Group Dynamics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Group Dynamics - Essay Example On then other hand, Jung & Sosik (2002) indicate that group dynamics ahs been beneficial to the organization since it aids the management in devising problem solving skills in the workplace. Through group dynamics, the management has been able to create team work among its employees; thus, creativity and cooperation in the workplace. A group is inclusive of several people who come together with the aim of achieving a common objective. Group dynamics refers attitudinal and characteristics in behaviour of a given group (Robbins, 2007). Group dynamics are relevant to the organization in the HS engineering firm where there are several group dynamics in the Leeds firm that work together with the aim of achieving organizational objectives. The study of group dynamics within an organization will enable one understand the status of an organization (Cheringtan, 2004). However, group dynamics can only be successful if the management organizes the various aspects of groups in the workplace (Lov elace, Shapiro & Weingart, 2001). Among these attributes include the size of the groups, the characteristics of the members of these groups, their norms beliefs, and finally, the nature of tasks that they perform so as to be successful in their quest to create team work. Through categorization of these attributes in the organization gives the management an opportunity to strategies the kind of activities that ought to be performed in the workplace ands at what pace. From the HS engineering firm case study, group dynamics has not been alienated from the functioning of the organization. In the Leeds firm for instance, several aspects of group dynamics have been put in place to see to the success of the organization. Through analysis of the group dynamics of the organization, the management has been able to clearly understand what aspects to apply so as to understand the entire organization (Marcus, 1998). With the HS engineering company having other branches in other parts of the coun try, there was dire need by the company to understand the functionality of all the branches in the workplace. A closer scrutiny of the case also indicates that the company has gone through massive changes all in attempt to survive in the market. In the long run, the company has experienced massive losses in some of its branches that led to the closure of the same. This indicates that the management has dedicated a lot of efforts in understanding the operations of the company. Social identify theory states that individual group dynamics help to obtain a sense of identity and acquire self actualization. This reduces the rate of conflict within the organization. As an illustration from the HS engineering sample the major conflicts that arise due to the change taking place within the organization include; loss in manufacturing industries, there is an expectation of 30% reduction in the financial status of the company. The different group dynamics established had their own needs that lea d to the closure of some of them due to poor management. Mangold & Miles (2002) and Moritz &Watson (1998) indicate that leaders of organizations can only implement the aspects of group dynamics if the management of the organization is well conversant with the occurrences in the organization, no matter how minute they may seem. All organizations

Franchising Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Franchising Marketing - Essay Example Franchising has been recognized as a successful business model leading to accelerated expansion of the new store with local control of the franchise owners assuring lesser financial risks with rewards associated with local ownership which requires lower level of supervision and economies of scale. "The most widely accepted definition of a franchise refers to a contractual relationship between a franchisee (usually taking form of a small business) and a franchisor (usually a larger business) in which the former agrees to produce or market a product or service in accordance with the blueprint devised by the franchisor"(Stanworth et al. 1995) Management Structures: Franchising is primarily defined in terms of the legal business agreement between two partners, the franchisor and the franchisee. The franchisor, who has previously established a market-tested business package of products or services, enters into a continuing contractual relationship with a number of franchisees, typically small business owners, who must operate their businesses according to the franchisor's specified format (Curran and Stanworth, 1983). The franchisor provides a proven method of operation, support, and advice on the setting up of the new franchisees, and also guarantees continuing support to the franchisee. In return, the franchisee pays a lump sum entrant fee and other charges for regular services (that is, royalty on sales, advertising fees, marketing levy) (Fulop and Forward, 1997). Franchising has been adopted a growth strategy for many firms in business with the advent of globalization. It is a different from other form of business. A f ranchise is a hybrid form of business characterized by complex contractual arrangements (Eisenhardt, 1989). Though many franchises operate between hybrid and the hierarchy (centralized or organizational) firm and incorporate both the franchised units as well as the company owned outlets (Brickley and Dark, 1987) In a hybrid operation, the franchisor monitors and controls the franchisee within the limits specified in the franchise agreement. In contrast, the franchisor operates company-owned outlets through his or her authority over a centralized bureaucracy or as a hierarchical organization. The resource scarcity theory and the agency theory explained the theory of franchising around the hybrid and hierarchy forms of franchise organization. Support for the agency theory as a rationale behind franchising was substantial. Research found that the franchisee motivation as an agent was perceived to be the most important strategy of the franchise firms (Oxenfelt and Kelly, 1968-69) while the capital advantage of franchising, which was proposed by the resource scarcity theory, had a low acknowledgement by the franchisors (Lillis, Narayana and Gilman, 1976). The franchisee's high motivation was probably derived from the nature of the franchise relationship. Franchising involves an exchange relationship between franchisor and franchisee which was sometimes described as a partnership or strategic alliance (Stanworth and Kaufmann, 1996). The franchisee is simply managing an outlet featuring the corporate strategy of the franchisor and to a certain extent possesses a degree of autonomy in managing the outlet (Dant and Gundlach, 1998). Unlike the company-owned manager, the franchisee enjoys more dependency in running the day-to-day business Franchisee and Franchisor: The