Information technology (IT) is a critical part of almost every department. As a result, businesses have high expectations of their technology investment. New technologies must now reduce costs, increase security, enhance productivity or improve workflows and communications. But, despite the importance role IT strategy plays, it often ends up as an afterthought. Bolted on to the business strategy, rather than forming an integral part of it. This is often because IT is seen as a separate entity. One where technology drives investments, instead of the business` own aims and objectives. This divided approach, by both the business as a whole and by IT, is counterproductive. And usually only serves to increase the disconnect between the two.
hygiene factors, and factors that promote satisfaction, motivation factors, shown in Figure 4 (Pettinger, 2007). Herzberg’s theory helps to decipher what motivates individuals, but does not advise on how to implement this to produce maximum productivity from an individual, this is achieved by using the theory in conjunction with other motivational theories such as goal setting theory.
Figure 4: Hygiene and Motivating Factors (Pettinger,, 2006)
Goal setting is not just an important part of motivation, they are essential for both teamwork and successful leadership, they provide indication on what must be achieved, how much effort they must devoted to achieve it and they act as the primary source of job motivation for individuals, therefore setting them accurately is essential (Pettinger 2007). Specific and clear goals are the most effective motivators, and will lead to optimum performance, therefore it becomes essential for a leader to understand what motivates each individual within a group (Pettinger, 2007). Motivation is highly personal, and can differ massively across a group, so the leader must adapt how they motivate to suit each individual, this highlights the need for an organisation to implement policies that allow leaders to be flexible in how they reward individuals. Issues arise when goals are not set well, if the goals are ambiguous, unachievable or too easy then the individual will lose motivation (Pettinger, 2007). Once goals have been set it becomes essential for leaders to regularly assess how individuals are progressing towards them, if well then goals should be made more challenging, if they are struggling then the goals should be made easier. Goals also allow for leader to assess how the team are performing, and how their leadership style is functioning with the group, if goals are not being met the leader must adapt how the team interact together or their leadership style to achieve them.
Conclusions
The theories discussed provide a framework for understanding teamwork, leadership and motivation, however often are only applicable to distinct situations so do not translate sufficiently into practice and should be used cautiously. Clear connections and codependency exist between the theories, and ultimately in practice becomes the responsibility of the leader to intertwine them to achieve maximum performance from a group. For organisational behaviour to be successful, leadership must aspire change in group members, ensure teams are functional and individual group members are motivated, and is underpinned by a leaders ability to adapt the theories to the situational factors around them. To do this, and successfully implement policies
