort  since people tend to prefer working hard for people and organizations that acknowledge their worth and respond in kind.

Plasmodium Falciparum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Plasmodium Falciparum - Essay Example The last is becomes infected in this way. All stages of malarial plasmodium development taking place in the body of the carrier – in a human, a bird and a mosquito. Such Sporozoa sporozoites are developed in the body of the mosquito and further transmitted to birds or human with saliva from the mosquito`s bite. Life cycle and transmission. The life cycle of Plasmodium falciparum is associated with changes of hosts. One part of the life cycle takes place in the human body where the parasites reproduce asexually; the second part occurs in the body of a specific carrier of malaria – female mosquito Anopheles, where plasmodium reproduces sexually (Dantzler et al.). Therefore, for Plasmodium falciparum, the human is an intermediate carrier, and the female Anopheles mosquito is the final host. Infection by Plasmodium falciparum occurs during sucking blood of patients with malaria and then mosquito infects another person by introducing parasites with its saliva during the bite. Via infected mosquito`s saliva the sporozoites enter the bloodstream of host and within 30-40 min get into a place of primary localization – into the liver cells (Dantzler et al.). There takes place an intracellular parasite asexual reproduction called tissue (exoerythrocytic) schizogony. From each of spo rozoites, a several thousand merozoites are formed. Further, they destroy hepatocytes and released into the bloodstream. The duration of this period is about 6-9 days. Merozoites penetrate into erythrocytes and thus begin the blood stage with trophosoite formation and erythrocytic schizogony (Wright and Rayner). In erythrocytes cells, the trophozoite is consistent passes through the ring, amoebic, mature trophozoite, schizont and merozoite stages. During schizogony, in erythrocytes occurs the formation of schizonts. Further, each schizont gives a rise to the several dozen of small merozoites

How employees react when facing organization change and what HR Literature review

How employees react when facing organization change and what HR manager should do - Literature review Example None of the mini computer companies could succeed in the business of personal computers Business schools and medical colleges are finding a hard tome to transform their curriculum according to the types of doctors and managers that are in demand in the market (Christensen & Overdorf, 2000, p.67). There are numerous other examples displaying the same challenge. It is seen that change efforts fail primarily because employers fail to handle the resistance towards change from employees. Managing change successfully means managing the fear of people. However, the peoples’ reactions to change efforts remain irrational and unsuccessful. Resistance towards the change originates from the fear of the unknown and apprehensions about a loss. HR managers play the crucial role of managing the reaction or response of employees towards the change process. The apparent reason to peoples’ fears is the way they perceive the change process, while the back end reaction to the change process is the extent to which they are equipped to deal with the change process. ... The project brings forth numerous critical reviews and suggestions of researchers and practitioners on the subject and delivers a critical analysis. It also puts forth their views regarding how changes can be managed effectively through effective people management procedures (Adair, 2007, p.124). Literature Review- How employees react when facing organization change and what HR manager should do Employee Resistance to Change- Critical Analysis The research begins with analysis of the greatest challenges of managing change initiatives in the organization. Managing organizational change is a difficult process as the conditions under which it is undertaken at the initial stage keeps changing. As situations keep shifting it becomes increasingly difficult for the top managers and agents to prepare for manage the change process in a way which satisfied both employers and employees. It is not surprising to understand that change resistance has attracted immense attention from practitioners and researchers. Immense attention has gone into the understanding of determinants and sources of change resistance. The general public and the media have gone into various forms of active resistances such as protests and strikes. Some of the other forms of organizational resistances are passive resistance, which is comparatively less observable, but has immensely attracted the concern of employers in organizations. Unsurprisingly, resistance towards change initiatives account for being one of the most crucial sources of organizational change failures (Conger & Kanungo, 1998, p.8). Meyer, (1982) and Nadler, (1998) have defined the concept of organizational change as the effort or the series of efforts which is designed in a manner to bring about change or transformation in

Implementation of a Palmprint Recognition System

Implementation of a Palmprint Recognition System CHAPTER -VI 6. CONCLUSION SCOPE OF FUTURE WORK There are some key aspects to discuss about this thesis in general. First, it is important to mention that the main objective of this work implementation of a palmprint recognition system was successfully accomplished. Biometrics plays an important role in personal identification. The importance of biometrics in everyday life has been discussed and different biometric technologies are introduced. It has been shown that palm can also be a good biometric. The work reported in this thesis is summarized in this chapter. This Research Work proposed a novel approach for Palmprint Biometric Authentication System to identify the individuals based on their palmprints. The approach novelty could be found in the combinations between palmprints images transform techniques, features reduction technique and feed-forward neural network classifier. CASIA pre-processed hyperspectral database and MATLAB version 2016a with supporting toolboxes were used in our experiment work. Firstly, each pre-proce ssed palmprint image has read by MATLAB internal function, and it has transformed by using multiscale toolboxes in order to convert each image into data. The resulted data is projected by dimensionality reduction tool. Finally, neural network toolbox used for recognition training and verification the resulted vectors. We manually prepare proposed Gabor Wavelet and Local Binary Pattern function along with all Other function in MATLAB 2016 and a database of 200 palm images of 20 people is considered for the validation. This Thesis Work considers a novel and efficient method for the palmprint identification based on Gabor wavelet by using multi-block local binary patterns. Proposed method is further supervised through our proposed multi-layer feed-forward neural network for more accurate and computationally efficient recognition. Gabor wavelets efficiently filter the pre-processed image for getting optimum texture features through MB-LBP. Due to accurate feature representation of palm images through proposed LBP, anticipated MLFFNN training rate is high and we are getting much accurate results comparatively. Experiments are performed to make an analysis for the optimal palm region and LBP neighbourhood. We investigate the matching accuracy for the optimal parameters. The performance of the proposed method in term of accuracy and some other parameters is obtained and compared with some recent methods. These local characteristics are summed and orientation corresponding maximum local intensity pattern is conceded as optimal local direction. Micro pattern representation is obtained by LBP descriptor. Feature vector is prepared by histograms of 256 bins. In our proposed scheme we use the Gabor wavelets, which has wavelet like property, in orthogonal direction and smoothest contours. Orientation extraction is done optimally to get directional representation and feature size is reduced by extracting LBP histograms. Accuracy of Proposed system is about 99.6% and error rate is below 0.9%. Compared to other existing method proposed method provides robustness to noise, low complexity and small features length. Secondly 3x 3 direction pattern employed which extract the edge characteristics locally. Direction pattern further emphasis edge orientation and filter out non edges along irrespective direction of pattern. Local aggregation gives higher value (Local Intensity) at particular orientation. So, the competition for maximum local intensity can better select the orientation information. Secondly orientation information is not affected by intensity variations. Because of these reasons, it is obvious that our method is performing well. In this palm print recognition system, features such as region mask, orientation field and minutiae are being extracted. An efficient matching algorithm is being implemented which uses these features for comparison of the query palm print with the database. Hence this system tests the image with the database and checks if the person is aut henticated or not. This authentication system can be used in forensic science and other border control systems for authentication of palm prints. the proposed work is also tested on colour RGB (multi-dimensional) images and real time palm images. Further Works For future work, the combinations between another multiscale image transformation such as , , and other will be taken in addition to use alternative features reduction methods such as ICA, kernel PCA and other contemporary techniques are suggested to be used. In addition, the classifier type is suggested to change to show how the recognition accuracy could be improved. Although cancellable biometrics overcome the weakness of cryptography, current cancellable biometrics are still not secure enough for the palmprint identification. For example, attackers can still insert stolen templates replay and database attacks before systems can cancel the stolen templates and reissue new templates. Furthermore, current cancellable biometrics cannot detect replay and database attacks. In other words, if attackers insert unregistered templates into data links or databases, systems cannot discover the unregistered templates. To solve these problems, we can take advantages of cryptography and cancellable biometrics to design a set of security measures to prevent replay, brute force and database attacks for secure palmprint identification. One could improve the registration accuracy and the image combination process. A detailed study needs to be done on the effect of adding more frames for combination. This method could also be combined with the pose correction approach developed in the previous algorithm to make a robust system with further improved accuracy. In addition to these further directions, biometric researchers are in fact facing some open problems. Most biometric systems are examined only on zero effort attacks (general false acceptance rates). Do they still survive if experts attack them? Furthermore, how can we objectively evaluate and compare the security levels of biometric systems? It should be recognized that successfully breaking into biometric systems depends on money, time and knowledge. Biometric researchers are facing a dilemma. As we write everything to disclose our findings and algorithms for the sake of distributing knowledge to our society and the next generation, we are also providing the information that potential attackers require breaking into our systems.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚      (b) Fig. 6.1 (a) A fake palmprint and (b) the corresponding genuine palmprint.

Leadership Interview and Analysis Essay

I interviewed the owner of a mid-sized engineering firm from this point forward referred to as Jack. Jack has been in the engineering field over 30 years starting as a project engineer and has worked his way to owning his own company. He has no formal training or degree in management or leadership and is speaking from experience. For Jack the definition of leadership is to guide and direct. He compares a manager in business to a platoon leader who can lead a group of people in a productive manor to achieve a desired outcome. When guiding these employees or soldiers the use of direct consequence or praise is the best way to guide your followers to the desired goal. Jack believes that most employees need close watch and a tight leash as to not fall off task. When Jack was asked what characterizes a good leader he continued to refer to the military example, even though he has never served. He believes there are two main components of a strong leader, wisdom and people skills. With wisdo m you will have a strong knowledge of the tasks or products offered and are able to assist in problem solving. Along with wisdom Jack believes that you will be able to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the market. People skills are the second part of Jacks components for a strong leader. When a leader has strong people skills he can relay his wisdom in an effective manner to employees so they can complete the desired task. He also believes that strong problem solving skills come along with people skills; you should be able to mediate an issue between employees or a client in a way as to not effect production or lose a client. Jack believes that situation plays a role in leadership. This is what separates strong leaders from the average. A strong leader can be placed in most any situation and be successful. If a mediocre leader is put into a simple or familiar situation they could be interpreted as a strong leader but will fail when tested. He also states that there are a few situations where even the strongest most experienced leaders will fail. The example of a pilot, seconds from destruction, could direct and organize his crew to the best of anyone’s ability and yet still fatally crash. This relates to business during market downturns and changes in technology. If you have too much expense and debt during a downturn or your only product has just been rendered obsolete by a new technology, there is not much you can do. When asked about the followers he prefers to refer to them as â€Å"the team† and they need to work together if they are going to be lead well. Although when asked if a strong leader can take â€Å"bad† followers and still accomplish a common goal, he believes it can be done. Jack still refers back to the military, when grunts come in general infantry they are generally â€Å"bad† followers but a strong leader can bring them together, have them work as a group and agree to go to war together. In Jack’s career he has encountered good and bad followers, some needing a lot of structure and others which could be trusted to complete the work with minimal supervision. Jack has a very â€Å"laid back† style of leadership and with some employees this became an issue because they took advantage of the freedom. In Jacks experience leaders can be trained but there is a small group that will never be a good leader. In society he believes there is a very large â€Å"middle ground† of people who can be trained to accomplish anything they set their mind to. He thinks that some great leaders are born that way and it comes much more effortlessly than for others. That being said, if one of the â€Å"middle ground† individuals had the desire and training they too can rise to be a great leader and accomplish great things. In general Jack believes that great leaders can either be born or trained to achieve the highest level of leadership and that there is a small g roup of individuals that un-salvageable. After this interview I think Jack has a understanding of what makes a leader but still has leaning to do. First and foremost leadership is a process and not just a single tactic to achieve a single goal. It is the development of relationships between the leader and the followers along with the relationships between the followers themselves. Through these emotional connections a leader can work with a group of followers and accomplish great things even when situation may be very difficult. I found it very interesting when talking about the characteristics of a strong leader Jack’s first response is wisdom, which I believe he relates to intelligence. Intelligence is a very large factor in being a strong leader but being inspiring is just as important. Being a â€Å"people person† does not make you a good leader. An individual can be very kind and a good listener but unless they can inspire a group of people to work together for a common goal they will not be effective. Jack believes that leaders can be trained to accomplish a high level of success much like the ones that are natural leaders. This is idea is in line with academics that leadership can be classically trained and not only gained by experience. Another issue with Jacks interpretation of leadership is how a strong leader can improve an already good situation. He sees that strong leaders can handle most situations and accomplish necessary tasks but fails to acknowledge that the entire dynamic is related. His views seem negative towards a leader with a good group of followers and a positive situation, that with a strong or marginal leader you will have the same result. I disagree with this idea and believe with a strong leader you can have increased productivity and quality of product. It also seems that Jack thinks all managers are leaders which is not the case. Managers and leaders have many of the same characteristics but hold different roles within a company. Managers are there to provide guidance and accomplish a short term goal or task whereas a leader is there to inspire and create a challenging vision for the long term success of a company. True leaders will be introspective as they learn from experience. This is known as the action-observation-reflection model in which a leader will take an experience and give it additional attention to learn as much as possible. First you must review the action that caused the experience, then review the outcome of that action and finally determine how you feel about the outcome. When using this method reviewing a situation one can gain a great deal of knowledge to apply in the future. Jack also seems to have fundamental attribution error when reflecting on why he considers an employee to be bad. He has a bias that when an employee is not functioning at their full capacity it is only due to them taking advantage of him and his method of management. He fails to see if there could be any outside factors causing these behaviors; for example, if an employee is also a student who in enrolled in a very difficult course may appear to be leaving early and â€Å"taking advantage† when in fact they just have a class to attend. This could be easily remedied by offering a flexible schedule where the employee could begin their work day a little earlier. This also relates to the self serving bias where this employee could hold Jack responsible for not performing in class instead of realizing they didn’t dedicate enough time out of class for study. Jack also believes that to be a good leader you must be very proficient in the task at hand. The academics disagree with this idea and note that the higher level of management the less technical knowledge you must have. This is where vision and inspiration become extremely important to guide your followers to success. In conclusion Jack has learned well from his years of experience but there is still room for growth in his knowledge of leadership and management, especially the difference between the two. Something that would greatly help improve the quality of management and leadership within the company would be using some assessment the leaders. This could be accomplished by having a questionnaire rating the leader by the superiors and subordinates. This method would help understand the performance of the leader as assessed by the superior and the effectiveness as provided by the subordinate’s questionnaire.