Plan for Positive Influence
LDR/531
May 13, 2013

Plan for Positive Influence The idea behind this paper is to create a plan to increase group or team motivation, performance, and satisfaction over the course of one year. Working in a group or team opens individuals up to be subjected to various emotions, values, attitudes, and personalities of the other members of the group or team. Emotions and attitudes affect behaviors, values and personalities are deeply instilled in each individual. If the individuals of the group cannot collaborate and perform cohesively, the purpose of the group is not fulfilled, rendering them unproductive and ineffective. By the end of this paper, the differences in individuals and ways to make those differences work in a group are considered. Ways to influence the team in a positive way will also be addressed.
Attitudes and Emotions in the Team
Attitudes are positive or negative statements about people, events or things and mirror how something makes an individual feel. There are three parts to an attitude. The cognitive part is what one thinks about a stimulus. The affective part describes how the stimulus made the individual feel. Last, the behavioral part of an attitude reflects what the individual does in response to the stimulus (Robbins & Judge, "Chapter 3: Attitudes and Job Satisfaction, Attitudes," 2011). The attitudes displayed in this group are a low level of job satisfaction, increased level of job involvement and organizational commitment, and high employee engagement.
Emotions are intense feelings directed at someone or something. Moods are feelings not as intense as emotions. A mood can linger, lasting hours or days, emotions are felt at a specific time to a direct stimulus. Emotions can cause moods, and moods can create emotions (Robbins & Judge, "Chapter 4: Emotions and Moods, What Are Emotions and Moods?" 2011). A low level of job satisfaction provides negative emotions and a bad mood that crosses over into the team, negatively affecting the work environment. The high level of job involvement and organizational commitment provides high emotions and a positive mood. The high level of employee engagement also provides a positive attitude and mood for the team.
Values and Personalities in the Team
According to Robbins and Judge (2011), personality is the total ways individuals react to and interact with others (Robbins & Judge, "Chapter 5: Personality and Values, Personality," 2011). Myers-Briggs personality type indicator categorizes personalities as extroverted or introverted (E or I), sensing or intuitive (S or N), thinking or feeling (T or F), and judging or perceiving (J or P) (Robbins & Judge, "Chapter 5: Personality and Values, Personality," 2011). Personalities on this team are ENFP – people-oriented, creative, conflict mediator; INTJ - skeptical, critical, independent and ENTP - innovative, versatile, entrepreneurial (University of Phoenix, 1989).
Values are methods of conduct which are socially or personally acceptable as opposed to an alternative method and are subjective to what the individual is right or good (Robbins & Judge, "Chapter 5: Personality and Values, Personality," 2011). Values are not flexible, they are a part of what makes individuals who they are, and teams are more effective when the individuals’ values line up with the team/organization’s values. Values often motivate and explain attitudes, behaviors, and opinions.
Effectively Addressing Differences for Positive Influence
It is important for managers to understand members of the organization put into teams, if they expect positive performance from the group. This does not mean placing people in the same teams because they are friends outside the office, or because they play on the same office baseball team. Rather, if managers are aware of its members’ personalities and values, they can be on teams that do not conflict too drastically with individual values, and