Week 13 Post 2: End of the Semester

We have finished the student lead presentations part of the class and are now working on editing and putting together our final version of the primer for the class. Looking back to the beginning of the semester, I was definitely a little bit hesitant and unsure of how the class was going to work out. Having a class that is completely run by the students was definitely a new experience for me and I assume the same is true for the rest of my classmates. Now that the class is coming to the end I am definitely glad that I decided to stick with the class. The class allowed me to learn a lot of important things on the topic of organizational behavior that I will definitely use in the future, especially this summer when I start my internship. The class also allowed me to develop my presentation skills, which is one of my weak spots. It also allowed me to work with a partner and collaborate our ideas, which will be a big part of what we will be doing once we get out into the workforce. I am definitely looking forward to reading the final version of the primer, which I know all of my classmates have put a lot of time and effort into their individual contributions. The primer will be a good resource that I can put on my resume or even bring to future interviews to show the organization some of the work I have done.

Week 13 Post 1: Teams

Yesterday in class, Shayna and Logan presented on the topic of Teams. They did a great job teaching the content of the subject to the class, and I believe it was a good subject to wrap up the third section of the class because it touched upon many of the other topics we already discussed. I also thought it was a good topic to discuss because working in teams is a major part of what we will be doing once we get into the workforce, as well as this summer during our internships. The main function of teams in an organizational setting is to combine resources, skills, and ideas in order to achieve a certain goal or objective for the organization. Teams are used because it is believed that by working together with other employees more work will be produced, compared to if the individual members worked by themselves. However as many people know this is in fact not always the case. There is always one or two individuals on a team who do not do their fair share of the work and rely on the other members of the team to pick up there slack. Unfortunately it usually works for the slacker because the other members of the team don’t want to get a bad grade or fail at accomplishing a task, so they do the slackers share of the work. This is why it is important to have group performance evaluations at the end of a group project or task. These evaluations allow you to evaluate the performance of all members of the group, and this is a good time to expose the slacker of the group to the boss or upper management.

Week 12 Post 2: Meetings

Today in class Erin and Kyle presented on the topic of organizational meetings and how they are structured. This is a very relevant topic that I am glad they presented on because it allowed me to gain a lot of informative knowledge on the topic. As I go into my internship this summer I know that I will be attending organizational meetings which will definitely be a new experience, so there topic allowed me to get a sense of what to expect in the future. They presented us with a lot of examples as what not to do in a meeting which was very helpful and I will definitely remember these things as I begin attending formal organizational meetings.

There are many different types of business meetings that can occur in an organization. Some of the most common types are informational, motivational, decision-making, and creative.

An informational meeting is pretty straightforward, in that its objective is to introduce new and important information to employees. However it must be information that cannot just be easily understood in an email or presentation that is sent out to all employees. Informational meetings are important because it allows for employees to ask any questions they have about the information immediately. This is an important aspect because if one person has a question it is more than likely that other people may have the same question regarding the information.

A motivational meeting is designed to gain commitment from employees on a certain project and inspire them to succeed. These types of meetings are used when a big project is coming up or when some sort of change is going to occur within the organization that may be difficult to adapt to. In order to motivate employees it is important that the leader or facilitator of the meeting has the ability to appeal to the employees on an emotional level. It is also important to let the employees speak their minds in these types of meetings, this shows to them that they have been heard and that their opinion actually matters.

A decision-making meeting is used in order to solve a problem and make a decision regarding the problem. In these types of meetings it is very important that the participants of the meeting are informed about the problem beforehand, which allows them to come to the meetings with ideas. Once a decision has been made everybody should agree on the decision and have a plan for going forward with the decision. Short-term and long-term planning for the organization or department fall under the category of decision-making meetings.

A creative meeting is used to generate a significant number of original ideas, as well as finding a best idea. Research has shown that group brainstorming is not the most effective means for generating the greatest number of original ideas, which is due to the fact that not everyone can think well on the spot or as a group. These creative meetings are the most successful when participants are given time to brainstorm on their own. This allows them to generate better ideas as well as defend their ideas.

Week 12 Post 1: Crisis Management

On Monday Colleen and I presented on the topic of crisis management. This topic focuses on how an organization or business goes about dealing with a sudden emergency situation that occurs within their organization. A crisis is any event that that leads to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community or whole society. Crises result in negative changes in security, economic, political, or environmental affairs. This is especially true when they occur abruptly, with little or no warning. Some defining characteristics of a crisis are that; the event is unexpected, it leads to uncertainty, is seen as a threat to important organizational goals, and the event results in a need for change. We found that there are a few different types of crises. A business or professional crisis is any situation that may hurt the integrity of one’s team, department, or organization as a whole. Some examples of this are financial losses or any discriminatory lawsuits against an organization.  A public relations crisis is any situation that may hurt an organization’s image. An example of this type of crisis would a hospital employee who is stealing drugs from the hospital for personal use. The last type of crisis we researched were personal crises which is any situation that may interrupt a manager’s ability to lead. An example of this would be a death in the family or going through a divorce.

I found an article that described key characteristics of good leaders during times of crisis. The list is as follows:

• Don’t allow their emotions to get in the way - Strong-willed leaders can maintain their composure and still express concern and care, but not to the point that their emotions become a distraction

• Don’t take things personally - By doing so, it makes it difficult to maintain your composure and make those around you believe that you have things under control.

• Keep a Positive Mental Attitude - A positive attitude can neutralize chaos and allow a leader to inspire faith in employees.

• Keep Composure - During uncertain times, leaders must remain fearless and project a cool persona that communicates composure to those they lead.

• Respond Decisively - Speak with conviction, confidence and authority – whether they know the answer or not.  With their delivery alone, they give their employees a sense that everything is under control.

• Take Accountability - When leaders assume accountability, they begin to neutralize the problem and seek a solution.

• Communicative - Communicate the appropriate actions to employees in a timely manner.

(paraphrased from the Forbes article - https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/01/20/7-ways-leaders-maintain-their-composure-in-difficult-times/#5a7732821573)

I believe that these are certainly important characteristics to have as a leader or manager who has to deal with a crisis in their organization. I will definitely remember these characteristics and try to exemplify them in the future because I know that sooner or later in my career I will be put in a position where I have to manage a crisis.

An example of a good leader during a crisis situation was Mayor Rudy Giuliani, after the 911 attacks on the twin towers in New York City. Giuliani exemplified robust leadership skills during one of the biggest crises in U.S history. After the attacks, Giuliani coordinated the response of various city departments. He also organized the support of state and federal authorities for the World Trade Center site and the restoration of its infrastructure, as well as for city-wide anti-terrorist measures. He made many appearances on live television to acknowledge the public of the crisis as well as ensure them of their safety. Many people say he played a bigger role in making America feel safe after the attacks due to the fact that he responded very swiftly and communicated to the public what was happening. While President Bush was at an elementary school in Florida and took a while to leave the school and address the media on the crisis. Mayor Giuliani was named Time’s Person of the Year in 2001 for his leadership efforts following the 9/11 attacks. Time stated that, “prior to 9/11, the public image of Giuliani had been that of a rigid, self-righteous, ambitious politician. After 9/11, his public image changed to that of a strong man who could be counted on to unite a city in the midst of its greatest crisis”.

Week 11 Post 2: Holacracy

Yesterday in class, Erin and Jason presented on the topic of Holacracy. This was something that I had never heard of before this class, so I was definitely interested to hear what they had to say about the topic. I found out that Holacracy is basically a new and revolutionary way of running an organization. Holacracy gets rid of the management hierarchy that most organizations run on in today’s society. A definition that I found from the Holacracy website says, “Holacracy is a complete, packaged system for self-management in organizations. Holacracy replaces the traditional management hierarchy with a new peer-to-peer “operating system” that increases transparency, accountability, and organizational agility” (http://www.holacracy.org/how-it-works/). Basically it is a system to run an organization in which there are no managers and every employee is seen as equal to one another. Once I learned what it actually was I was definitely interested by also very surprised by the idea. I was wondering how an organization could stay organized and successful without a management system.

In the presentation, they talked a lot about the company Zappos which has implemented the Holacracy management scheme and got rid of the traditional way of management. One of the things we discussed in class was how do problems get resolved if there is no upper management involved to facilitate problem solving. I found an article in Forbes that talks about Zappos and how their transition to Holacracy has gone so far. In the article they talk about how to resolve problems in the workplace. The article said, “If employees have a problem with what is going on, they can flag a “Tension.” The procedure for doing so was clarified as recently as April 10, 2015.” It also went on to describe the procedure used to solve the “tension”.

Taken directly from the Forbes article – (https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2015/05/23/is-holacracy-succeeding-at-zappos/#514c914156dc)

How To Use My Tensions Outside Of A Governance Meeting

• When you have a tension for governance, add it to your My Tensions list (found in the blue navigation bar next to My Projects). Type as little or as much as you need for each tension. Save the tension.
• There is also an option as a tactical output called Tension to capture governance tensions.
• Here you can also add an agenda item, the tension, circle, and a proposal if you want.
• Edit the proposal later to be prepared before the meeting. The benefit of this is that you have a way of both tracking tensions and starting proposals outside of meetings.
• Create draft proposals with multiple parts, just like Secretary does during the Governance meeting. Your proposal will be available to select for the next Governance agenda, but you don’t have to add it to the list if you aren’t ready.
• Capture a tension even if you don’t know a starting proposal yet

During The Governance Meeting

• When there is a Governance meeting open, click Join Governance meeting to be able to add your tensions to the agenda. Then click the ‘choose from tensions' link right below where you enter agenda items to add your tension to the list. You get a pop up of agenda items / tensions, and you click to add it to the agenda.
• When Secretary selects your agenda item, those watching via ‘Join Governance’ link will see the proposal, just like when it is entered by Secretary.
• When you click on the agenda item that was added from someone’s My Tensions list pre-populated proposals automatically load in GlassFrog. Edits to any parts of the proposal made before clicking Accept Proposal are saved (so the originally pre-populated proposal is changed if you change or remove anything.
• Once Secretary clicks accept proposal then the agenda item can be 'checked off'.”

I believe that this is a pretty long process and could ultimately take away from the productivity of the organization as a whole. I think they should schedule weekly meetings in which the employees can discuss their problems and try to find solution as a group.

Week 11 Post 1: Ethics

At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how people make decisions and lead their lives. Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society and is also described as moral philosophy. The term is derived from the Greek word “ethos” which can mean custom, habit, character or disposition. Ethics is useful in almost every setting. If ethical theories are to be useful in practice, they need to affect the way human beings behave. Some philosophers think that ethics does do this. They argue that if a person realizes that it would be morally good to do something then it would be irrational for that person not to do it. But humans often behave irrationally, they follow their 'gut instinct' even when their head suggests a different course of action. However, ethics does provide good tools for thinking about moral issues.

In an organization, a code of ethics is a set of principles that guide the organization in its programs, policies and decisions for the business. The ethical philosophy an organization uses to conduct business can affect the reputation, productivity and bottom line of the business. A professional code of ethics sets a standard for which each member of the profession can be expected to meet. It is a promise to act in a manner that protects the public’s well-being. The code of ethics informs the public what to expect of one’s doctor, lawyer, accountant, or property manager.

 Leaders and employees adhering to a code of ethics create an ethical organizational culture. The leaders of a business may create an ethical culture by exhibiting the type of behavior they'd like to see in employees. The organization can reinforce ethical behavior by rewarding employees who exhibit the values and integrity that coincides with the company code of ethics and disciplining those who make the wrong choices. A positive and healthy corporate culture improves the morale among workers in the organization, which may increase productivity and employee retention, which in turn has financial benefits for the organization. Higher levels of productivity improve the efficiency in the company, while increasing employee retention reduces the cost of replacing employees.

Ethics is a very important aspect in healthcare and the concerns of medical ethics are considered the most important and consequential in human life. Part of the importance of medical ethics comes from the fact that members of the medical and health care professions are granted powers and privileges that are not granted to non-members. Surgeons and doctors have the right and duty to cut open the human body if they are convinced that by doing so they can improve or aid the health of the person being cut open. Medical professionals sometimes have the responsibility to determine or decide who is to live and who will die. They can prescribe powerful drugs and chemicals that could be poisonous or otherwise harmful if improperly administered. They make decisions about the use and allocation of large amounts of money and scarce resources. They decide how patient care is to be delivered, which patient should get which resources, how much and what patients should and will be told about their situation, what kind of doctor-patient interaction will occur, and whether the information given to them by patients will be kept confidential, and it is not how and to whom it will be shared.

Week 10 Post 2: Organizational Culture

Organizational culture is a system of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs, which governs how people behave in organizations. These shared values have a strong influence on the people in the organization and dictate how they dress, act, and perform their jobs. There has been a lot of debate to what organizational culture really means. There is a universal consensus that organizational culture does in fact exist, and that it plays an important role in shaping behaviors in organizations.

I found an article on The Harvard Business Review, in which the author created a discussion board on LinkedIn and asked people to post what they thought organizational culture was/meant.

Some of the responses are as follows: (taken directly from the HBR article - https://hbr.org/2013/05/what-is-organizational-culture)

- “Culture is how organizations ‘do things’.” — Robbie Katanga

- “Organizational culture defines a jointly shared description of an organization from within.” — Bruce Perron

- “Organizational culture is civilization in the workplace.” — Alan Adler

- “Culture is the organization’s immune system.” — Michael Watkins

- “Organizational culture is shaped by the main culture of the society we live in, albeit with greater emphasis on particular parts of it.” — Elizabeth Skringar

- “It over simplifies the situation in large organizations to assume there is only one culture… and it’s risky for new leaders to ignore the sub-cultures.” — Rolf Winkler

- “An organization is a living culture… that can adapt to the reality as fast as possible.” — Abdi Osman Jama

The response that I found the most interesting was the one that said culture is the organization’s immune system. I found it interesting because I would never have thought of it like that. However after reading how the author explained it, it made a lot of sense to me.

The author said, “Culture is a form of protection that has evolved from situational pressures. It prevents “wrong thinking” and “wrong people” from entering the organization in the first place. It says that organizational culture functions much like the human immune system in preventing viruses and bacteria from taking hold and damaging the body. The problem, of course, is that organizational immune systems also can attack agents of needed change, and this has important implications for on-boarding and integrating people into organizations.” (https://hbr.org/2013/05/what-is-organizational-culture)

I found another article that said the most important thing about culture is that it’s the only sustainable point of difference for any organization. Anyone can copy a company’s strategy, but nobody can copy their culture. I agree with this statement and believe that an organization’s culture can have an immense influence on why employees want to work for your organization. I also believe that the culture plays a big role in employee satisfaction.