Leading and Managing Today's Organizational Teams

Technological advancements coupled with consumer demands in a global market forced businesses to change from the traditional nine-to-five work day to a twenty-four hours a day, seven-days a week world. Maintaining a competitive edge is a matter of survival in today's weak economy. Successful leaders and managers recognize they must continue to find new and innovative ways to meet customer needs by utilizing the creative power of groups and teams. This paper will explore understanding group dynamics and the distinctions between leadership and management.

Social networking is a popular past time in America. Facebook currently has over 500 million active users and over half of the active users log on to Facebook in any given day. An average users has at least 130 friends. It is estimated that people spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook. Twitter is another favorite social network. This company boasts over 57 million members. These sites and others like them are extremely popular because humans have a basic need for interaction. Most of us will interrelate with others by joining some type of group whether in business, education, sports, or a social cause. According to Shockley-Zalabak (2009), "Most of us have memberships in multiple groups. Families, work organizations, athletic teams, friendships, and volunteer groups are only a few small-group experiences in which most of us are involved. We join these groups in different ways and for different reasons. In our organizational lives, our jobs often define membership in certain groups. Our skills and visibility within the organization may determine membership in other types of groups, and our interpersonal relationships determine the extent of ou...

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...y. Thriving businesses must keep up with the global demands after all money never sleeps.

Works Cited

Cushman, D. & King, S. (1995). Communication and High-Speed Management. Retrieved from http://www.sunypress.edu/p-2151-communication-and-high-speed-ma.aspx.

Huguley, C. (2009). Air Force Pamphlet 36-2241, Professional Development Guide. Retrieved from http://www.afmentor.com/docs/pubs/index.htm

Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, F.P. (2009). Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills. Columbus, Ohio: Pearson.

Nah, W. (2008). Technology's Effect on Interpersonal Communication. Retrieved from http://communicatebetter.blogspot.com/2008/08/technology-and-its-influence-on.html.

Shockley-Zalabak, P. S., (2009). Fundamentals of Organizational Communication: Knowledge, Sensitivity, Skills, Values (7th Ed.). University of Colorado. Pearson Education, Inc.