Organizational Motivation and Leadership in Workplace Situations

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Organizational Motivation and Leadership

This paper provides an examination of organizational motivation and leadership in a chosen organizational situation. First, a description of the chosen organization is provided, which happens to be a long-term care nursing facility in Denver, Colorado. Second, a description of the selected situation is provided, which is an employee conflict situation. Third, this paper will apply some motivational theories, in particular behaviorism, psychoanalytic, and self-determination theories to our employee conflict situation. Fourth, this paper will analyze the role of organizational leadership in a superior-subordinate conflict. Fifth, this paper will evaluate the role of power and influence in organizational settings and conflicts.

Description of Selected Organization

This organization is a long-term care (LTC) nursing facility, which is composed of mostly African American employees and residents in Denver, Colorado. This organization is hierarchically arranged, and it is overseen and monitored by a corporation and their leaders, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), and the Colorado State Nursing Board among others. These three entities are predominately white, as are the top employees within the LTC facility itself. Morale is mainly good among the top employees, but many of the subordinates, who are predominately black, exhibit apathy, such as average effort and job performance. There are approximately 200, mainly black residents in this home, who are primarily geriatric residents along with some with Alzheimer's and psychiatric residents.

Description of Selected Situation

As stated, many of the subordinates have an apathetic, almost rebellious, attitude toward their job. They demonstrate reduced effort and concern toward their job, along with some signs of drug use at work, but they have never been caught or charged with abuse or neglect until the day in question. On this day, one of the Registered Nurses (RN) finally decided to "write up" two subordinate, black Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA), who she thought were demonstrating neglect of their job duties. They had been given prior verbal reprimands for this same offense, and some suspicion of drug use at work. A few months later, a new Director of Nurses (DON: the highest nurse in the building) and Assistant Director of Nurses (ADON) took over nursing leadership of the building, as the old DON and ADON left to go to another facility. Meanwhile, the CNA who had been "written up" by the RN earlier, decided now was his time to get revenge on the RN, who was already aware of her more precarious relationship with the LTC facility as the new boss and her "friends" moved in. These new bosses were capable of changing policies against the old employee's values, and letting the old employees go, so that their "friends" could have their jobs. Some of the old employees, moreover, would be versatile and strong enough mentally, emotionally, and behaviorally to remain with the facility and its changes, but some would not.

Soon enough, for instance, the RN supervisor who had "written up" the CNA became slandered by him after the new DON took over the helm. This revengeful CNA reported to the new DON that the RN supervisor was not doing her job on the evening in question, as he said she had not spent any time with the new admission, an older black lady, who the RN had admitted to the LTC facility that evening. This nurse had in ...