Chapter 15 discusses how to influence, empower, and deal with politics in the business world. Chapter 15 says that there are 9 generic influence tactics that can be used just about anywhere in business. With that said, David Kipins, a psychologist, states that through multiple studies he has discovered only 8 to truly be considered "successful influence tactics" (Kipins). Chapter 15 utilizes previous studies and projects conducted by David Kipins. The study from the 1980's involved employees responding to ways that successfully persuaded there bosses, coworkers, or subordinates to do what they wished of them. The study took place over a 13 year period, and eventually "yielded nine influence tactics" (Kreitner 438).
Kipins more recent study minimizes the older study, to state there are eight current tactics. Kipins states that his most recent study found "8 dimensions of influence: Assertiveness, Ingratiation, Rationality, Sanctions, Exchange, Upward Appeals, Blocking, and Coalitions" (Kipins 442).
There are only slight differences with those from his first study that is showcased in the text.
1. Rational Persuasion: trying to convince someone with reason, logic or facts
2. Inspirational Appeals: trying to build enthusiasm by appealing to others' emotions, ideals or values
3. Consultation: getting others to participate in planning, making decisions, and changes
4. Ingratiation: getting someone in a good mood prior to making a request
5. Personal Appeals: referring to friendship and loyalty when making a request
6. Exchange: making express or implied promises and trading favors
7. Coalition Tactics: getting others to support your effort to persuade someone
8. Pressure: demanding compliance or using intimidation threats
9. Legitimating Tactics: basing request on one's authority or right, organizational rules or policies, or express or implied support from superiors
These approaches are ranked in success in ascending order based on the study. These are memorable tactics to use when in the work field, and importance and value can not be underestimated.
Intraorganizational influence tactics: Explorations in getting one's way.
Kipnis, David; Schmidt, Stuart M.; Wilkinson, Ian
Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol 65(4), Aug 1980, 440-452
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Nonverbal Communication
Chapter 14 was a very interesting chapter that focused on how to become a better communicator in the "Digital Age." The chapter discussed a few differences between communication styles. One for example was, Interpersonal Communication. Interpersonal Communication is defined as "all aspects of personal interaction, contact, and communication between individuals or members of a group." So basically, this is saying that this is communication that takes place more than with just words. Nonverbal communication is the subject that caught my interest the most however. There are "many different "channels" of nonverbal communication: facial expressions, the clues in our voices ("vocal paralanguage"), hand gestures, body movements ("kinesics"), touch ("haptics"), and personal space" (Archer 1). Chapter 14 states that in fact "65% of every conversation is partially interpreted through nonverbal communication" (Kreitner 410).
The chapter continues to outline a variety of different nonverbal signals, so one may become more aware of what they are and how to react to them.
The first is Body Movements and Gestures. This includes leaning forward into the conversation, or leaning back away from away. It is important to remember that body movements are on the of most misinterpreted signals of nonverbal communication.
The next is Touch. Touching as a form of communication is a powerful way to convey a message. For example, if someone were to have a conversation with you, and placed his/her hand your shoulder, there purpose is to grab your attention and have you understand the importance of what it is they're saying.
Facial Expressions, including smiling while listening to a speech can really give the speaker a positive attitude about he or she is saying.
Eye Contact is another form of nonverbal communication that can really let a speaker see inside the head of his listener. For example, if someone is giving a presentation or speaking one-on-one with another employee, and they are looking everywhere except into the eyes of the speaker, it should be as clear as day that the listener is not intrigued in what the speaker has to say.
Dan Archer, a communications professor from the University of Santa Cruz states that other key signals to notice are "personal space, the human voice, and cross-cultural differences" (Archer 3). This few tips can really help the communication process in the business atmosphere.
Archer, Dan. "Exploring Nonverbal Communication." University of Santa Cruz. 4/12/10. http://nonverbal.ucsc.edu/.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
The chapter continues to outline a variety of different nonverbal signals, so one may become more aware of what they are and how to react to them.
The first is Body Movements and Gestures. This includes leaning forward into the conversation, or leaning back away from away. It is important to remember that body movements are on the of most misinterpreted signals of nonverbal communication.
The next is Touch. Touching as a form of communication is a powerful way to convey a message. For example, if someone were to have a conversation with you, and placed his/her hand your shoulder, there purpose is to grab your attention and have you understand the importance of what it is they're saying.
Facial Expressions, including smiling while listening to a speech can really give the speaker a positive attitude about he or she is saying.
Eye Contact is another form of nonverbal communication that can really let a speaker see inside the head of his listener. For example, if someone is giving a presentation or speaking one-on-one with another employee, and they are looking everywhere except into the eyes of the speaker, it should be as clear as day that the listener is not intrigued in what the speaker has to say.
Dan Archer, a communications professor from the University of Santa Cruz states that other key signals to notice are "personal space, the human voice, and cross-cultural differences" (Archer 3). This few tips can really help the communication process in the business atmosphere.
Archer, Dan. "Exploring Nonverbal Communication." University of Santa Cruz. 4/12/10. http://nonverbal.ucsc.edu/.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
E-mail Tips to Follow
Business people in the workplace receive numerous emails each day. Technology has now allowed us to send and receive emails practically anywhere. What often times happens when everyone is always involved in e-mails is that communication among coworkers decreases, emotions are often poorly communicated or miscomunicated, and often times coworkers feel less connected.
By using the books tools and finding more in the article, “Writing Effective E-Mail: Top 10 Tips” there are many practical E-mail tips to help you curb e-mail overkill. First do not assume email is confidential, so don't send anything over e-mail that you wouldn't want posted -- with your name attached -- in the break room. Be professional and courteous. You can do this by not sending chain letters around and refraining from using colored fonts or typing in all caps. Avoid sloppiness and check your work and proofread before you send it to look professional. Do not use e-mail for volatile or complex issues. Make sure to keep messages brief and clear as well as focused and readable. Use a meaningful subject heading to grab readers attention as well as bullets and refraining from writing long essay like e-mails. To save people time write that no reply is necessary to help the receiver prioritize messages. In order to follow e-mail etiquette, respond quickly. Remember to distinguish between formal and informal e-mails. It might be okay to use short abbreviations with your friends, but with your boss and coworkers you should not. Be careful with attachments because they can crash peoples systems and use up time for downloading. Lastly, make sure you clearly identify yourself.
Jerz, Dennis G., and Jessica Bauer. "E-Mail: Ten Tips for Writing It Effectively." Dennis G. Jerz. Web. 12 Apr. 2010..
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
By using the books tools and finding more in the article, “Writing Effective E-Mail: Top 10 Tips” there are many practical E-mail tips to help you curb e-mail overkill. First do not assume email is confidential, so don't send anything over e-mail that you wouldn't want posted -- with your name attached -- in the break room. Be professional and courteous. You can do this by not sending chain letters around and refraining from using colored fonts or typing in all caps. Avoid sloppiness and check your work and proofread before you send it to look professional. Do not use e-mail for volatile or complex issues. Make sure to keep messages brief and clear as well as focused and readable. Use a meaningful subject heading to grab readers attention as well as bullets and refraining from writing long essay like e-mails. To save people time write that no reply is necessary to help the receiver prioritize messages. In order to follow e-mail etiquette, respond quickly. Remember to distinguish between formal and informal e-mails. It might be okay to use short abbreviations with your friends, but with your boss and coworkers you should not. Be careful with attachments because they can crash peoples systems and use up time for downloading. Lastly, make sure you clearly identify yourself.
Jerz, Dennis G., and Jessica Bauer. "E-Mail: Ten Tips for Writing It Effectively." Dennis G. Jerz. Web. 12 Apr. 2010.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
Chapter 15: Three Possible Influence Outcomes
In chapter 15, the authors, Kreitner and Kinicki, explain that there are three possible influence outcomes, which are commitment, compliance, and resistance. It is defined as enthusiastically agreeing and demonstrating initiative and persistence while completing the assignment. The best outcome in an organization is commitment because the target person’s intrinsic motivation will energize good performance. According to laboratory studies mentioned in the textbook, commitment occurs when people rely on consultation, strong rational persuasion, and inspirational appeals, and do not rely on pressure and coalition tactics. In addition, commitment is also more likely when the influence attempt involves something important and enjoyable and is based on a friendly relationship.
In a research study conducted by Robin K. Dreeke, his article reports on the significant role played by self-motivation and self-improvement in becoming effective leaders. It explores how self-motivation has helped a special agent pursue his dreams and not give up easily when he comes across challenges. On the other hand, through his self-motivation he is willing to commit to any task he is faced with. By committing to difficult moments when also failing, he discovers his strengths and weaknesses and develop effective solutions to problems which result in accomplishments.
Source: Dreeke, Robin K. "Leadership Spotlight: Self-Motivation and Self-Improvement." FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 77.8 (2008): 9. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2010.
In a research study conducted by Robin K. Dreeke, his article reports on the significant role played by self-motivation and self-improvement in becoming effective leaders. It explores how self-motivation has helped a special agent pursue his dreams and not give up easily when he comes across challenges. On the other hand, through his self-motivation he is willing to commit to any task he is faced with. By committing to difficult moments when also failing, he discovers his strengths and weaknesses and develop effective solutions to problems which result in accomplishments.
Source: Dreeke, Robin K. "Leadership Spotlight: Self-Motivation and Self-Improvement." FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 77.8 (2008): 9. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2010.
Chapter 14: Horizontal Communication
In chapter fourteen the idea that resonated with me the most is Horizontal Communication. In the textbook the authors, Kreitner and Kinicki define it as the flow among coworkers and between different work units and its main purpose is coordination. “During this sideways communication, employees share information and best practices, coordinate work activities and schedules, solve problems, offer advice and coaching, and resolve conflicts” (Kreitner and Kinicki 418). Good communication allows everyone to feel involved and useful in every task that is performed. Communication is essential; it is important to talk within your group to help better understand positions in order to see what goals need to be met. If someone is confused, it is vital that they get the information they need in order to do their portion of the work. If one person is down in the group, the group as a whole is down since it’s all about the team as opposed to the individual work.
In a research study conducted by Teresa Calendrillo, she focuses on the Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). It emphasizes that the essential element in an effective team work is horizontal communication. It also stresses that the role of the nurse leader is to maintain the relationships between team members by offering knowledge, supplies, mentoring support, and tools needed to facilitate patient care. It notes that the team building sessions include personality assessment, horizontal hostility in-service, conflict management presentations, customer service seminar, and generational awareness session. As a result, no productive work or good work can be accomplished without a strong team work among any profession such as nursing or business.
Source: Calendrillo, Teresa. "Team building for a healthy work environment." Nursing Management 40.12 (2009): 9-12. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2010.
In a research study conducted by Teresa Calendrillo, she focuses on the Standards for Establishing and Sustaining Healthy Work Environments by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). It emphasizes that the essential element in an effective team work is horizontal communication. It also stresses that the role of the nurse leader is to maintain the relationships between team members by offering knowledge, supplies, mentoring support, and tools needed to facilitate patient care. It notes that the team building sessions include personality assessment, horizontal hostility in-service, conflict management presentations, customer service seminar, and generational awareness session. As a result, no productive work or good work can be accomplished without a strong team work among any profession such as nursing or business.
Source: Calendrillo, Teresa. "Team building for a healthy work environment." Nursing Management 40.12 (2009): 9-12. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2010.
Influence Outcomes
In today's workplace, at times it may get a little hectic and you may feel like you need some help. You may have multiple projects in your hand and need a little help from a co-worker. You finally get up the nerve to ask for help but how do you ask. The book provides nine generic influence tactics. They are:
1)Rational persuasion
2) Inspirational appeals
3) Consultation
4) Ingratation
5) Personal Appeals
6) Exchange
7) Coalition tactics
8) Pressure
9) Legitimating tactics
You look at this list and choose the tactic that oyu believe will work the best and you go ask for help. There are 3 possible outcomes that can occur.The first being commitment. This is when your friend enthusiastically agrees and will demonstrate initiative and persistence while completing the assignment. The second is compliance. This is when your friend grudgingly complies and will need prodding to satisfy minimum requirements. The last is resistance. This is when your friend will say no, make excuses, stall, or put up an argument. The best possible outcome is obviously commitment but most people have to settle for compliance in today's workplace.
I also read an article that discussed the use and outcomes of influence tactics while working in a hospital. This is the link to the article.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/61558901.html
Journal of Managerial Issues. "Hospital Professionals' Use Of Upward Influence Tactics." Entrepeneur.
2000. http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/61558901.html
1)Rational persuasion
2) Inspirational appeals
3) Consultation
4) Ingratation
5) Personal Appeals
6) Exchange
7) Coalition tactics
8) Pressure
9) Legitimating tactics
You look at this list and choose the tactic that oyu believe will work the best and you go ask for help. There are 3 possible outcomes that can occur.The first being commitment. This is when your friend enthusiastically agrees and will demonstrate initiative and persistence while completing the assignment. The second is compliance. This is when your friend grudgingly complies and will need prodding to satisfy minimum requirements. The last is resistance. This is when your friend will say no, make excuses, stall, or put up an argument. The best possible outcome is obviously commitment but most people have to settle for compliance in today's workplace.
I also read an article that discussed the use and outcomes of influence tactics while working in a hospital. This is the link to the article.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/61558901.html
Journal of Managerial Issues. "Hospital Professionals' Use Of Upward Influence Tactics." Entrepeneur.
2000. http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/61558901.html
Gender Differences in Communication
It has been studied and researched that men and women communicate differently in numerous ways. The research and data that has been collected on this topic is not stereotypical. Some women are less likely to share the credit and some men are less likely to boast about their achievements. Also people's linguistic style influences perceptions about their confidence, competence, and authority. These differences may affect your future job assignments or job promotions. There are 10 differences found in the book. Some of them are the followin:
-Men are less likely to ask for information or directions in a public situation.
-In decision making, women are more likely to downplay their certainty; men are
more likely to downplay their doubts.
I did a little more research to try find some more differences. I found the following on www.associatedcontent.com written by Allison Vyncke:
-Women are more sensitive to others' feelings.
-Men show emotion to communicate dominance.
-Women show attentiveness through verbal and non-verbal cues. Many men avoid
these cues to keep from appearing “one-down.”
Vyncke, Allison. "Gender Differences in Communication." Associated Content. 30 Aug.
2006. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5434
/gender_differences_in_communication.html
-Men are less likely to ask for information or directions in a public situation.
-In decision making, women are more likely to downplay their certainty; men are
more likely to downplay their doubts.
I did a little more research to try find some more differences. I found the following on www.associatedcontent.com written by Allison Vyncke:
-Women are more sensitive to others' feelings.
-Men show emotion to communicate dominance.
-Women show attentiveness through verbal and non-verbal cues. Many men avoid
these cues to keep from appearing “one-down.”
Vyncke, Allison. "Gender Differences in Communication." Associated Content. 30 Aug.
2006. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5434
/gender_differences_in_communication.html
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Informational Technology
With the growth of technology brings many different possibilities to your work environment. It is now fast and easy to send a coworker a message from your home, office, car or train. E-mail, or electronic mail is an instant way for you to contact all or anyone specifically through your computer. There are many pros to this but there are also downfalls.
Pro: reduce costs and paper mail, eco friendly, fast and easy, increase teamwork by sending information to everyone, increase flexibility of employees.
Con: distracting, junk mail, information overload, security system costs, neglect of other media such as phone calls or even in person meetings.
Information is not always private so be careful what you include in the e-mail and double check the recipients. Avoid doing group lists and forwarding junk mail to all employees. This causes distraction and unnecessary time spent reading and deleting these messages. It is often a good idea to put the main point of the message in the subject box so that those who do not need the information can discard it.
E-mails are very beneficial to the professional environment but be careful what you send and how you send your information out.
Pro: reduce costs and paper mail, eco friendly, fast and easy, increase teamwork by sending information to everyone, increase flexibility of employees.
Con: distracting, junk mail, information overload, security system costs, neglect of other media such as phone calls or even in person meetings.
Information is not always private so be careful what you include in the e-mail and double check the recipients. Avoid doing group lists and forwarding junk mail to all employees. This causes distraction and unnecessary time spent reading and deleting these messages. It is often a good idea to put the main point of the message in the subject box so that those who do not need the information can discard it.
E-mails are very beneficial to the professional environment but be careful what you send and how you send your information out.
Chapter 15: Five Bases of Power
The five bases of power is introduced in chapter 15 which refers to a popular scheme for social power. John French and Bertram Raven believed that power comes from five different bases. The first one is reward power; it refers to obtaining compliance with promised or actual rewards. For example, commission or working for a higher wage or position may be granted by the manager through reward power. The second base is coercive power, obtaining compliance through threatened or actual punishment. An example of that is if an employee is late repetitively, a manager may write he or she up or decide to fire that person. The third base is legitimate power, obtaining compliance through formal authority. The fourth power base is expert power, which is defined as obtaining compliance through one's knowledge or information. Because of the experience and skills a person may have, that person may have an upper hand on those without such information. Lastly, referent power is obtaining compliance through charisma or personal attraction, role models are an example of such.
All bases of power aren't obtained individually. Sometimes power can be multidimensional. For example, a person may have expert power along with reward power, such as a manager or boss. The power base I mostly respect is expert power. I feel that through knowledge, credibility is higher and there is more room for trust since that person knows such expertise in an area.
All bases of power aren't obtained individually. Sometimes power can be multidimensional. For example, a person may have expert power along with reward power, such as a manager or boss. The power base I mostly respect is expert power. I feel that through knowledge, credibility is higher and there is more room for trust since that person knows such expertise in an area.
Chapter 14: Personal Barriers
Chapter 14 describes and explains what personal barriers are. As defined in the book, personal barriers are any individual attribute that hinders communication. The book also gives nine different subdivisions of personal barriers. Two out of the nine divisions that stood out to me the most were variations in how information is processed and interpreted and big egos.
Variations in how information is processed and interpreted refers to where and how a person was raised. It refers to what kind of schools, organizations, areas, activities, and home experiences a person may have had. Through these different ideas, a person can see what kind of references and experiences were apart of that person's life. Those ideas help create worldviews. Through these experiences and references, the way a person hears and sees is a affected by them.
Big egos stood out to me since it's something I wouldn't think of as being a barrier. However, after reading about it, I started to understand. Whether a person's ego is big or small, it affects how a person can communicate towards others. Egos influence how you talk to a person and treat others and situations.
Through these different personal barriers, a person can examine how others communicate. For example, a person may put someone down in front of everyone due to ego-related reasons. Also, a person's morals and reasoning may be related to how the person was raised at home.
Variations in how information is processed and interpreted refers to where and how a person was raised. It refers to what kind of schools, organizations, areas, activities, and home experiences a person may have had. Through these different ideas, a person can see what kind of references and experiences were apart of that person's life. Those ideas help create worldviews. Through these experiences and references, the way a person hears and sees is a affected by them.
Big egos stood out to me since it's something I wouldn't think of as being a barrier. However, after reading about it, I started to understand. Whether a person's ego is big or small, it affects how a person can communicate towards others. Egos influence how you talk to a person and treat others and situations.
Through these different personal barriers, a person can examine how others communicate. For example, a person may put someone down in front of everyone due to ego-related reasons. Also, a person's morals and reasoning may be related to how the person was raised at home.
Conflict-Handling Style
Managing conflict and negotiation is the title of Chapter 13. Within this chapter different types of conflicts and ways to resolve these problems. On the diagram "Five Conflict-Handling Styles" which explains exactly that. The different categories include Integrating, dominating, avoiding, obliging and compromising is placed in the center of the other four. Dominating has a high concern for self. In this style the other party's needs are ignored, it can also be referred to as forcing style. This style is usually used when the decision is an unpopular one, the deadline is near or a crisis has taken place. Obliging or the smoothing style "involves playing down differences while emphasizing commonalities." This is usually used when there are benefits for both sides and encourages cooperation. Avoiding tactic is used as a passive method and is usually used during trivial issues. The last conflict-handling method is integrating which is used to solve problems. In this style the parties confront the issue, identify the problem, weigh out the solutions. This is one of the most successful methods but should not be used to solve problems with opposing value systems. Every issue needs to be solved using a managing style that best fits the problem. Unfortunately there is not written rule on which one to use so it is often best to look at each ones strengths and weaknesses before putting them to use.
Decision Making Styles
What I found most interesting about Chapter 12 were the different types of decision making styles. The first is Directive in which people don't like having ambiguity rather they want lucidity and the are also task oriented. They approach solving a problem by being logical, practical, and systematic. This approach calls for decisiveness and a hard look at the facts which will help in their desire to reach a decision as fast as possible. However these types of people tend to use power and control too much and focus only on the short run.
The next kind of style is Analytical where ambiguity is not frowned upon but the individuals tend to analyze the situation for too long of a period. They contemplate and think about every fact, piece of information, and outcomes to the situation. Such individuals take their time in making a decision, but react fairly well to new situations.
Another style is Conceptual and these type of individuals also do not frown upon ambiguity but they tend to focus on the individuals and social aspects of the situation. They consider many options and alternatives, and the effect the decision will have on their future, or just the future in general. They trust a lot in their intuition and seek advice from others through discussions. Taking risks is another characteristic they have and they also find creative ways to solve a problem. The downside is sometimes the Conceptual can foster idealist and indecisiveness.
The last style is Behavioral in which a lot of social interaction occurs and discussions and opinions are welcomed with a smile. Such people are very receptive and supportive of people but also have a tendency to avoid conflict, and are very sympathetic. This can lead to behavioral types to be very passive, try to have everyone get along, and also have a hard time in difficult decision making.
However, research shows that people tend to have a blend of decision making styles, and the decision making styles vary between age groups, countries, etc.
Work Teams
Team building and creating teams are very important in the workplace and different teams can come to rise such as Advice Teams. As the name suggests Advice Teams are there to provide more information in order for managers to make a sound decision. Quality circles are a good example of such a group and they make suggestions toward quality improvement. However Advice Teams are known to have a low degree of technical specialization but they also make proposals and sometimes decisions. Then there is the Production Team which is assigned to perform to day to day operations. They also have a low degree of technical specialization but they have a high degree of communication and coordination with other work units. That is usually because the work they do is related to or affected by something else such as railroad maintenance crews requiring updated information about damage reports and the needed repairs from train crews, and in turn the train crews need to know where the maintenance crew is working at exactly. There is also Project Teams who's job is to solve problems and therefore require a lot of creativity, and specialized knowledge. Depending on the project this team can have a high degree of coordination or a low degree of coordination depending on whether or not it is a traditional unit, low, or a cross functional unit, which requires a high degree of coordination. Lastly, there are Action Teams and such teams are exemplified by sports team, airlines, and surgical teams because they combine high specialization with high coordination. Everyone on the teams bring their skill set and it varies within groups such as the coach, manager, players, trainer, etc.
Chapter 15
Impression management is the process of attempting to control or manipulate how others view your image or ideas. This involves manipulating attributes, how you talk, how you look, and how you behave. People who are high self-monitoring tend to use impression management more than those who are low self-monitoring. Upward impression management tactics are:
• Job-focused means that you manipulate information about your performance
• Supervisor-focused is when you praise or do favors for your supervisor
• Self-focused is presenting yourself as a nice and polite person
A problem with making a good impression is that it can possibly lead to unethical things, such as, the story from Stewart Friedman where people faked looking busy. Another problem is that you may be labeled as ‘phony’ or a ‘pet’ if you use too much impression management. It is important that everyone uses some impression management tactics because it helps to get you noticed in the work place. If you don’t use it at all, supervisors may overlook your contributions when deciding on promotions. Using upward impression management tactics is all about balance. Some people purposely want to make a bad impression because they want to:
• Avoid work, stress, burnout, or an unwanted transfer/promotion
• Obtain a pay raise or a desired transfer, promotion, or demotion
• To get laid off, fired, or suspended, and to collect unemployment/workers’ compensation
• To control, manipulate, or intimate others, get revenge, or make someone else look bad
Five unfavorable upward impression management tactics are:
• Decreasing performance, be less productive, making more mistakes than usual, lowering quality of work, and neglecting tasks
• Not work to potential by pretending to be ignorant
• Displaying a bad attitude by complaining, getting upset and angry, act strange, and purposely not getting along with others
• Broadcasting limitations by letting others know about your physical problems and mistakes
Jared Sandberg of The Wall Street Journal calls this “strategic incompetence,” where a successful failure strategy helps to deflect unwanted work without having to own up to it. To avoid such problems, challenging work, greater autonomy, better feedback, supportive leadership, clear and reasonable goals, and a less stressful work environment can be implemented in a company.
In the article, “Using Impression Management to Excel In Your Career” by Mercedes Alfaro, she points out that a lot of times people might be creating a bad image of themselves without knowing it. People are unaware that their personal appearance and attitude help to define who they are as a person. Alfaro stresses that having good socializing skills are key to making a good impression. She gives the following tips:
• Set goals
• Take a look at yourself or ask someone for their opinion on your image
• Committ to the change you want to make by constatly practicing the new skill
• Dress appropriately for the occasion and for the way you want people to see you
• Learn how to properly shake hands
• Keep your body language open by not fidgeting or not making eye contact
• Fake it until you feel that you’ve achieved your desired image
This article brings up an important point that sometimes people are unaware of the image that they’re giving off. Before it’s too late, everyone should assess their current image and necessary adjustments to reach their desired image goal.
Works Cited
Alfaro, Mercedes. Using Impression Management to Excel In Your Career. 11 April 2010.
• Job-focused means that you manipulate information about your performance
• Supervisor-focused is when you praise or do favors for your supervisor
• Self-focused is presenting yourself as a nice and polite person
A problem with making a good impression is that it can possibly lead to unethical things, such as, the story from Stewart Friedman where people faked looking busy. Another problem is that you may be labeled as ‘phony’ or a ‘pet’ if you use too much impression management. It is important that everyone uses some impression management tactics because it helps to get you noticed in the work place. If you don’t use it at all, supervisors may overlook your contributions when deciding on promotions. Using upward impression management tactics is all about balance. Some people purposely want to make a bad impression because they want to:
• Avoid work, stress, burnout, or an unwanted transfer/promotion
• Obtain a pay raise or a desired transfer, promotion, or demotion
• To get laid off, fired, or suspended, and to collect unemployment/workers’ compensation
• To control, manipulate, or intimate others, get revenge, or make someone else look bad
Five unfavorable upward impression management tactics are:
• Decreasing performance, be less productive, making more mistakes than usual, lowering quality of work, and neglecting tasks
• Not work to potential by pretending to be ignorant
• Displaying a bad attitude by complaining, getting upset and angry, act strange, and purposely not getting along with others
• Broadcasting limitations by letting others know about your physical problems and mistakes
Jared Sandberg of The Wall Street Journal calls this “strategic incompetence,” where a successful failure strategy helps to deflect unwanted work without having to own up to it. To avoid such problems, challenging work, greater autonomy, better feedback, supportive leadership, clear and reasonable goals, and a less stressful work environment can be implemented in a company.
In the article, “Using Impression Management to Excel In Your Career” by Mercedes Alfaro, she points out that a lot of times people might be creating a bad image of themselves without knowing it. People are unaware that their personal appearance and attitude help to define who they are as a person. Alfaro stresses that having good socializing skills are key to making a good impression. She gives the following tips:
• Set goals
• Take a look at yourself or ask someone for their opinion on your image
• Committ to the change you want to make by constatly practicing the new skill
• Dress appropriately for the occasion and for the way you want people to see you
• Learn how to properly shake hands
• Keep your body language open by not fidgeting or not making eye contact
• Fake it until you feel that you’ve achieved your desired image
This article brings up an important point that sometimes people are unaware of the image that they’re giving off. Before it’s too late, everyone should assess their current image and necessary adjustments to reach their desired image goal.
Works Cited
Alfaro, Mercedes. Using Impression Management to Excel In Your Career. 11 April 2010
Chapter 14
The perceptual model of communication is a process where a message is sent to a person who interprets the meaning from their own points of view. There are 6 elements in this process: sender, message, and receiver, encoding, selecting a medium, decoding and creating meaning, feedback, and noise. The sender is the person who wants to communicate a message to the receiver, the person that the message is intended for. An example is a company, the sender, who wants to portray their product as reliable, the message, to its customers, the receiver. Encoding is transforming the message into a language, code, or word choice that the receiver would be able to understand. For our example, the company would select words that everyday consumers would be able to understand and relate to, as opposed to science jargon. Selecting a medium to send the message is choosing what type of media method. Such methods include T.V., telephone, internet, radio, or mail. In order to reach our intended audience of everyday consumers, T.V. and internet would be a good way to reach out to numerous amounts of people. Decoding and creating meaning rests on the job of the audience, the receiver. Once they’ve received the message, they interpret it based on cultural norms and values. Once the audience has created a meaning for the message, they react to it. In our example, consumers can react to the message in two ways, they either go out and buy the product or they don’t see any value of the product and don’t buy it. Noise is any interference between sending the message and the audience receiving the message. In our case, the noise would be a lack of internet users or T.V. viewers.
In my marketing book, by Gary Armstrong and Philip Kotler, they define the different elements of the communication model by using McDonald’s as an example.
• The sender is McDonald’s, encoding is the use of words, sounds, and illustrations used in their ad to convey the message.
• The message that McDonald’s is the actual ad that they’re sending.
• McDonald’s media is the use of television and specific television programs that they select to reach their audience.
• Decoding is what the viewers, the receivers, interpret of McDonald’s words and images in the ad.
• A response would be more consumers like McDonald’s, more eat at McDonald’s, remembers the ad, or does nothing.
• Feedback would be that consumers remember the ad or praise/criticize the ad/products.
• Noise may be a misinterpretation of McDonald’s message.
According to the authors, a message is effective when the sender’s communication process meshes with the receiver’s decoding process. When symbols and words are familiar to the receiver, they are more likely to understand the message that the sender intended for them. In addition, the sender’s field of experience might be different than that of the receivers; therefore the sender must understand and take into consideration the consumer’s field of experience when creating the communication model. This section is important because it also takes in account for other factors that affect the communication model.
Works Cited
Armstrong, Gary and Philip Kotler. "Communicating Customer Value: Integrated Marketing Communications Strategy." Principles of Marketing. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2010. 407-409.
The Five Stages
Tuckman's five stage theory was discussed in class and we were encouraged to use this model in our endeavors as a group while synthesizing our individual interviews. The first stage is pretty simple and straight forward because that is the step we take in every new relationship and that is getting to know each other, and "breaking the ice" which is referred to as the forming stage. This is where ideas and goals begin to formulate. The second stage is the "storming" stage where roles have been assigned and a lot of risks are being taken between the group in order to test limits and draw boundaries. The third stage is "norming" is reached after the group has successfully passed stage 2 thanks to having a good leader, and the fact that group members are getting along. In this stage every member is comfortable with their role, and "group cohesiveness" which involves are members being on the same page, and a sense of belonging. The fourth stage is "performing" where the problems have been converted into resolutions due to members voicing their opinion and being comfortable discussing with each other and resolving conflicts together. The final stage is "adjourning" in which the desired goals have been reached and all tasks have been accomplished. Due to the limits placed on groups the "adjourning" stage is extremely important. However if this process is not successful it can damage the relationship between group members and thus causing chaos in the workplace.
Office Politics
There is no avoiding office politics. Even an employee who 'avoids' politics, doesn't speak up and does not network, is taking a part in office politics, that of the 'naive' employee, as expressed in Chapter 15. A sensible employee will learn to work the system and realize that politics can actually be beneficial if handled correctly. If politics is abused, then corruption occurs. Employees that view the politics of their company as an opportunity, but do not balance their acts with morals, then they are called 'sharks' and are not well liked by other employees.
An article I found talked about how to win at office politics. The most important thing is to network and build relationships- not just with the people above you who can get you promoted, but with those below you. You want to be able to get along with everyone. One of the metaphors the author used was of high school. A good student would do what they were told and complete assignments, however the students that became the teacher's 'pet' and whose names their teachers remembered the next year were those that went above and beyond what was expected of them on projects and spoke up in class discussions or asked for extra help after class. It is the same principle in the business world. You cannot be afraid of 'using' people. You have to go in with your whole attitude and energy and put yourself up there (for the better or the worse). A naive person to how politics works and keeps their head down will never climb the corporate ladder. It is all about who you know and how you present yourself.
An article I found talked about how to win at office politics. The most important thing is to network and build relationships- not just with the people above you who can get you promoted, but with those below you. You want to be able to get along with everyone. One of the metaphors the author used was of high school. A good student would do what they were told and complete assignments, however the students that became the teacher's 'pet' and whose names their teachers remembered the next year were those that went above and beyond what was expected of them on projects and spoke up in class discussions or asked for extra help after class. It is the same principle in the business world. You cannot be afraid of 'using' people. You have to go in with your whole attitude and energy and put yourself up there (for the better or the worse). A naive person to how politics works and keeps their head down will never climb the corporate ladder. It is all about who you know and how you present yourself.
The Difference Between Men and Women
Chapter 14 mentions some of the different ways that communication is hendered. One of the topics discussed is the difference between the way men and women communicate. Women tend to be focused on 'nuture' and men on 'nature'. In other words, women tend to be very sweet when talking to others and need to make sure that agreements are reached through consensus. They do not view this as a sign of being a weak leader, but a leader that takes the wellfare and interests of the people around her into consideration to make the best possible decision. Men tend to view any 'femine' tendancies as a sign of weakness. Thus the joke about men never being able to ask for directions actually has some truth to it. It's not that men cannot ask for directions or use some of the communication techniques women do to avoid conflict and create a positive environment, only that men are less likely to. In a group of all men, such tendancies are ok, but in mixed groups this can lead to conflict between men and women, who see the men as being insensitive and cause the men to view the women as 'weak' because they are not assertive as much as themselves. In order to find out more about these differences I read an article titled "A Language in Common" by Deborah Cameron.
According to her, "Women are the more verbal sex: they do more of the talking and are generally better with words. Typically they use language in a collaborative and supportive way: they are good at listening and creating rapport. Men are more competitive, good at arguing their corner and asserting themselves. They are also more direct communicators, who say what they mean, mean what they say, and are often confused by women’s less direct approach." There have been some research directed at finding the exact cause for this difference in communication, however there is no conclusive evidence supporting commonly held ideas like 'women talk more than men'. It is more likely that the difference is similar to a cultural difference in communication between two nationalities. It is just engrained and most are unaware of the differences, just that there is conflict sometimes when men and women communicate with eachother.
Source:
Cameron, Deborah. "A language in common." Psychologist 22.7 (2009): 578-580. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 11 Apr. 2010.
According to her, "Women are the more verbal sex: they do more of the talking and are generally better with words. Typically they use language in a collaborative and supportive way: they are good at listening and creating rapport. Men are more competitive, good at arguing their corner and asserting themselves. They are also more direct communicators, who say what they mean, mean what they say, and are often confused by women’s less direct approach." There have been some research directed at finding the exact cause for this difference in communication, however there is no conclusive evidence supporting commonly held ideas like 'women talk more than men'. It is more likely that the difference is similar to a cultural difference in communication between two nationalities. It is just engrained and most are unaware of the differences, just that there is conflict sometimes when men and women communicate with eachother.
Source:
Cameron, Deborah. "A language in common." Psychologist 22.7 (2009): 578-580. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 11 Apr. 2010.
Chapter 15
Chapter 15 talked about Influences, Empowerment, and Politics in the workforce. One of the things that really stood out to me was about Participative Management. According to our textbook, Participative Management was when the employees became involved in the decision making process of the company. The authors of the book said that it could be something positive because it promotes qualities, such as autonomy in the workplace. On the other hand, it could be something negative because the company would not be able to move up if everyone was more interdependent on one another.
This led me to research more about the subject of participative management. I found a study that correlated participative management to job satisfaction and strategic planning. According to the research, “This study examined the positive relationship between participative management and job satisfaction in local government agencies. It also demonstrated a positive relationship between a participative strategic planning process and job satisfaction.” (Kim)To me, it was interesting because of how much it worked in a government center. I also liked how she incorporated participative planning. I do agree with this article. I believe that the more that employees are involved with the planning, the better decision makers they would be, and the more it would benefit the company.
Source:
Kim, SoonHee. "Particpative Management and Job Satisfaction: Lessons for Management Leadership." Public Administration Review (2002): 231-241.
This led me to research more about the subject of participative management. I found a study that correlated participative management to job satisfaction and strategic planning. According to the research, “This study examined the positive relationship between participative management and job satisfaction in local government agencies. It also demonstrated a positive relationship between a participative strategic planning process and job satisfaction.” (Kim)To me, it was interesting because of how much it worked in a government center. I also liked how she incorporated participative planning. I do agree with this article. I believe that the more that employees are involved with the planning, the better decision makers they would be, and the more it would benefit the company.
Source:
Kim, SoonHee. "Particpative Management and Job Satisfaction: Lessons for Management Leadership." Public Administration Review (2002): 231-241.
Chapter 14
Chapter 14 was about communication and the workplace. Through this chapter we learned the different types of communication that can be seen while working. It talked about the differences of the communication between men and women. It also talked about the differences of communication based on the hierarchies—such as upward, downward, and diagonal communication. Lastly, it talked about the different ways we communicate—such as phone calls, emails, voicemail, facebook, and other various ways.
After looking into this subject further, I came across an article that made me think about larger corporations and how they communicated. Surely, it would be different from a small company wherein they can have meetings. If there was a company where they were hundreds of employees working, how do they communicate? How does technology affect their work? I then came across this article by Pamela Hinds and Sara Kiesler. They found that when employees are talking with their superiors, it was usually done through phone or email. But if they were talking to one another (on a more lateral level) then it was more face to face. They also found that most workers used email, rather than the phone to talk. “email is more effective than voice mail for conveying and discussing complex situations.” (Hinds & Kiesler) They continued and said, “voice mail technology would be more attractive to administrators both because it is efficient and it conveys social information to the sender, such as his or her status, accessibility, and dominance.” (Hinds & Kiesler)
Source:
Hinds, Pamela and Sara Kiesler. "Communication Across Boundaries: Work, Structure, and use of Communication Technologies in a Large Organization." Organization Science (1995): 303-393.
After looking into this subject further, I came across an article that made me think about larger corporations and how they communicated. Surely, it would be different from a small company wherein they can have meetings. If there was a company where they were hundreds of employees working, how do they communicate? How does technology affect their work? I then came across this article by Pamela Hinds and Sara Kiesler. They found that when employees are talking with their superiors, it was usually done through phone or email. But if they were talking to one another (on a more lateral level) then it was more face to face. They also found that most workers used email, rather than the phone to talk. “email is more effective than voice mail for conveying and discussing complex situations.” (Hinds & Kiesler) They continued and said, “voice mail technology would be more attractive to administrators both because it is efficient and it conveys social information to the sender, such as his or her status, accessibility, and dominance.” (Hinds & Kiesler)
Source:
Hinds, Pamela and Sara Kiesler. "Communication Across Boundaries: Work, Structure, and use of Communication Technologies in a Large Organization." Organization Science (1995): 303-393.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Chapter 5
Bringing emotions into the workplace can be a dangerous thing to do. It is important that people be themselves and feel comfortable at work, but there should also be boundaries to the amount of personal life/qualities that they should show in the office. Once people feel like it is ok to start crying or opening up too much, they might lose their professional attitude that is necessary for an efficient working environment. It is ok for employees to be able to express themselves and feel like their co-workers care by opening up to them, but I think that instances like crying, yelling, or opening up too much to employees should be avoided if at all possible. The danger that comes with this is not just losing the professional setting, but it is also in divulging too much information that might cause people to view you differently than they might have otherwise and also in annoying people who really do not care to know that much about your personal life. I think that there needs to be a balance in the amount of personal life and being professional in the workplace. Too much of an “all business” attitude makes people feel uncomfortable and unwelcomed, but too much personal business in the workplace distracts from the work/tasks and can make people just as uncomfortable.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Alternative Dispute Resolution
I liked chapter 13 of our book, mainly because conflict is a big part of everyone's life. There is conflict between people, companies, and even countries. The key to unraveling all this conflict? Alternative dispute resolution, of course!
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION!11!1111!
(Image courtesy of scrapetv.com)
No, not war. That's more like 'last resort resolution.' Alternative dispute resolution involves mediation and arbitration. I took a summer class at Dominican in which the subject matter completely revolved around ADR (alternative dispute resolution), and so I want to go into some depth about mediation and arbitration.
Litigation (taking something to court) is really expensive for both sides. Many companies would rather avoid litigation altogether, which is why your health insurance company has an arbitration clause in the contract agreement that you signed in order to receive coverage that bars you from suing them should a doctor leave a scalpel lodged in your head.
First off, mediation can be a godsend, provided you're dealing with another party that's honest and won't screw you over, because they totally can. Mediation involves sitting the two involved parties down to negotiate, sometimes one at a time alternating with group negotiation. In the end, the parties often wind up meeting somewhere in the middle, shaking hands, and everything is all good, right?
Wrong. Mediation is not legally binding. So, you can go to mediation with someone and come to an agreement, but they are in no way bound to follow through on that agreement, because mediation is NOT a legal contract. If the other party is honest and follows through on their word, then GREAT! You've solved the problem! Mediation is great because it allows the two parties to come together and hash out their differences in an environment that lets them make offers and see the other side. It tends to be nonconfrontational, which is a plus when dealing with a someone who's pissed off and just needs to sit down and calmly talk through what they want (or what you want) and come to an agreement.
Arbitration, on the other hand, CAN be legally binding, and is almost like a mock court, only slightly more impartial. The two parties come together with a third person called the arbitrator (not to be confused with the ARBITER from Halo), and they sit down and plead their case with all available information. The arbitrator hears both sides, and then renders a legally binding judgment in favor of one of the parties, effectively ending the dispute.
In the class at Dominican University, we role-played both systems of negotiation. We found that arbitration can have a better outcome for the party that wins the judgment, but the relationship between the parties afterward is often strained or even cut off entirely. Mediation, on the other hand, is a give-and-take endeavor where both parties make some concessions, usually to keep whatever relationship (professional or otherwise) largely intact. Mediation is less confrontational and more open, while arbitration is simply a right/wrong scenario.
Back to my statement about your healthcare provider. Think about this: you cannot sue Kaiser Permanente if you are a member. You HAVE to go to arbitration. The company does this to avoid costly malpractice suits that can severely damage their reputation and balance sheet. Some companies require their employees to sign such arbitration (or mediation) contracts as well as a condition of employment, due to the costs of litigation and the relative fairness of arbitration.
There are more ways than just suing someone to get a settlement. These ways are designed to keep the court out of it and the decision largely private. With sensitive matters, it pays to go with alternative dispute resolution.
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION!11!1111!
(Image courtesy of scrapetv.com)
No, not war. That's more like 'last resort resolution.' Alternative dispute resolution involves mediation and arbitration. I took a summer class at Dominican in which the subject matter completely revolved around ADR (alternative dispute resolution), and so I want to go into some depth about mediation and arbitration.
Litigation (taking something to court) is really expensive for both sides. Many companies would rather avoid litigation altogether, which is why your health insurance company has an arbitration clause in the contract agreement that you signed in order to receive coverage that bars you from suing them should a doctor leave a scalpel lodged in your head.
First off, mediation can be a godsend, provided you're dealing with another party that's honest and won't screw you over, because they totally can. Mediation involves sitting the two involved parties down to negotiate, sometimes one at a time alternating with group negotiation. In the end, the parties often wind up meeting somewhere in the middle, shaking hands, and everything is all good, right?
Wrong. Mediation is not legally binding. So, you can go to mediation with someone and come to an agreement, but they are in no way bound to follow through on that agreement, because mediation is NOT a legal contract. If the other party is honest and follows through on their word, then GREAT! You've solved the problem! Mediation is great because it allows the two parties to come together and hash out their differences in an environment that lets them make offers and see the other side. It tends to be nonconfrontational, which is a plus when dealing with a someone who's pissed off and just needs to sit down and calmly talk through what they want (or what you want) and come to an agreement.
Arbitration, on the other hand, CAN be legally binding, and is almost like a mock court, only slightly more impartial. The two parties come together with a third person called the arbitrator (not to be confused with the ARBITER from Halo), and they sit down and plead their case with all available information. The arbitrator hears both sides, and then renders a legally binding judgment in favor of one of the parties, effectively ending the dispute.
In the class at Dominican University, we role-played both systems of negotiation. We found that arbitration can have a better outcome for the party that wins the judgment, but the relationship between the parties afterward is often strained or even cut off entirely. Mediation, on the other hand, is a give-and-take endeavor where both parties make some concessions, usually to keep whatever relationship (professional or otherwise) largely intact. Mediation is less confrontational and more open, while arbitration is simply a right/wrong scenario.
Back to my statement about your healthcare provider. Think about this: you cannot sue Kaiser Permanente if you are a member. You HAVE to go to arbitration. The company does this to avoid costly malpractice suits that can severely damage their reputation and balance sheet. Some companies require their employees to sign such arbitration (or mediation) contracts as well as a condition of employment, due to the costs of litigation and the relative fairness of arbitration.
There are more ways than just suing someone to get a settlement. These ways are designed to keep the court out of it and the decision largely private. With sensitive matters, it pays to go with alternative dispute resolution.
CH 14
Overall, I found chapter 14 interesting, I enjoyed the topic of communication and the various forms it obtains. My favorite part was the topic of non-verbal communication, it was interesting to me that the old saying, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it” is actually true. There are four main categories when talking about nonverbal communication, body movements and gesture, touch, facial expression and eye contact. These were all interesting to me yet what stuck with me the most at the end of the chapter was the “Practical Tips” section, which gave nonverbal communication skills which would build positive, interpersonal relationships. They all seemed like common knowledge e.g. Eye contact, smiling and showing interest, leaning towards the speaker, yet they are all very vital to a positive conversation outcome. The section also includes actions to avoid during conversations, such as licking your lips, turning away, biting your nails, etc. All of these are things that we do, no necessarily to upset the other person, but we do them unconsciously.
I did some in depth research on nonverbal communication and found that, “Good communication is the foundation of successful relationships, both personally and professionally.” The two categories which I found that were not in the book were voice tone and space. I think that both of these should be included in the text, how one says something can cause tension. In addition, people value their personal space and being too distant or too close can mislead a listener.
http://helpguide.org/mental/eq6_nonverbal_communication.htm
I did some in depth research on nonverbal communication and found that, “Good communication is the foundation of successful relationships, both personally and professionally.” The two categories which I found that were not in the book were voice tone and space. I think that both of these should be included in the text, how one says something can cause tension. In addition, people value their personal space and being too distant or too close can mislead a listener.
http://helpguide.org/mental/eq6_nonverbal_communication.htm
Monday, April 5, 2010
Distrbutive v. Integrative Negotiation
A major discussion point in Chapter 13 is distributive and integrative negotiation. In the class exercise that we performed in class today, we were placed into a distributive negotiation setting, and failed to complete the win-lose result. There is no way to predict, however, the outcomes had we been placed in an integrative negotiation setting.
"Negotiators Who Give Too Much: Unmitigated Communion, Relational Anxieties, and Economic Costs in Distributive and Integrative Bargaining" discusses the pros and cons to both approaches. In the article, Amanatullah et. al. describe that distributive negotiation settings may prompt negotiators to put a strain on some relationships if necessary to avoid impasses, while integrative negotiation settings may decrease the success in maximizing the joint gain of both parties in order to satisfy the relationships.
So what method should be used? In the organizational setting, we are encouraged to turn conflicts into win-win situations, but I believe that much more needs to be done before we can simply settle at the first agreement we see. We need a mixture of both distributive and integrative negotiation to be truly successful.
Source: Amanatullah, Emily T., Michael W. Morris, and Jared R. Curhan. "Negotiators Who Give Too Much: Unmitigated Communion, Relational Anxieties, and Economic Costs in Distributive and Integrative Bargaining." Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 95.3 (2008): 723-738. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.
"Negotiators Who Give Too Much: Unmitigated Communion, Relational Anxieties, and Economic Costs in Distributive and Integrative Bargaining" discusses the pros and cons to both approaches. In the article, Amanatullah et. al. describe that distributive negotiation settings may prompt negotiators to put a strain on some relationships if necessary to avoid impasses, while integrative negotiation settings may decrease the success in maximizing the joint gain of both parties in order to satisfy the relationships.
So what method should be used? In the organizational setting, we are encouraged to turn conflicts into win-win situations, but I believe that much more needs to be done before we can simply settle at the first agreement we see. We need a mixture of both distributive and integrative negotiation to be truly successful.
Source: Amanatullah, Emily T., Michael W. Morris, and Jared R. Curhan. "Negotiators Who Give Too Much: Unmitigated Communion, Relational Anxieties, and Economic Costs in Distributive and Integrative Bargaining." Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 95.3 (2008): 723-738. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.
Creativity Process
A part in Chapter 12 that really grabbed me was the discussion of the creative process. According to Kreitner, the process consists of five stages: preparation, concentration, incubation, illumination, and verification. He goes on to describe how some of these stages are managed and molded by managers to help their employees reach more creative solutions in their decision-making process.
In the study, "Curriculum Construction and Teacher Empowerment: Supporting
Invitational Education with a Creative Problem Solving Model," Chant et. al. demonstrate how the Osborne-Parnes Creative Problem-solving Model (CPS) can be used to improve a teacher's creativity among her students. By going through the three-stages of the model (designed to counter individualistic endeavors that go against creativity), the teacher can create a more creatively -inspired atmosphere for his/her students-the three stages are: Exploring the Challenge, Idea Generation, and Taking Action.
Learning and improving on how we work on all stages of the creative process can help us improve the quality of approaches we have in coming to a decision. In the workplace, efficiency is especially key.
Source:Chant, Richard H., Rachelle Moes, and Melissa Ross. "Curriculum Construction and Teacher Empowerment: Supporting Invitational Education with a Creative Problem Solving Model." Journal of Invitational Theory & Practice 15.(2009): 55-67. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.
In the study, "Curriculum Construction and Teacher Empowerment: Supporting
Invitational Education with a Creative Problem Solving Model," Chant et. al. demonstrate how the Osborne-Parnes Creative Problem-solving Model (CPS) can be used to improve a teacher's creativity among her students. By going through the three-stages of the model (designed to counter individualistic endeavors that go against creativity), the teacher can create a more creatively -inspired atmosphere for his/her students-the three stages are: Exploring the Challenge, Idea Generation, and Taking Action.
Learning and improving on how we work on all stages of the creative process can help us improve the quality of approaches we have in coming to a decision. In the workplace, efficiency is especially key.
Source:Chant, Richard H., Rachelle Moes, and Melissa Ross. "Curriculum Construction and Teacher Empowerment: Supporting Invitational Education with a Creative Problem Solving Model." Journal of Invitational Theory & Practice 15.(2009): 55-67. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 5 Apr. 2010.
Frederick Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory
In chapter eight it covers individual and group theories involving different roles of motivation. An interesting theory I came across was Frederick Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory. He found distinct factors like achievement, responsibility, and recognition in job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. These factors he listed are associated with strong effort and good performance. I thought this was very interesting because he hypothesized that if a company can motivate employees with these factors it can move an individual from a state of no satisfaction to satisfaction and increase performance. Herzberg also discussed hygiene factors as non motivational in job satisfaction or dissatisfaction. I believe hygiene can influence ones job satisfaction in the work environment. Being around people with grouse hygiene will not only effect that person but others around as well.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
Chapter 7
In chapter seven it covers social perception of one’s environment and attributions involved in one’s personal behavior. In this chapter I came across the “Pygmalion effect” and “Galatea effect.” These ideas are associated with people’s expectations in determining their behavior and performance. The Pygmalion effect is when someone has a high expectation for another person and it results in better performance of that person. The Galatea effect is when one’s own expectation is very high and leads to high performance. I believe that both ideas are reasonable but can also be proven false. Someone’s high expectation for another may or may not lead to that person resulting in better performance. In lifting weights with someone else I believe this to be very true. In the work environment the pressure of high expectation can lead to a bad report or bad performance. I do believe however that an individual’s high self-expectation leads to better performance. When I am very comfortable in myself expectation I perform better.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
Chapter 7
In chapter seven it covers social perception of one’s environment and attributions involved in one’s personal behavior. In this chapter I came across the “Pygmalion effect” and “Galatea effect.” These ideas are associated with people’s expectations in determining their behavior and performance. The Pygmalion effect is when someone has a high expectation for another person and it results in better performance of that person. The Galatea effect is when one’s own expectation is very high and leads to high performance. I believe that both ideas are reasonable but can also be proven false. Someone’s high expectation for another may or may not lead to that person resulting in better performance. In lifting weights with someone else I believe this to be very true. In the work environment the pressure of high expectation can lead to a bad report or bad performance. I do believe however that an individual’s high self-expectation leads to better performance. When I am very comfortable in myself expectation I perform better.
Schwartz’s Value Theory
In chapter six it covers personal values, attitudes, commitment and involvement in the work environment. When reading this chapter I was very interested in Schwartz’s Value Theory. Schwartz’s theory ties together values and motives, specifically saying values are motivational. I agree with Schwartz when he says that values guide one’s behavior. When I looked at Schwartz’s definition of values and motives in table I chose what I thought my personal values were and they were correct in the underlying motives. The first value I looked at was, “power,” which was described as, “control over people and resources.” I thought that this was very true in regard to my social status and how I want people to perceive me. Another value that stood out to me was, “self-direction,” which was described as, “independent thought and action choosing.” I am really self oriented kind of person and decide my own path. I rarely go along with people’s ideas if my thoughts are different. In this theory Schwartz’s provides a clear distinction of values and our behavioral motives that contribute to these values.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
CH. 4
In Chapter four it covers how to manage relationships across cultures. In this chapter it discusses about understanding cultural differences in a very interesting high-context and low-context distinction. A high-context cultural distinction relies on cues when perceiving and communicating with others. These cultures include, “China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Mexico, and Arab cultures.” Nonverbal cue4s are more powerful than spoken words in these cultures. A low-context cultural distinction is when there is shared meaning between written and spoken words. These cultures include, “Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia, North America, and Great Britain.” These low context cultures have more written rules and specific details. In high-context cultures trust has already been built and agreements can be made on a handshake level unlike a low-context culture sees this handshake as only a greeting.
CH. 3
In Chapter three it covers what organizational culture is and how it benefits a company’s identity. In this chapter I was very interested in the three-phase model of organizational socialization. This model was created by Feldman, he developed this to judge how well an individual has been socialized. The first phase, anticipatory socialization, is described as information people have learned about different professions before they actually join an organization. The second phase, encounter, is described as an employee’s learning stage of what the organization is really like. The third phase, change and acquisition, is when the employee masters important tasks and roles in their work environment. In this phase employees feel confident in themselves and their roles. This model presents specific behavioral outcomes. These phases make this socialization process achieve employee expectation and satisfaction
CH. 2
In chapter two it covers how to manage diversity. In this chapter they talked about effectively managing diversity in the work environment. I learned about the, "social categorization theory," this theory is described as, "similarity leads to liking and attraction." In this theory an employee will categorize them self and others into groups. These groups are classified as ones own "in-group" or "out-group" members. This theory talks about how people tend to like and trust "in-group" members than "out-group" members. I thought that this was very interesting and very true. People tend to do this in their everyday lives and not only in the work environment. This perspective further implies positive outcomes with "in-group" social categorization.
Dysfunctional vs. Functional Conflict
As a member of an organization, no matter how high in pay ladder you are, conflict comes about. The two types of conflict Chapter 13 chooses to segregate are functional and dysfunctional conflict. Functional conflict is defined as "from an interactionist perspective conflict can be responsive and innovative aiding in creativity and viability. Determine if conflict achieves goals or undermines them" (Mastering Human Relations). The book's definition is a little different; Chapter 13 describes functional conflict as if it "serves organizational interests" and dysfunctional conflict as something that "threatens the organizations interest" (375).
Chapter 13 also focuses on the different types of conflict one may see in the workplace. One type, is psychological conflict. Psychological conflict is the type of conflict that can take place withing a worker "and no one would even know about it" (Mastering Human Relations). Some may argue (fans of Freud), that humans are dealing with psychological conflict every day. Another type of conflict is social conflict, which is also known as an "interpersonal conflict" (Mastering Human Relations). Some examples include one person against another, two people against another worker, or even one group versus another group. These type of conflicts involve more time to deal with, however they are more obvious to read compared to psychological conflicts.
Chapter 13 discusses interesting ways to define, view, and approach conflicts, and was very interesting to read.
Mastering Human Relations 3rd Edition, A Falikowski, 2002. Pearson Education
Chapter 13 also focuses on the different types of conflict one may see in the workplace. One type, is psychological conflict. Psychological conflict is the type of conflict that can take place withing a worker "and no one would even know about it" (Mastering Human Relations). Some may argue (fans of Freud), that humans are dealing with psychological conflict every day. Another type of conflict is social conflict, which is also known as an "interpersonal conflict" (Mastering Human Relations). Some examples include one person against another, two people against another worker, or even one group versus another group. These type of conflicts involve more time to deal with, however they are more obvious to read compared to psychological conflicts.
Chapter 13 discusses interesting ways to define, view, and approach conflicts, and was very interesting to read.
Mastering Human Relations 3rd Edition, A Falikowski, 2002. Pearson Education
Chapter 13
Chapter 13 talked about conflict resolution. Employees and managers must work together in their environment in order to have a successful business. Company’s often send employees on a retreat to help build a better company. Our coach sent us to go paintballing to work on our communication skills, teamwork and bonding. If you think paintballing is just shooting it’s not, you have to be in constant communication with your team and to work together to kill the other team. After paintballing you could defiantly tell that there was a better team camaraderie. They’re lots of websites that offer ideas and exercises for team building activities.
http://www.businessballs.com/teambuildinggames.htm
http://www.businessballs.com/teambuildinggames.htm
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Conflict
Conflict resolution is key to success in any organization. It is up to each individual employee and manager to effectively resolve problems that arise between co-workers. Special methods must be employed to promote constructive rather than destructive conflict. When conflict gets in the way of effective decision making, it is destructive to the organization's goals, and when conflict is constructive, providing for new insights, critiques, and ideas, it helps the organization to achieve it's goals. When too much destructive conflict ensues, it is up to the manager to promote constructive conflict by employing a dialectic or devil's advocate method, in which a person or a group of individuals is designated the task of criticism and questioning of the decision making process. This method provides for alternative ideas and ultimately, more creative solutions to conflicts. All sides of every issue are explored when using these methods to promote constructive conflict.
The Relational Leadership Model argues that leadership is defined by the relationships we have with those around us. If conflict is highly prevalent in our relationships, it will certainly have an effect on our capability to influence others. The book recommends certain behaviors to build cross-cultural relationships on pg. 383. I believe these behaviors can be applied to any situation, including people of one's own culture. An effective leader can promote these behaviors to build the relationships he/she has, and therefore promoting constructive conflict resolution.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
Komives, Susan R. Et al. Exploring Leadership. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. San Francisco: 2007.
Chapter 13
Chapter 13 was about the conflicts that may arise in the workplace. One part of the chapter that caught my attention was about managing conflict. There were many different ways to be able to manage conflict. One of them that really caught my eye was the Alternative Dispute Resolution, or ADR. There were several ways that ADR could be implemented, but the main core of it resolving conflicts through mediation or negotiation. It is different per company—and it depends on the company’s policies. Some include peer review, mediation, conciliation, and facilitation.
What is interesting to me, though, is the fact that though conflict rises among different places, the way that it is handled is different. One of the articles that I researched on was about how conflict was solved in Nepal. It was interesting to me how here in the United States, we focus our attention more on fairness and equality. This was not the case in Nepal. “More than anything else, the existing sociopolitical system determines the outcome of disputes.” (Upreti) The author then goes on further and explains, “Only the power and elites benefit from the current system.” (Upreti) It basically meant that who was to come out victorious in a conflict is usually determined by the one with more power and money. To me this was surprising and it’s really sad to hear.
Source:
Upreti, Bishnu Raj. "Resource Conflicts and and Conflict Resolution in Nepal." Mountain Research and Development (2004): 60-66.
What is interesting to me, though, is the fact that though conflict rises among different places, the way that it is handled is different. One of the articles that I researched on was about how conflict was solved in Nepal. It was interesting to me how here in the United States, we focus our attention more on fairness and equality. This was not the case in Nepal. “More than anything else, the existing sociopolitical system determines the outcome of disputes.” (Upreti) The author then goes on further and explains, “Only the power and elites benefit from the current system.” (Upreti) It basically meant that who was to come out victorious in a conflict is usually determined by the one with more power and money. To me this was surprising and it’s really sad to hear.
Source:
Upreti, Bishnu Raj. "Resource Conflicts and and Conflict Resolution in Nepal." Mountain Research and Development (2004): 60-66.
Is the conflict a commonplace or a taboo into the company? At all the levels?
The phenomenon is commonplace as humans. Working together is rubbing unlike others. Conflict is inherent in the ability we have to adapt. It also depends on the mode of management rules or institutionalized by the company, the practice of communication and dialogue. The conflict may move up one level to another if the manager does not handle the situation or whether it is involved. At the top of the hierarchy, the frozen conflicts are numerous. At this level of responsibility, do not let the problems seem. There is great difficulty in saying things. And from a company with 50 people and 2,000 people, levels of complexity and stakes are also different, hence different management conflicts. On a personal level, the risk is it an emotional one. In the case of a dispute with a person, it may not be comfortable, to lose confidence in it, start making mistakes. It's a vicious circle and the person feels increasingly isolated. It is therefore the same consequences as in a case of harassment. For now, there is a decrease in performance and efficiency. The energies are put into opposition from people in the conflict. But on a company level it has to be clarified and not to be a taboo. People can speak about conflicts they’re facing or they’re feeling for the good of the company.
How comfortable would you be working in this sort of confrontational environnement? p376
At Google's, they use the functional conflict, which serves the company's interests. This is a way of management. Maybe because people have been working there for awhile; thus, they know very well each other, and are not afraid of what the other think.
I could not work in such an atmosphere. For me, the conflict is something to avoid, and not to look for. This does not able me to work better nor to be more creative. This is more an ambiance that afraids me: I a mafraid to say what I think, because of what the other people will think of me. The conflict is a situation that totally stops me to express myself. I do not feel free to say what I want, because I think that people are too angry to listen carefully to what I mean. So I prefer keeping quiet.
Even in everyday life, I avoid conflict, because I prefer doing concessions and agree with what people say not to make them angry.
Quick, troops! Storm that brain!
I think it was awesome that we got to utilize both the Nominal Group Technique and Brainstorming in class. It really gave a good perspective on different methods of group problem-solving. We grow up hearing the word "brainstorming" all the time, but I feel like I never really understood what it actually was until the reading for this week (and the in-class exercise).
The exercise in class was awesome, because we got to really see how these two decision-making processes differ. I honestly preferred the Nominal Group Technique, because I found that our group produced solutions of much higher quality. Brainstorming wasn't quite as effective, because it gave us too much room to goof off. I found that, while we were doing the NGT exercise, we all had pertinent and helpful suggestions, while the brainstorming section found us throwing out suggestions that weren't helpful (and some were REALLY inappropriate). In the end, I think that it was harder to take the brainstorming as seriously as the NGT exercise simply due to the structure inherent in the design of both systems.
A search on the Psychology Wikia page showed that these problems in the brainstorming process are not unique to our group (see my latest Internet Marketing blog post HERE for more on Wikia). To quote the page,
"Although brainstorming has become a popular group technique, researchers have generally failed to find evidence of its effectiveness for enhancing either quantity or quality of ideas generated. Because of such problems as distraction, social loafing, evaluation apprehension, and production blocking, brainstorming groups are little more effective than other types of groups, and they are actually less effective than individuals working independently. For this reason, there have been numerous attempts to improve brainstorming or replace it with more effective variations of the basic technique."
I thought this was interesting. While brainstorming does generate a good AMOUNT of ideas, it turns out that the process as a whole isn't very effective. What I found was that production blocking was a problem in our group. Production Blocking is when one person kind of breaks the rules and starts talking about their idea, effectively "blocking" anyone else from talking, which sort of undermines the entire purpose of brainstorming, which is supposed to be a rapid-fire idea generation forum. I found that this was a problem with the brainstorming portion of the in-class exercise. When people would call out an idea, there was some knee-jerk reaction that caused most of us to instantly start defending and discussing our idea, which wasn't really conducive to coming up with a good quantity of information, with people taking time to defend rather than contribute. On top of that, we were way too susceptible to distractions, constantly clowning around and generally being off topic, like this:
(Image courtesy of some dude on photobucket)
That being said, the NGT portion of the exercise went much smoother. The silent portion where everyone took time to write down their ideas allows people to think in what I believe to be a more linear fashion, rather than the kind of scattered format of brainstorming. Then, when we all went around and made our list of suggestions, there was much more focus. There wasn't really any goofing around or anything, and everyone contributed really thoughtful suggestions. When we went around to discuss the ideas, the conversation was largely mature and helpful, with people defending the ideas they liked while others politely questioned them. I found this decision-making tactic to be a lot more conducive to a good work flow.
But then we should think about when these techniques are most effective, because they both have their uses. I feel like brainstorming would be a lot more effective in large groups, where people can call out their ideas, while NGT would be more appropriate in a small committee or team where more time can be taken for individuals to discuss and vet their ideas.
Sources:
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Brainstorming
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Production_blocking
The exercise in class was awesome, because we got to really see how these two decision-making processes differ. I honestly preferred the Nominal Group Technique, because I found that our group produced solutions of much higher quality. Brainstorming wasn't quite as effective, because it gave us too much room to goof off. I found that, while we were doing the NGT exercise, we all had pertinent and helpful suggestions, while the brainstorming section found us throwing out suggestions that weren't helpful (and some were REALLY inappropriate). In the end, I think that it was harder to take the brainstorming as seriously as the NGT exercise simply due to the structure inherent in the design of both systems.
A search on the Psychology Wikia page showed that these problems in the brainstorming process are not unique to our group (see my latest Internet Marketing blog post HERE for more on Wikia). To quote the page,
"Although brainstorming has become a popular group technique, researchers have generally failed to find evidence of its effectiveness for enhancing either quantity or quality of ideas generated. Because of such problems as distraction, social loafing, evaluation apprehension, and production blocking, brainstorming groups are little more effective than other types of groups, and they are actually less effective than individuals working independently. For this reason, there have been numerous attempts to improve brainstorming or replace it with more effective variations of the basic technique."
I thought this was interesting. While brainstorming does generate a good AMOUNT of ideas, it turns out that the process as a whole isn't very effective. What I found was that production blocking was a problem in our group. Production Blocking is when one person kind of breaks the rules and starts talking about their idea, effectively "blocking" anyone else from talking, which sort of undermines the entire purpose of brainstorming, which is supposed to be a rapid-fire idea generation forum. I found that this was a problem with the brainstorming portion of the in-class exercise. When people would call out an idea, there was some knee-jerk reaction that caused most of us to instantly start defending and discussing our idea, which wasn't really conducive to coming up with a good quantity of information, with people taking time to defend rather than contribute. On top of that, we were way too susceptible to distractions, constantly clowning around and generally being off topic, like this:
(Image courtesy of some dude on photobucket)
That being said, the NGT portion of the exercise went much smoother. The silent portion where everyone took time to write down their ideas allows people to think in what I believe to be a more linear fashion, rather than the kind of scattered format of brainstorming. Then, when we all went around and made our list of suggestions, there was much more focus. There wasn't really any goofing around or anything, and everyone contributed really thoughtful suggestions. When we went around to discuss the ideas, the conversation was largely mature and helpful, with people defending the ideas they liked while others politely questioned them. I found this decision-making tactic to be a lot more conducive to a good work flow.
But then we should think about when these techniques are most effective, because they both have their uses. I feel like brainstorming would be a lot more effective in large groups, where people can call out their ideas, while NGT would be more appropriate in a small committee or team where more time can be taken for individuals to discuss and vet their ideas.
Sources:
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Brainstorming
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Production_blocking
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Chap 13
In chapter 13 there was a Real World example of conflict resolution between people and this one was solved outside the work place. Two companies were having relationship problems, so the met up for a three day VIP golf instruction coarse in Las Vegas, this brought them together and they built a stronger bond than they had before. I can relate to this because good coaches always want their players to have strong relationships out side of practice. It is important to be able to connect with your teammates on a deeper level. Whether it be dinner and a movie or shooting pool, the men's basketball coach always takes us out for "team bonding", which is essential in any successful program. The key is being "Honest and approachable" with the people you work with the rest will fall into place. "Spending time outside the workplace together is completely appropriate. It is easier to work with friends then casual acquaintances. Therefore building friendships outside the workplace can actually help productivity."
http://www.helium.com/items/1344828-tips-on-relationship-building-in-the-workplace
http://www.helium.com/items/1344828-tips-on-relationship-building-in-the-workplace
Friday, April 2, 2010
Chapter 13: The Dialect Method
The CEO of EMC, Joseph M Tucci, advocates that “Good leaders always leave room for debate and different opinions.” This is a necessary belief that individuals who want to become great and successful leaders have to follow. In order for an individual to be influential, he or she must be willing to understand and to listen to the opinions of others, even if others opinions are very different. The dialect method is defined as the calling for managers to foster a structured debate of opposing viewpoints to better understand an issue prior to making a decision. As mentioned in the text book, court systems in the United States and elsewhere such as large corporations rely on directly opposing points of view for determining guilt or innocence.
Judges cannot make fair decisions when it comes to sentencing an individual without the opinions of the others such as the jury. Sam S. Souryal discusses in her article the corruption in U.S. prison institutions due to the lack of different opinions of the jury which lead to poor decisions made by the judge. Therefore, she proposes effective methods such as the dialect method to deter its continuance. She knows through this method there will be more universal norms of fairness, dignity, and humanity. This article concludes by presenting a few practical propositions to better assist judges when given sentences to future possible prisoners. As demonstrated, shared opinions are essential especially when the quality of life of another individual depends on it.
Source: Souryal, Sam S. "Deterring Corruption by Prison Personnel: A Principle-Based Perspective." Prison Journal 89.1 (2009): 21-45. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 3 Apr. 2010.
Judges cannot make fair decisions when it comes to sentencing an individual without the opinions of the others such as the jury. Sam S. Souryal discusses in her article the corruption in U.S. prison institutions due to the lack of different opinions of the jury which lead to poor decisions made by the judge. Therefore, she proposes effective methods such as the dialect method to deter its continuance. She knows through this method there will be more universal norms of fairness, dignity, and humanity. This article concludes by presenting a few practical propositions to better assist judges when given sentences to future possible prisoners. As demonstrated, shared opinions are essential especially when the quality of life of another individual depends on it.
Source: Souryal, Sam S. "Deterring Corruption by Prison Personnel: A Principle-Based Perspective." Prison Journal 89.1 (2009): 21-45. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 3 Apr. 2010.
Conflict Resolution
Humans are not perfect. In companies, it is essential that team members are able to work together on a positive manner in order to complete their specific tasks. If one team fails to accomplish their project, then their poor effort effects the effort of other teams and can effect the overall productivity of a firm. According to the article I read, managers often spend up to 30% of their time simply trying to resolve conflicts in the workplace. 30%! That's a lot of time that could be used to better the organization of a company, generate new ideas, new products, or bonding with their employees. In an ideal world, every employee would be able to keep focused on the big picture or at least their goals as a part of an important team and be able to put any differences aside for the sake of the company. Open communication is key to overcoming differences within a team. People should feel comfortable in voicing any concerns or ideas to their fellow team members, instead of letting their anger or confusion build to the breaking point and let their emotions affect the quality of their individual work, bringing down the quality of the team's combined work. In our class teams, we try to make sure everyone's voice is heard and make sure that we know what is going on in each member's life that could potentially cause them stress and to not be able to fully participate in the completion of an assignment. For example, when assigning roles to each member, we not only looked at each person's strengths and weaknesses, we also evaluated what outside activities (like basketball practice or class loads) would vie for their time. In this way, we were assigned roles we could not only do well, but also roles that would cause us the least amount of stress or conflict. The article I read reiterated a lot of what the book said in Ch. 13 and the steps in dissolving a conflict. Here are the steps:
"• Take a step back: Consider all of the
elements involved in the problem, and
come up with possible solutions. • Address the situation: Meet with the parties involved in a nonconfrontation- al setting, and get an idea of both sides
of the situation. • Listen: During the meeting, be sure to
listen not only to what the parties are saying but also to the emotions behind their words.
• Take a “snapshot” of the situation: Summarize what you learned from both sides, and be sure your perception matches what actually happened.
• Explore options: Discuss options for a resolution. Encourage the parties to
work together to come up with ideas
that are beneficial to both. • Assess the options, and determine a
solution: Make sure the ideas are fea- sible and attainable, and then steer the discussion toward the option that would best benefit everyone involved. Encourage the parties to come to a consensus on one of the solutions.
• Build up the relationship: Emphasize the benefits of the outcome the group decided on and your availability for fu- ture discussion. " (Elisa Becze)
Source:
Becze, Elisa. "Deal Effectively With Conflict in the Workplace." ONS Connect 24.2 (2009): 26. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 2 Apr. 2010.
"• Take a step back: Consider all of the
elements involved in the problem, and
come up with possible solutions. • Address the situation: Meet with the parties involved in a nonconfrontation- al setting, and get an idea of both sides
of the situation. • Listen: During the meeting, be sure to
listen not only to what the parties are saying but also to the emotions behind their words.
• Take a “snapshot” of the situation: Summarize what you learned from both sides, and be sure your perception matches what actually happened.
• Explore options: Discuss options for a resolution. Encourage the parties to
work together to come up with ideas
that are beneficial to both. • Assess the options, and determine a
solution: Make sure the ideas are fea- sible and attainable, and then steer the discussion toward the option that would best benefit everyone involved. Encourage the parties to come to a consensus on one of the solutions.
• Build up the relationship: Emphasize the benefits of the outcome the group decided on and your availability for fu- ture discussion. " (Elisa Becze)
Source:
Becze, Elisa. "Deal Effectively With Conflict in the Workplace." ONS Connect 24.2 (2009): 26. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 2 Apr. 2010.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Chapter 13
In the book, programmed conflict is defined as “conflict that raises different opinions regardless of the personal feelings of the managers.” (Kinicki, et al, 2010) Two forms of programmed conflict that the book describes are the devil’s advocate and the dialectic method. The devil’s advocate is a situation where one person is assigned to critique alternative solutions in order to promote critical thinking and testing of the proposed solutions. I noticed that a lot of teachers utilize this technique when facilitating class discussions so that students engage in more critical thinking. The dialectic method is a debate of different viewpoints so that all sides of the proposed solutions are considered. The only drawback of the dialectic method is that it focuses on ‘winning the debate’ rather than finding the most suiting solution. An example of this is my Science and Society class from freshmen year where we were assigned roles to debate either for or against a certain issue, such as, allowing stem cell research. This activity allowed the class to hear both sides before voting which side they agreed with.
In the article by Tom Gerety, he distinguished between advocates and the devil’s advocates. Advocates teach what they themselves believe in while devil’s advocates teaches against either what they believe in or what they think their students believe in. Gerety says that teachers often play the devil’s advocate because they don’t want their students to be too easily convinced before examining all sides of the issues. An important quote in the article was "I would not lead you into the promised land if I could because if I could lead you in someone else could lead you out." (Gerety, 1999) This quote makes senses because if you’re easily convinced to side one way, you are also able to be easily convinced to sway another way. Engaging in activities that involve the devil’s advocate allows people to be less fickle in decision making and helps them to develop analytical skills. In situations like buying a car or a house, utilizing the devil’s advocate can help to minimize bad decisions.
Works Cited:
GERETY, TOM. "The Moral Teacher: Advocate or Devil's Advocate?." Liberal Education 85.1 (1999): 34. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.
In the article by Tom Gerety, he distinguished between advocates and the devil’s advocates. Advocates teach what they themselves believe in while devil’s advocates teaches against either what they believe in or what they think their students believe in. Gerety says that teachers often play the devil’s advocate because they don’t want their students to be too easily convinced before examining all sides of the issues. An important quote in the article was "I would not lead you into the promised land if I could because if I could lead you in someone else could lead you out." (Gerety, 1999) This quote makes senses because if you’re easily convinced to side one way, you are also able to be easily convinced to sway another way. Engaging in activities that involve the devil’s advocate allows people to be less fickle in decision making and helps them to develop analytical skills. In situations like buying a car or a house, utilizing the devil’s advocate can help to minimize bad decisions.
Works Cited:
GERETY, TOM. "The Moral Teacher: Advocate or Devil's Advocate?." Liberal Education 85.1 (1999): 34. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 30 Mar. 2010.
Decision Making Processes
The various decision making processes discussed in Chapter 12 provide interesting insight into how their structure affects the outcome of decisions. It also discusses advantages and disadvantages to structuring decision making processes more effectively, and how a different might be produced depending on who is involved, the amount of time required, and the information being analyzed. Depending on how many people are involved, the work situation, and the importance of the issue, it is up to a manager to determine the best way to make decisions in the company. If a group is involved, how long will it take? Is the issue relevant to everybody who participates, or can the people involved in making the decision be used more effectively? Who should make the decisions and when is it appropriate to delegate?
All these questions must be asked when in a corporate environment or most organizations of any kind, especially when in a leadership role. A person's ability to lead may be greatly affected by the effectiveness of decision making processes and involving certain people. If too many people are involved in the decision making process, the change which is made tends to be slow, although it is most likely better planned. Leadership can be seen as ineffective when decisions take a long time to be made. At the same time, if decisions are made quickly by very few people, transparency and lack of information become an issue. The more people involved in a decision, the higher the flow of information, and this means that the best decision can be made according to all the information available. It is up to the leader to distinguish who should make decisions, when to step in and be directive, and when to step back and facilitate the decision making process.
Kreitner, Robert. Organizational Behavior. 9th ed. Vol. 1. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2010.
Komives, Susan R. Et al. Exploring Leadership. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. San Francisco: 2007.
The Goal Setting Process
Goals are something that majority of humans hold to be of priceless value. Some goals start at a young age and carry on until we grow old. Some goals are created at a later age, and continue to be of value as aging continues. Chapter 9 discusses "Individual Behavior in Organizations." Before going into how to manage goals, and the goal-setting process, lets first define the two different types of goals. The first, is a Performance Outcome Goal-targets a specific end-result. The second type of goal, is a learning Goal. A learning goal encourages learning, creativity, and skill development.
Now that we've defined the two types of goals lets go into the Goal-Setting Process.
The first step, is simply to set an initial goal. They're cannot be a process to a goal, without an actual goal to accomplish. A key note to remember is that goals should be SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, and Results Orientated (Rose 1). Goals should be very precise, able to measure in accordance to accomplishment, realistic, and "should focus on desired end results" (Rose 2).
The second step is to Promote Goal Commitment. This is important because employees are more motivated to pursue goals they as reasonable and fair.
The third step is to, Provide Support and Feedback. Without providing support tools for your employees improvement is a difficult achievement. This includes making sure that your employees have all the resources and tools necessary for them to complete their goals.
A last, and undefined step in the process is to give feedback. Feedback, provides value to your employees and can motivate them to work more efficiently, or even make completing goals more fun with the right steps.
Rose, Joni. "SMART Goal Setting." Suite 101.com May 21, 2006. http://trainingpd.suite101.com/article.cfm/smart_goal_setting.
Now that we've defined the two types of goals lets go into the Goal-Setting Process.
The first step, is simply to set an initial goal. They're cannot be a process to a goal, without an actual goal to accomplish. A key note to remember is that goals should be SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, and Results Orientated (Rose 1). Goals should be very precise, able to measure in accordance to accomplishment, realistic, and "should focus on desired end results" (Rose 2).
The second step is to Promote Goal Commitment. This is important because employees are more motivated to pursue goals they as reasonable and fair.
The third step is to, Provide Support and Feedback. Without providing support tools for your employees improvement is a difficult achievement. This includes making sure that your employees have all the resources and tools necessary for them to complete their goals.
A last, and undefined step in the process is to give feedback. Feedback, provides value to your employees and can motivate them to work more efficiently, or even make completing goals more fun with the right steps.
Rose, Joni. "SMART Goal Setting." Suite 101.com May 21, 2006. http://trainingpd.suite101.com/article.cfm/smart_goal_setting.
Five Stages of Group Development
Chapter 10 discusses Group Dynamics. The chapter opens with a brief discussion of networking, and goes into detail of what social networking is and how it is expanding across the globe. The section that I found most interesting in Chapter 10 however, was the Five Stages in Tuckman's Model. Bruce W. Tuckman was a psychologist who created a five stage process of group development in 1965, in order to summarize the human process of creating groups and teams.
The first stage of Tuckman's Model is forming. This initial step involves the group members to "break the ice" and get to know one another on a personal level. This is to make group decision process easier. This period is where you will find group members anxious to find such things as their roles in the group, and who is in charge.
Stage two is Storming. During this stage, members test the leaders policies, and try to determine where they individually fit into the "power structure" (Stages of Team Development). The biggest issue to overcome during this stage is the power struggle, along with coming to an agreement who is in charge.
The third stage is norming, where "rules, values, methods, and tools are established" (Stages of Team Development). This stage is where the identity of the group begins, and they can begin to work together.
The fourth step, performing is where all the planning and preparation finally gets put to use. This is a vital stage where group members should focus on solving task problems.
The last step, is adjourning. This is when the work has been completed. The group comes together and discusses the issues of the wok performed. Then the group "disassembles" and some feel a sense of loss after noting all the work they put into the project.
"Stages of Team Development." 12 Manage. The Executive Fast Track. 3/29/10..
The first stage of Tuckman's Model is forming. This initial step involves the group members to "break the ice" and get to know one another on a personal level. This is to make group decision process easier. This period is where you will find group members anxious to find such things as their roles in the group, and who is in charge.
Stage two is Storming. During this stage, members test the leaders policies, and try to determine where they individually fit into the "power structure" (Stages of Team Development). The biggest issue to overcome during this stage is the power struggle, along with coming to an agreement who is in charge.
The third stage is norming, where "rules, values, methods, and tools are established" (Stages of Team Development). This stage is where the identity of the group begins, and they can begin to work together.
The fourth step, performing is where all the planning and preparation finally gets put to use. This is a vital stage where group members should focus on solving task problems.
The last step, is adjourning. This is when the work has been completed. The group comes together and discusses the issues of the wok performed. Then the group "disassembles" and some feel a sense of loss after noting all the work they put into the project.
"Stages of Team Development." 12 Manage. The Executive Fast Track. 3/29/10.
Typology of Work Teams
Chapter Eleven picks up a right after Chapter Ten left of with groups. Chapter 11 goes more in depth into groups and defines the difference between a group and a team. A team is a "small group of people with complementary skills who hold themselves mutually accountable for common purpose goals, and approach" (Mackin). A group is a little different. A group is, "two or more freely interacting people with shared norms and goals and a common identity. So, where a group acts together with individual purpose, a team is composed of individuals all working to reach the same goal together.
The section I found most interesting in Chapter 11 is where they list the "four general types of work teams and their outputs."
The first type of team is a an Advice Team. Advice teams consist of committees, review panels, and advisory councils. These teams have a low degree of technical specialization, and a low degree of coordination with other work units. Advice teams normally output decisions or proposals.
The second type of team is a Production team who's degree of technical specialization is low, but degree of coordination with other work units is high. Production teams often work in cycles that contribute to a continuous process. They wok more on a day-to-day basis. Example of production teams are anything from customer service, to retail sales.
Project Teams are the third type of team Chapter 11 discusses. Projects require creativity to solve problems. They have a high degree of technical specialization and can have both low and high degree of coordination with other work units. This depends on if this group is a traditional unit (low), or a cross-functional unit (high).
The last type of team is an action team. Action teams, consist of sport teams, surgery teams and even entertainment groups. Action teams, have both a high degree of technical specialization and degree of coordination with other work units.
It's very interesting to note the different qualities that different teams consist of.
Mackin, Deoborah. "The Difference Between a Group and a Team." The Sideroad..
The section I found most interesting in Chapter 11 is where they list the "four general types of work teams and their outputs."
The first type of team is a an Advice Team. Advice teams consist of committees, review panels, and advisory councils. These teams have a low degree of technical specialization, and a low degree of coordination with other work units. Advice teams normally output decisions or proposals.
The second type of team is a Production team who's degree of technical specialization is low, but degree of coordination with other work units is high. Production teams often work in cycles that contribute to a continuous process. They wok more on a day-to-day basis. Example of production teams are anything from customer service, to retail sales.
Project Teams are the third type of team Chapter 11 discusses. Projects require creativity to solve problems. They have a high degree of technical specialization and can have both low and high degree of coordination with other work units. This depends on if this group is a traditional unit (low), or a cross-functional unit (high).
The last type of team is an action team. Action teams, consist of sport teams, surgery teams and even entertainment groups. Action teams, have both a high degree of technical specialization and degree of coordination with other work units.
It's very interesting to note the different qualities that different teams consist of.
Mackin, Deoborah. "The Difference Between a Group and a Team." The Sideroad.
Decision Making Styles Ch. 12
After reading through the chapter, a was focused on decision making styles at the beginning of the chapter. This section stuck out to me because I found that I do use two of the decision making styles (Analytical and Directive), but never really find myself being conceptual or behavioral in my decision making. I am Analytical in my decision making because I often search for other ways to solve problems, rather than just the first idea that pops into my head. This is beneficial because I often find solutions that make completing a task easier for myself. on the other hand, there are times when I waste time trying to find a different way to solve a problem and it ends up costing me valuable time in the end.
If I were able to spread by decision making through all four styles it would probably help me find better solutions that I normally would not come up with. I think that if I used a behavioral style instead of always being so analytical I could find different and sometimes even better decision making solutions. With a behavioral style of decision making I would be more open minded to new ideas and solutions. I think this is a big problem when it comes to my decision making skills because I can be close minded and always think I know the best way to solve a problem. Being more behavioral in my decision makign will also benefit me in group work. Sometimes I feel I do not always follow the group because I have my own ways of decision making and can be close minded.
If I were able to spread by decision making through all four styles it would probably help me find better solutions that I normally would not come up with. I think that if I used a behavioral style instead of always being so analytical I could find different and sometimes even better decision making solutions. With a behavioral style of decision making I would be more open minded to new ideas and solutions. I think this is a big problem when it comes to my decision making skills because I can be close minded and always think I know the best way to solve a problem. Being more behavioral in my decision makign will also benefit me in group work. Sometimes I feel I do not always follow the group because I have my own ways of decision making and can be close minded.
Group Decision Making
Joining together into groups has been a part of human culture since we were in elementary school. The concept of forming ideas as a group rather than individuals stays with us as humans all the way through the work field as well. Chapter 12 discusses the advantages and disadvantages of group-aided decision making. A simple definition for group-aided decision making is "a type of participatory process in which multiple individuals acting collectively, analyze problems or situations, consider and evaluate alternative courses of action, and select from among the alternatives a solution or solutions" (Hinsz). There are three guidelines that first must be analyzed to determine whether groups would be more beneficial. The first, is if "additional information would increase the quality of the decision, managers should involve those people who can provide the needed information" (Kreitner 355). The second, is if acceptance is important, "managers need to involve those individuals whose acceptance and commitment are important" (Kreitner 355). The last step is, "if people can be developed through their participation," managers should want to involve those whose "development is most important" (Kreitner 355).
Chapter 5 also continues to discuss the different types of group decision making methods. The first, is Brainstorming-a process to generate a quantity of ideas. The second, is the nominal group technique-process to generate ideas and evaluate solutions. Other group problem solving techniques included in chapter 5 are, the Delphi Technique and Computer-Aided Decision Making.
Hinsz, V.B., and G.S. Nickell. "Positive Reactions to Working in Groups in a Study of Group and Individual Goal Decision-Making." Group Dynamics 8 (2004): 253–264.
Chapter 5 also continues to discuss the different types of group decision making methods. The first, is Brainstorming-a process to generate a quantity of ideas. The second, is the nominal group technique-process to generate ideas and evaluate solutions. Other group problem solving techniques included in chapter 5 are, the Delphi Technique and Computer-Aided Decision Making.
Hinsz, V.B., and G.S. Nickell. "Positive Reactions to Working in Groups in a Study of Group and Individual Goal Decision-Making." Group Dynamics 8 (2004): 253–264.
Chapter 12
The most interesting thing I learned in chapter 12 was in the “Real World” section where it talked about McDonald’s multiple methods to identify the problem of losing customers to Starbucks and other coffee shops. I had no idea that so much research goes into figuring out where people are purchasing there beverages after they order their food. McDonalds conducted several three hour interviews, which were videotaped, in which interviewers studied beverage buying habits of their customers. The problem they saw was that McDonalds was missing out on one of the fastest growing beverage industries. The text explains how data proved that soda sales had flattened while specialty coffee and smoothie sales were growing at double digit rates.
I did some additional research to find out which type of person goes where. Studies prove that the average age of a McDonald’s customer is 18-34, as for Starbucks the average age of a customer is between 35-44 years old. Income also plays a role in which goes where, people with incomes over $60,000 per year tend to go to Starbucks where as people with an income lower than $60,000 tend to buy McDonald’s products.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1702277,00.html
I did some additional research to find out which type of person goes where. Studies prove that the average age of a McDonald’s customer is 18-34, as for Starbucks the average age of a customer is between 35-44 years old. Income also plays a role in which goes where, people with incomes over $60,000 per year tend to go to Starbucks where as people with an income lower than $60,000 tend to buy McDonald’s products.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1702277,00.html
Chapter 12: The Rational Model
When managers make decisions it is essential that they consider all possible solutions before making a final decision. The rational model presented by Kreitner and Kinicki “proposes that managers use a rational, four-step sequence when making decisions” (337). This will allow them to make better decisions and narrow down their options in an effective manner. In addition, they will be capable of making firm decisions which will benefit their companies and it will help them succeed. The four steps which Kreitner and Kinicki speak about in the book are identyfying the problem, generating alternative solutions, selecting a solution, and implementing and evaluating the solution. These steps are useful when making decisions which will affect a group or decisions that will only affect an individual.
In an article, which was researched by a student at the University of Granada in Spain, she speaks about her approach in conductiong her research,which consisted of the Rational Model. Not only is the rational model useful for everyday decisions, but it is also useful when conducting important research. It is a basic outline when conducting any type of research. She explains how the, “The rational approach of attention purports to describe the ways in which the Human Visual System (HVS), which is what her study is about, actually does behave in making choices among possible locations of interest for allocating attention” (609). She also explains that “We are interested in the aspects of rationality that seem to be present in the decision making of the HVS” (613). She uses all four steps in the rational model in order to prove her problem and find an answer to her study. She also shows how important decision making is, which can be influenced by our areas of interest. This approach also applies to businesses and managers when they are faced with difficult decision making, especially when their decisions strongly affect other individual.
Source: García, J.A., et al. "Information visibility using transmission methods." Pattern Recognition Letters 31.7 (2010): 609-618. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 29 Mar. 2010.
In an article, which was researched by a student at the University of Granada in Spain, she speaks about her approach in conductiong her research,which consisted of the Rational Model. Not only is the rational model useful for everyday decisions, but it is also useful when conducting important research. It is a basic outline when conducting any type of research. She explains how the, “The rational approach of attention purports to describe the ways in which the Human Visual System (HVS), which is what her study is about, actually does behave in making choices among possible locations of interest for allocating attention” (609). She also explains that “We are interested in the aspects of rationality that seem to be present in the decision making of the HVS” (613). She uses all four steps in the rational model in order to prove her problem and find an answer to her study. She also shows how important decision making is, which can be influenced by our areas of interest. This approach also applies to businesses and managers when they are faced with difficult decision making, especially when their decisions strongly affect other individual.
Source: García, J.A., et al. "Information visibility using transmission methods." Pattern Recognition Letters 31.7 (2010): 609-618. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 29 Mar. 2010.
Chapter 12: Making Decisions
In chapter 12, decision making is fully examined. In the book, there are four types of decision making styles: analytical, behavioral, conceptual, and directive. Chapter 12 includes a grid with all four decision making styles, and I also decided to search more about them. In one presentation online, the term decision was defined as a choice from two or more alternatives. The same site also defined the decision making process as a set of eight steps including identifying a problem, selecting an alternative, and evaluating the decision's effectiveness.
Looking into the four types of decision making styles, I found another site that gave definitions to each that seemed close to the book's definitions. For the directive style, the site refers to the person with that type of style as having low tolerance for ambiguity and are efficient, rational, and logical in their way of thinking. Those people focus on the short term and decide based on minimal information and alternatives. For analytical decision makers, they have a higher tolerance for ambiguity than directive decision makers, and they enjoy more information and alternatives. Conceptual decision makers are generally more broad and consider all available alternatives, and they are focused on long term goals and are capable of creativity. The last one, which is the behavioral style, contains people who work well with others and are open to suggestions. Through all four, I definitely think that it is important to try and put all together in making a decision. It is important to find out information and alternatives as well as hear others' suggestions when working with a team.
Sources: - http://www.slideshare.net/adhirock/the-decision-making-process-172869
- http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/dsrd/part/decision_making_styles/8/42/201.html
Looking into the four types of decision making styles, I found another site that gave definitions to each that seemed close to the book's definitions. For the directive style, the site refers to the person with that type of style as having low tolerance for ambiguity and are efficient, rational, and logical in their way of thinking. Those people focus on the short term and decide based on minimal information and alternatives. For analytical decision makers, they have a higher tolerance for ambiguity than directive decision makers, and they enjoy more information and alternatives. Conceptual decision makers are generally more broad and consider all available alternatives, and they are focused on long term goals and are capable of creativity. The last one, which is the behavioral style, contains people who work well with others and are open to suggestions. Through all four, I definitely think that it is important to try and put all together in making a decision. It is important to find out information and alternatives as well as hear others' suggestions when working with a team.
Sources: - http://www.slideshare.net/adhirock/the-decision-making-process-172869
- http://toolkit.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au/dsrd/part/decision_making_styles/8/42/201.html
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Decision Making Styles
In chapter 12 on of the major points explained were represented by figure 12-1, Decision-Making Styles. The four categories on this grid are Analytical, Conceptual, Directive and Behavioral. Directive style are usually oriented toward task and technical concerns during decision making, have a low tolerance for ambiguity and value orientation. Analytical is a decision making style that looks for alternatives and more information, it has a high ambiguity tolerance but a low value orientation. Behavioral is a more open minded style which has a lot of social interaction and has a high level or value orientation and a low tolerance to ambiguity. Finally conceptual is a problem solving style that considers many options and future possibilities. It has a high tolerance to ambiguity and value orientation. These all describe the combination of how a person perceives and comprehends stimuli and how they respond to information. Although almost every individual will make a decision differently, thier specific style will fall under one of these four Decision-Making Styles.
Decide when you're under pressure
When you're in an environment under pressure you make decisions quickly. This is the speed that characterizes this type of decision. How can we quickly take the right decision, is to decide under pressure.
The big difficulty in making a quick decision is that one is tempted to consider the issue with his own eyes. Everyone has been shaped by his upbringing, his culture and environment. Each brain reads the reality in a way and sort information in a unique way. We should therefore be particularly vigilant regarding the cultural filter.
In a second time to force them to acquire an overview of the problem, we will of course go to find information on the Internet, whose speed makes it a vital tool, but also look to our peers and to experts: consult experts can clarify the issue of limiting the scope of questioning. The principle: they have already faced similar problems. If this is not too complicated, benefit from their experience can save valuable time when we are in a hurry.
In any case, if we have two solutions, we must find the third. Otherwise there is a risk to limitate an early decision to evidence.
Do you think people need quiet space to be creative? p365
- Quiet space is necessary if you want to think by yourself
Everybody needs time to make a decision. You cannot make up your mind if you are in a noisy atmosphere, and if you are not alone with yourself. It is the same thing with creativity; all the famous scientists and geniuses have a lot of time alone in their lab, before creating a new invention or product. So must be a businessman who wants to come up with a new dea, a new project or a new marketing plan. He must figure out by himself all the opportunities of the market; he also must do a brainstorming of all his ideas. many people need time and quiet space before creating something. So am I. I need to be alone a few moment if I want to write an assignement or a paper.
- You need to be freed from the multiple tasks you have to do, and to be given this time
To get this quiet time, your mind must not be occupied by all the daily preoccupations, such as your appointments, your teamwork and so one. So if you have to create a project, or to come up with anew idea, the best is to ask for quiet time to your employer, and to have a personnal assistant who can do what you can delegate. Thus, you will be free to take time by yourself.
- It is also necesary to share your creativenes by talking with the other employees
When you have spent enough time alone, it is vey important to share your reflections with the team. They will give you new ideas. Indeed, when you spend too much time alone, the danger is to go into a bed direction and to forget the main points.
Quiet time is really necessary, but it is very efficient when it is followed by discussion time.
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