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Please, analyze how individual behavior, personality traits, and interpersonal skills influence organizational culture, decision-making, and performance in a startup environment. Pre-Class Preparation: Read the BarkGift case study carefully. Take notes on the founders’ personalities, values, and leadership approaches. Identify examples of interpersonal dynamics, decision-making challenges, and employee motivation issues. In-Class Group Work (3 or 4 students): Step 1.

Individual Factors: Identify at least three personal characteristics (personality traits, values, attitudes) of the founders or key employees that have shaped BarkGift’s culture and decision-making. Link these to OB theories such as the Big Five personality model, Schwartz’s values theory, or attribution theory. Step 2. Team Dynamics: Describe how communication styles, trust levels, and conflict management approaches are influencing team performance. Step 3.

Managerial Skills: Evaluate how the founders’ interpersonal skills have helped or hindered growth. Identify any gaps in skills needed for the next phase of development. Step 4. Recommendations: Propose two actions the founders could take to improve people management and organizational effectiveness. Deliverables: Group Report: 2–3 pages, APA format, summarizing analysis and recommendations.

Paper for above instructions

Understanding how individual behavior, personality traits, and interpersonal skills influence organizational culture is essential for explaining why startups like BarkGift evolve the way they do. Startups operate in dynamic, high-pressure environments where the personalities and values of founders often have an outsized impact on culture, decision-making, and employee motivation. In the BarkGift case study, the founders’ personal characteristics, communication patterns, leadership approaches, and interpersonal behaviors collectively shape both the strengths and challenges of the organization. This analysis examines the individual, team-based, and organizational effects of their behaviors using core Organizational Behavior (OB) theories, including the Big Five personality model, Schwartz’s values theory, attribution theory, and established frameworks on interpersonal communication and conflict management. The report also evaluates the managerial skill gaps that hinder BarkGift’s growth and provides specific recommendations for improving organizational effectiveness.

Step 1: Individual Factors Influencing Culture and Decision-Making

Several personal characteristics of the founders and early employees at BarkGift have contributed significantly to the company’s emerging culture. First, one founder appears to score highly on openness to experience, a dimension of the Big Five personality model that captures creativity, innovation, and a preference for novel ideas. This trait supports BarkGift’s ability to generate unique product concepts and experiment with new strategies. However, high openness can sometimes result in over-idealism or a lack of structure, which contributes to inconsistent decision-making and frequent shifts in priorities.

A second important trait is conscientiousness. While one founder demonstrates strong conscientiousness—illustrated by attention to detail, responsibility, and follow-through—the other founder appears lower in this trait, often missing deadlines or failing to document key decisions. According to the Big Five model, conscientiousness is positively associated with organizational performance and reliability. In BarkGift’s case, the imbalance between founders creates tension and ambiguity around task completion, ultimately influencing team productivity and expectations.

Third, the founders’ values deeply shape the organizational culture. Schwartz’s values theory suggests that values like benevolence, self-direction, and achievement drive individual behavior. One BarkGift founder places a high priority on benevolence, shown through a strong desire to create a supportive and friendly environment. This emphasis contributes to a warm and inclusive culture but may also lead to avoidance of difficult conversations or poor accountability when employees underperform. Conversely, another founder prioritizes achievement, pushing aggressively for rapid growth and efficiency. The clash between these values influences strategic decisions, hiring practices, and employee motivation, often resulting in tension between maintaining a supportive culture and pursuing aggressive performance targets.

Finally, attribution theory helps explain some of the interpersonal misunderstandings in the company. For instance, when project delays occur, one founder tends to attribute the issue to employee laziness rather than situational factors like unclear instructions or unrealistic timelines. Such internal attributions can damage morale and trust, contributing to a negative spiral where employees feel undervalued or unfairly judged.

Step 2: Team Dynamics and Communication Patterns

Team performance at BarkGift is strongly shaped by the founders’ communication styles, trust levels, and approaches to conflict. Communication in startups is often informal and fast-paced, and the BarkGift founders embody this pattern. One founder communicates enthusiastically but imprecisely, leading to misunderstandings about priorities. The other communicates directly and critically, sometimes damaging relationships. According to OB research, high-performing teams rely on clear, respectful communication that supports psychological safety. In BarkGift’s case, inconsistent communication reduces clarity and increases employee stress.

Trust within the team appears uneven. The founders trust each other’s commitment but not always each other’s judgment. This leads to second-guessing and last-minute revisions that frustrate employees. Trust issues also extend to the staff, where some employees feel micromanaged while others feel neglected. Research on team effectiveness shows that trust is foundational to collaboration, risk-taking, and innovation—three qualities necessary for startup success.

Conflict management is another significant factor. Conflict at BarkGift tends to be relationship-oriented rather than task-oriented, meaning disagreements become personal rather than constructive. This aligns with the conflict management theory that distinguishes between functional and dysfunctional conflict. Functional conflict stimulates new ideas and improves decisions, while dysfunctional conflict harms relationships and lowers productivity. BarkGift’s tendency toward unresolved interpersonal tensions diverts energy away from innovation and strategic planning.

Step 3: Managerial and Interpersonal Skills

The founders’ interpersonal skills have both supported and hindered the startup’s growth. On the positive side, one founder demonstrates strong emotional intelligence, particularly empathy and social awareness. This helps create an environment where employees feel valued and motivated. The warmth and charisma this founder displays also contribute to cultural cohesion and employer branding.

However, the founders lack several critical managerial skills necessary for scaling the organization. First, delegation skills are weak. The founders often attempt to personally oversee every decision, reflecting a lack of trust and an unclear understanding of role differentiation. Research shows that as startups grow, founders must shift from doing to managing—a transition BarkGift has not yet achieved.

A second skill gap involves strategic communication. The absence of structured communication processes—such as consistent check-ins, documented procedures, or performance feedback systems—creates confusion. Employees report vague assignments and shifting timelines, leading to inefficiency and burnout. Effective managers articulate clear expectations and provide timely feedback, both of which are underdeveloped at BarkGift.

Third, conflict resolution and negotiation skills need improvement. Rather than addressing issues directly and calmly, the founders either avoid conflict or engage emotionally, which exacerbates misunderstandings. Strong conflict resolution skills include active listening, reframing issues, and collaborative problem-solving—competencies that the founders must strengthen to lead the organization into its next phase.

Step 4: Recommendations for Improving Organizational Effectiveness

To strengthen BarkGift’s organizational culture and performance, two key actions are recommended. First, the founders should establish structured communication and decision-making systems. This includes implementing weekly leadership meetings, creating formal documentation for decisions, and adopting project management tools that improve follow-through and accountability. Structured communication reduces ambiguity and increases employee confidence, especially in fast-paced environments.

Second, the founders should invest in leadership development training focusing on conflict resolution, delegation, and emotional intelligence. Enhanced interpersonal skills will allow them to address issues more constructively, empower employees, and reduce relationship-oriented conflict. Leadership development is particularly critical as the organization prepares to scale, hire new talent, and professionalize its internal operations.

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