Managing the environment virtual and dispersed

Additionally the topics explore the power categories namely reward power, coercive power, referent power, legitimate power , expert power, position power, opportunity power, and personal power to highlight their various characteristics, so that managers can understand the type of power that they exert as individuals and how they can develop their skills and expertise so as to gain different types of power such as expert power that relies on a leaders expertise and knowledge. Most importantly, the topics show how these power categories fit into either the category of soft power or hard power with the aim of highlighting the benefits of utilizing soft power to shape the preferences of others. The paper seeks to look at practical examples of these areas so as to show how the various models and theories in each are actioned and implemented.

It also seeks to highlight how the models and theories in each of the topics may work in practice. Networks, Relationships And “Soft Power” Networking refers to the process that allows for individuals or groups that have a common interest to share information and ideas. With this one sees that networking and the organizational network might work in practice by allowing a manager to effectively implement knowledge management and also to implement change management programs. For example, managers ought to identify the hub/ central nodes within organizations. These because hub/ central nodes who are not formal leaders can be highlighted as informal leaders within organizations. Identifying them they can utilize them to help adopt changes within the organization because they know everyone, they influence groups and they share information.

On the other hand, managers need to identify peripherals in good time, seeing that they can negatively impact the organizations in more ways than one. These attractive value systems influence the behaviors of employees on an individual level by being demonstrative and cultivating an environment that is positive and productive because human beings tend to emulate the people around them. Also, they influence the behavior of individuals by exercising inclusive approaches that allow for employees to be part of the organization's success. This soft power can only be actioned and implemented if the manager in question does their homework to learn first hand about the problems and challenges of the employees that they manage, and one way to achieve this is through rotational assignments that allow leaders to acquire cross-functional knowledge.

Soft power may work in practice to resolve problems by reinforcing a company culture that stands for empathy, kindness, and compassion due tmo the fact that soft power goes beyond tha bility to move people basd on ones argument or persuasion but because it requires a persona ability to attractbased on justness, and shared values (Joseph, S. For example, A lower level communications professional attended a client presentation with lettuce stuck in between his teeth. 2012) and choosing the right team players who are self-motivated, are honest, have great communication skills and people who are results driven. Also, a dispersed team can be effectively managed when the manager clearly defines the team's purpose so that the members across geographical regions unite around the same or common goals.

Additionally, the manager ought to develop strong team dynamics by being keen enough to note issues of reduced output, challenges of the team members reluctance to engage in video conference calls or telephone calls, and noting when team members begin to have a shortage of new ideas. Further, the manager needs to create opportunities that promote team bonding such as virtual team rooms, the use of webcams and by being sensitive to language barriers. Finally, managers ought to go the extra mile to ensure team members receive feedback and so that performance is rewarded. On his appointment, Tariq discovered that the team had two subgroups that were based on location and language. To bring the team back on track, he created a team motto that stated: “we are different yet one” (Neeley, T.

2015) that made the group solidify again. This motto not only highlighted the managers zero tolerance for insensitivities based on culture, but also his zero tolerance for insensitivities based on language. Another example is that of a French chemical engineer and her teammates of a global team based in Marseille who responded to their emails only first thing in the morning so that their work did not get interrupted during the course of the day. [Online] Available at: http://www. informationarchitected. com/blog/using-organizational-network-analysis/[ Accessed 10 July 2018]. Courtney, F. 6 steps to effective organizational change management, Pulse learning, [Online] Available at: https://www. , Harvard business school. [Online] Available at: https://hbswk. hbs. edu/archive/the-benefits-of-soft-power[ Accessed 10 July 2018]. Levasseur, R. com/pages/article/newTMM_40. htm[ Accessed 10 July 2018].