Once again, I'm going to take something to do in the world of sports and turn it into something to do with business, I hope. That's a bit of theme with me, isn't it?
Last night, the Washington Redskins gave Donovan McNabb, a man who is going to be 34 in about a week, a 5 year contract for $78 million dollars. He rewarded the Redskins for their confidence with an awful performance as my Eagles rolled to a 59-28 victory. The quarterback is like the CEO of the team on the field, and there has been a great deal of controversy in the last few years about CEO's and their pay scale. (See what I did there?) Many of these deals that CEO's sign with their companies are for salaries that are very high, but not nearly as exorbitant as people think. Where they make their money is in the giant bonuses that are in their contracts for things like stock price, productivity, or other measurable metrics that lead to a CEO picking up a check for a cool $10 million.
Relating it back to the game, McNabb was downright awful, and the Redskins have the option to release him and only pay him $3.5 million for his services. When many of these CEOs get fired, they have giant parachutes that the company is obligated to give them, so that they leave the company in worse shape with millions of dollars and stock options. It doesn't seem quite fair that you and I get fired when we do our jobs poorly, but when these people are let go after driving entire companies into the ground, they take enough money with them to be set for life.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Getting Ahead and Staying There
You've done it. Your company has become THE leader in your industry, either locally or even nationally. You're the company that others look to and say "We want to be like them." The steps that management laid out to get to the top have been achieved. Let the party begin.
But, after the festivities have ended, and the cake has been consumed, and the confetti has been cleaned up, and that goat that found its way into the party has been returned to the local petting zoo, what do you do?
If you just sit back and rest on your laurels, one of your competitors will run you down, catch you, and overtake you, putting you back to where you were at the beginning, and making that guy in HR's brilliant goat stealing techniques completely for nothing!
If you push people to keep striving to be better, do you run the risk of losing your workforce? Could they say "We are the best. We worked incredibly hard to get to the top. We did what you asked us to do! How could we get better?" Also, how do you chase someone and run them down when you're winning the race? Do you risk sending the signal that you don't have confidence in your employees to maintain their high level of productivity unless you've trying to catch someone?
To me, there has to be a balance between keeping motivation high, while making sure you're not pushing your employees into overdrive and running the risk of burning them out. Maintaining productivity is essential to any successful business, regardless of their standings in the industry. In fact, SPEAKING OF BENEFITS, here's an article about BENEFITS (Wow! Who would have guessed?) from MarketWatch...Clever way to put a link into an article.
So anyway, back to my original point. Once you get to the top, how do you stay there?
But, after the festivities have ended, and the cake has been consumed, and the confetti has been cleaned up, and that goat that found its way into the party has been returned to the local petting zoo, what do you do?
If you just sit back and rest on your laurels, one of your competitors will run you down, catch you, and overtake you, putting you back to where you were at the beginning, and making that guy in HR's brilliant goat stealing techniques completely for nothing!
If you push people to keep striving to be better, do you run the risk of losing your workforce? Could they say "We are the best. We worked incredibly hard to get to the top. We did what you asked us to do! How could we get better?" Also, how do you chase someone and run them down when you're winning the race? Do you risk sending the signal that you don't have confidence in your employees to maintain their high level of productivity unless you've trying to catch someone?
To me, there has to be a balance between keeping motivation high, while making sure you're not pushing your employees into overdrive and running the risk of burning them out. Maintaining productivity is essential to any successful business, regardless of their standings in the industry. In fact, SPEAKING OF BENEFITS, here's an article about BENEFITS (Wow! Who would have guessed?) from MarketWatch...Clever way to put a link into an article.
So anyway, back to my original point. Once you get to the top, how do you stay there?
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Great Potential, Unrealized
Every company that hires a new employee has expectations about what that employee will do for the company, how they will improve the company, and that they will be capable of carrying out the duties that they were hired to do. However, not every hire lives up to those expectations and some even fall far enough beneath expectations to be a disappointment.
What do you do when you hire someone who can't do the things you thought they could when you decided to take them on? Obviously, if they're incompetent, you can let them go for failure to carry out their duties and move on to the next person. These are the easy decisions for an employer to make, but what about the ones that aren't so cut and dry?
If you hire an employee with high expectations and they just become a "middle of the road" employee? You can't fire them for failure to do their work if they're able to do their job well enough to not be a drag on the company. Do you realize that at least part of the blame has to fall on you for expecting too much from them? How much of your expectations came from the interview and how they presented themselves? What responsibility do they bear for not living up to the expectations? Is it just a question of motivation? Is there something you could be doing to get them to that point? Is there something they should be doing that they're not? Do you just have to accept the fact that they aren't who you thought they were and just go back to making sure they do their job as well as everyone else? Finally, how do you find a way to treat them right without being too hard on them for failing to live up to the employee that you thought they could be?
Monday, November 8, 2010
Punctuality
Ok, so today's post is going to be at least somewhat out of frustration at what transpired at work today, when a person I work with in a position of authority, making it difficult to refuse them, waited until 30 minutes before I was supposed to leave to ask me to proofread something they had written. Ok, fine, sure, until he handed it to me...30 pages. I'm happy to proofread something for my bosses, but give me time to do it within the timeframe that I've been hired to do it. I was there for an hour and a half longer than I'm supposed to be there, and I had a test at 6, which I subsequently did pretty poorly on.
On top of that, the document really didn't have anything to do with my job, so it was my time for something that doesn't benefit the organization. I hate people that say "That's not in my job description", and in fact, it's in this article of "Things to not say at work." This article, right here, this one! However, when it's completely irrelevant to the company as a whole? I think that just might cross the line. Not only did I have work that needs to be done for the company that I was taken away from, but I was doing this work that benefitted one person.
Ok, my question for my faithful reader(s)...What do you guys do when something like this happens? Has it happened to you? Do you just suck it up and do it? Do you try to rationalize why it's a bad idea with them? Do you just refuse to do it based on the "Not my Job" argument?
I'd like to hear from you guys on this, it really bothered me when I kept looking at the clock and seeing minute after minute of my free time passing me by...
On top of that, the document really didn't have anything to do with my job, so it was my time for something that doesn't benefit the organization. I hate people that say "That's not in my job description", and in fact, it's in this article of "Things to not say at work." This article, right here, this one! However, when it's completely irrelevant to the company as a whole? I think that just might cross the line. Not only did I have work that needs to be done for the company that I was taken away from, but I was doing this work that benefitted one person.
Ok, my question for my faithful reader(s)...What do you guys do when something like this happens? Has it happened to you? Do you just suck it up and do it? Do you try to rationalize why it's a bad idea with them? Do you just refuse to do it based on the "Not my Job" argument?
I'd like to hear from you guys on this, it really bothered me when I kept looking at the clock and seeing minute after minute of my free time passing me by...
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
"Conflict in the Workplace" Abstract
Conflict is defined as “competitive or opposing action of incompatibles: antagonistic state or actions”. In the business world, conflict is something that management must deal with constantly. Tension between workers, between the workers and their supervisors, between levels of management, and almost any other combination imaginable within an organization are all possible sources of conflict. Many businesses encourage creative tension as a way to spur the workforce and encourage competition as a way to move the company forward and motivate people to maximize their efforts. Additionally, as companies go to new methods, like Self-Directing Teams, new types of conflicts can arise which have not been seen before and will require new solutions. However, there are instances where this conflict goes too far, or is not occurring in a way that is productive to the company, and then it must be dealt with in a way that allows both parties to resume their duties without fear of recurrence. This paper will look at some of those conflicts that can arise in an organization, and the steps that can be taken to resolve those issues and improve the workplace environment for all employees.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Crisis Management
In this class, we've talked a lot about the power of social media to aid your organization. But what do you do when its a hinderance to your business? When it's a distraction? What do you do when social media is providing employees with information that you don't really think they should have?
For example, I was in high school when September 11th happened, and my school went out of its way to hide us from what was going on. I'm sure they'd call it "sheltering"today. No teachers were allowed to turn on their TV's, all the computers in the library were shut off, and people didn't talk about it. We really didn't know how bad it was until we got home or got picked up, and kids' parents starting explaining it. I don't think that could happen today. Between smart phones and text messaging, it seems unlikely that an organization could keep information like that from people these days. What can you do then? Do you just let your employees find a TV or the Internet and just let them sit there, transfixed, or do you try to hide it and hope that productivity stays up? Do you have one appointed person, like a manager or supervisor, that informs people about a tragedy like that? Here's an article from United Business Media about how to deal with crisis management in the technology age: This! This is the link! Click here!
Obviously, if your business is directly affected by the problem, people deserve to know so that they can take the necessary steps to protect themselves and their families.
Do your companies have any type of plan in place for a situation like this? I'd like to hear them if you have them, or a story about whether or not they actually worked...
For example, I was in high school when September 11th happened, and my school went out of its way to hide us from what was going on. I'm sure they'd call it "sheltering"today. No teachers were allowed to turn on their TV's, all the computers in the library were shut off, and people didn't talk about it. We really didn't know how bad it was until we got home or got picked up, and kids' parents starting explaining it. I don't think that could happen today. Between smart phones and text messaging, it seems unlikely that an organization could keep information like that from people these days. What can you do then? Do you just let your employees find a TV or the Internet and just let them sit there, transfixed, or do you try to hide it and hope that productivity stays up? Do you have one appointed person, like a manager or supervisor, that informs people about a tragedy like that? Here's an article from United Business Media about how to deal with crisis management in the technology age: This! This is the link! Click here!
Obviously, if your business is directly affected by the problem, people deserve to know so that they can take the necessary steps to protect themselves and their families.
Do your companies have any type of plan in place for a situation like this? I'd like to hear them if you have them, or a story about whether or not they actually worked...
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Beat the Heat!
So I'm sitting here watching the Heat-Celtics game, wildly underwhelmed by the performance Miami has put together through one and half quarters, and I came across the article for class tomorrow called "Why Treating People Right Pays Off", and all I can really think is...duh?
The article does make sense, and it does make some valid points. People, being far more likely to change jobs and careers than in the past where a job was a job for 40 years, are often looking at the work environment as being something that is almost as important as the paycheck they receive, if not equally so. People are now much more likely to leave due to a poor work environment than they were in the past, where a job was a job, and you were grateful to have one. Of course back then, you walked 15 miles to school in the snow, uphill both ways. The article also talks about the changing business culture and how that has increased the importance of treating people well. Globalization of competition means that employees can look at examples all over the world of how companies treat their workers, and the threat of outsourcing makes a lot of workers nervous. The article also talks about how new technologies are forcing companies to adjust how they treat their employees. Nothing has had a greater impact on business, possibly ever, than the Internet. The Internet is so new and such an uncharted wilderness, no one really has any idea of how to handle it, not even the government. Here's a link to a story about a few things the current administration are doing with about the internet...this is a link.
To me, the title of this article is pretty self-explanatory, and I'm not sure why it took so many pages to say this: Treat your employees right, and they will reward you with loyalty and their best efforts, which will help your company improve and become more powerful.
Heat down 15 at the half? Hahahahahahahahaha.
The article does make sense, and it does make some valid points. People, being far more likely to change jobs and careers than in the past where a job was a job for 40 years, are often looking at the work environment as being something that is almost as important as the paycheck they receive, if not equally so. People are now much more likely to leave due to a poor work environment than they were in the past, where a job was a job, and you were grateful to have one. Of course back then, you walked 15 miles to school in the snow, uphill both ways. The article also talks about the changing business culture and how that has increased the importance of treating people well. Globalization of competition means that employees can look at examples all over the world of how companies treat their workers, and the threat of outsourcing makes a lot of workers nervous. The article also talks about how new technologies are forcing companies to adjust how they treat their employees. Nothing has had a greater impact on business, possibly ever, than the Internet. The Internet is so new and such an uncharted wilderness, no one really has any idea of how to handle it, not even the government. Here's a link to a story about a few things the current administration are doing with about the internet...this is a link.
To me, the title of this article is pretty self-explanatory, and I'm not sure why it took so many pages to say this: Treat your employees right, and they will reward you with loyalty and their best efforts, which will help your company improve and become more powerful.
Heat down 15 at the half? Hahahahahahahahaha.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Walk it off, Tony
So I've been sitting here for the last 45 minutes trying to think of how to turn Tony Romo getting hurt into a blog, and still make it about Org Theory. I'd much rather just go off on another rant about how much I hate the Cowboys, but I don't think that's what Dr. Weyant wants with these, so here goes.
What does a company do when a leader goes down and there is no one capable of replacing them? As we're seeing with the Cowboys right now, not having a suitable replacement is possible of crippling an organization. Whether it happens due to injury, illness, death, or emergency, losing someone that everyone relies on can de-rail a team and a plan. An incident, like tonight, highlights the importance of having a qualified back-up who can step in when needed to fill the gap left by the missing leader.
Personally, I know that when my bosses are not at work for whatever reason, their absence means much lower productivity and a much higher rate of "goofing off" to put it lightly. Part of this is due to the fact that none of the students wants to step up and make sure the work gets done, because they'll be seen as the "bad guy" who's killing the joy of "no boss day", so peer pressure is a factor. PS-Peer Pressure always wins. I can only assume that in a working environment things like deadlines play a factor, but let me ask you guys, when the cat is away, is there a bit of mouse play going on?
PS-Despite the fact that Tony Romo did break his collarbone, haha, Cowboys suck.
What does a company do when a leader goes down and there is no one capable of replacing them? As we're seeing with the Cowboys right now, not having a suitable replacement is possible of crippling an organization. Whether it happens due to injury, illness, death, or emergency, losing someone that everyone relies on can de-rail a team and a plan. An incident, like tonight, highlights the importance of having a qualified back-up who can step in when needed to fill the gap left by the missing leader.
Personally, I know that when my bosses are not at work for whatever reason, their absence means much lower productivity and a much higher rate of "goofing off" to put it lightly. Part of this is due to the fact that none of the students wants to step up and make sure the work gets done, because they'll be seen as the "bad guy" who's killing the joy of "no boss day", so peer pressure is a factor. PS-Peer Pressure always wins. I can only assume that in a working environment things like deadlines play a factor, but let me ask you guys, when the cat is away, is there a bit of mouse play going on?
PS-Despite the fact that Tony Romo did break his collarbone, haha, Cowboys suck.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Paper Break! Write a Blog
First things first. Thanks to Jeff H for his help and advice on this paper. Check out his blog, he's got a few good ideas. Damn it! Sorry, the Phillies just lost. Stream of consciousness writing. Seriously starting to hate the Giants.
So this second post of the week will be about Conflict Management, but NOT much of what is in my paper. My own personal views, lucky you. I don't do well with conflict, at least in the professional areas of my life. If someone at work disagrees with me, that's fine, but if something more arises, I go in one of two ways. I either back off and defer, or I escalate and try to get them to give up and just be a complete a-hole until I get my way or the other person gives in. I don't think I've ever gotten to the point that anything in work or school ever needed to be mediated by a teacher or boss. I also just bottle up rage against people in these settings and take it outside, because I don't really think work is the time or place for conflict.
Now, outside of work, that's where the crazy comes out. Particularly when I'm doing something competitive, such as competitive sports. If someone does something in that setting that I don't like, I'm calling it on them, and I'm doing it loudly and publicly. Do I take this overboard at times? Yes. Have I been in fights that stemmed from both intramural and pick-up sports in college? I can neither confirm nor deny that. Have I tried to start fights in these games or tried to back-up someone from my team in these settings? Absolutely. Now, you all know what I look like and the rippling muscle mass that I possess, so you can assume that I do VERY well in these altercations, but that's the kind of person I am outside of work in that setting. I do participate in a number of pick-up things around here, and I know it's all in fun, so I try to take it less seriously, but if I'm losing, and my team's not putting forth the effort, I might say something. Sports are serious business, show up or sit down.
Now that none of you ever want to play sports with me, good luck with your papers, and I'll see you in a week. No class tomorrow!
So this second post of the week will be about Conflict Management, but NOT much of what is in my paper. My own personal views, lucky you. I don't do well with conflict, at least in the professional areas of my life. If someone at work disagrees with me, that's fine, but if something more arises, I go in one of two ways. I either back off and defer, or I escalate and try to get them to give up and just be a complete a-hole until I get my way or the other person gives in. I don't think I've ever gotten to the point that anything in work or school ever needed to be mediated by a teacher or boss. I also just bottle up rage against people in these settings and take it outside, because I don't really think work is the time or place for conflict.
Now, outside of work, that's where the crazy comes out. Particularly when I'm doing something competitive, such as competitive sports. If someone does something in that setting that I don't like, I'm calling it on them, and I'm doing it loudly and publicly. Do I take this overboard at times? Yes. Have I been in fights that stemmed from both intramural and pick-up sports in college? I can neither confirm nor deny that. Have I tried to start fights in these games or tried to back-up someone from my team in these settings? Absolutely. Now, you all know what I look like and the rippling muscle mass that I possess, so you can assume that I do VERY well in these altercations, but that's the kind of person I am outside of work in that setting. I do participate in a number of pick-up things around here, and I know it's all in fun, so I try to take it less seriously, but if I'm losing, and my team's not putting forth the effort, I might say something. Sports are serious business, show up or sit down.
Now that none of you ever want to play sports with me, good luck with your papers, and I'll see you in a week. No class tomorrow!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Time Management? I'm too busy.
Today's blog is applicable for several reasons. 1) A few people talked about this last week, and I wanted to contribute in some way, 2) I've got a great deal to do this week, so it's on my mind, and 3) I'm absolutely terrible at it. There have been a number of times where my classmates have asked me "Have you started on [assignment X]?" and my response has almost always been "No. Never crossed my mind." (Don't worry, Dr. Weyant, I HAVE started on my paper.)
Both of these cases we reviewed had firms that were struggling with time management as well. In the more recent case, RL Wolfe, the union plants had a particular problem with this when the machinery broke down. The floor workers often knew what was wrong and how to fix it, but because of the union contracts, they were not permitted to touch the machines until the mechanics/machine techs got there to fix the problem.
Words like "efficiency" and "effectiveness" are key buzz words in business today, and my Global Economy professor, Dr. Daneshar (spelling, I know) always talks about how the United States has the most productive workers in the world. He feels that as long as the US has this edge in productivity, it will be easy for us to keep our place in the world, but how do we ensure that this happens? Clearly, one of those ways is through effective time management in the workplace leading to the ability to do more in 24 hours than anyone else. Plenty of companies and government agencies have spent time and money to look into time management, and it just so happens that I found one -----> here <-----
Time management is something that people need in their lives, and as I've come to appreciate recently, its also something businesses need in order to stay on top of their field or to ensure their effectiveness.
Both of these cases we reviewed had firms that were struggling with time management as well. In the more recent case, RL Wolfe, the union plants had a particular problem with this when the machinery broke down. The floor workers often knew what was wrong and how to fix it, but because of the union contracts, they were not permitted to touch the machines until the mechanics/machine techs got there to fix the problem.
Words like "efficiency" and "effectiveness" are key buzz words in business today, and my Global Economy professor, Dr. Daneshar (spelling, I know) always talks about how the United States has the most productive workers in the world. He feels that as long as the US has this edge in productivity, it will be easy for us to keep our place in the world, but how do we ensure that this happens? Clearly, one of those ways is through effective time management in the workplace leading to the ability to do more in 24 hours than anyone else. Plenty of companies and government agencies have spent time and money to look into time management, and it just so happens that I found one -----> here <-----
Time management is something that people need in their lives, and as I've come to appreciate recently, its also something businesses need in order to stay on top of their field or to ensure their effectiveness.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Obligatory 2nd weekly post
Ok, once again, we have a case study due, so we don't have anything else to read. Also, I already wrote a post on self-managing teams, so that would just be redundant, and you'd all report me to the Department of Redundancy Department (get it?). So that leaves me in the precarious position of having to write a second post to get the credit, but to not just blather on incessantly in a way that is neither helpful nor related to operations management. Wait, I'm doing it right now, aren't I? I know, let's talk about motivation! It's applicable since I spent a majority of yesterday unable to motivate myself to do any work, and just spent it listening to Deadmau5 songs and playing FIFA10. My god, that sounds like the first 20 minutes of a stoner movie...
Motivation. Another of those ideas that seems like it needs to be tailored to each individual that you have working for you. The employees in the Treadway Tire case seemed to be motivated by the fact that failure to meet these deadlines would lead to their termination. That led to burnout and the high turnover rate that we spent two hours talking about in class a few weeks ago. These self-managing teams seem like they would work well as self-motivating teams as well, but as I said in my previous post, these groups could also get easily distracted/off topic, and then it would be difficult to reign them back in. I, personally, am more motivated by keeping the status quo and not getting in trouble to failing than I am to gain advancement, which is probably bad, but I'm a deadline kind of guy. A lot of my co-workers, who are more "motivated", as least in the pop culture definition, are the kinds of people who want to do everything, learn everything, be everything, and then go home for dinner. Those are all admirable qualities, but when I've tried that, I found it exhausting. So, as I like to say, "To each their own", which leads us back to the point I made at the beginning, that it's an individual approach that works for each person, specifically, and perhaps for no one else.
OK, that's enough of that, and I'd like to congratulate the freaking Yankees for getting to watch Cliff Lee and David Price pitch a Game 5 in the ALDS, meaning that they'd only see these aces twice in the ALCS as opposed to 3 times. Because if there's anything that the Yankees need in this world, it's luck...Go Phillies!
Motivation. Another of those ideas that seems like it needs to be tailored to each individual that you have working for you. The employees in the Treadway Tire case seemed to be motivated by the fact that failure to meet these deadlines would lead to their termination. That led to burnout and the high turnover rate that we spent two hours talking about in class a few weeks ago. These self-managing teams seem like they would work well as self-motivating teams as well, but as I said in my previous post, these groups could also get easily distracted/off topic, and then it would be difficult to reign them back in. I, personally, am more motivated by keeping the status quo and not getting in trouble to failing than I am to gain advancement, which is probably bad, but I'm a deadline kind of guy. A lot of my co-workers, who are more "motivated", as least in the pop culture definition, are the kinds of people who want to do everything, learn everything, be everything, and then go home for dinner. Those are all admirable qualities, but when I've tried that, I found it exhausting. So, as I like to say, "To each their own", which leads us back to the point I made at the beginning, that it's an individual approach that works for each person, specifically, and perhaps for no one else.
OK, that's enough of that, and I'd like to congratulate the freaking Yankees for getting to watch Cliff Lee and David Price pitch a Game 5 in the ALDS, meaning that they'd only see these aces twice in the ALCS as opposed to 3 times. Because if there's anything that the Yankees need in this world, it's luck...Go Phillies!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Welcome to Doctober
A few thoughts on tonight's class and our discussions. I'm gonna try and pull a Roy Halladay here and write a perfect blog.
I liked the discussions we had and the ideas that were presented. The first group's presentation on stereotypes was the most interactive, and really did a great job of putting the idea forward that we all make assumptions, intentionally or unintentionally. I knew when they put up the three names on the second sheet, there would be a question like "Which one of these is most likely to...", and I made a few guesses in my head, all of which were, ironically, stereotyping.
The presentation on glass ceilings was also interesting. The idea that people are refused promotion because of gender or race is deplorable, and I think the fact that we all recognize that fact is a positive step, because I'm not sure the old guard sees what a problem it is. There is a great episode of "The West Wing" that deals with the argument of equal pay for men and women, which I believe was in Season 2, that covers this better than I ever could. I recommend it. I recommend all 7 seasons, actually.
I'll end this post with a few thoughts on the "Work-Out" plans that GE put in place that the last group talked about. The idea of firing 10% of your workforce and replacing them just can't be that inspiring to the people that work for you. How can you keep morale up when 1 in 10 employees are being turned over? The other idea about GE that struck me is the fact that they like to be #1 or #2 in their industry. A quick Google Search on GE showed that they are buying two more companies, an energy company and a finance firm. It will be interesting to see how these two companies perform in the coming months and years. GE Signs 2 Deals.
Not a perfect post, lost it in the 4th on a looper over short. Oh well, gotta try again next time. Until them, you stay classy, San Diego.
I liked the discussions we had and the ideas that were presented. The first group's presentation on stereotypes was the most interactive, and really did a great job of putting the idea forward that we all make assumptions, intentionally or unintentionally. I knew when they put up the three names on the second sheet, there would be a question like "Which one of these is most likely to...", and I made a few guesses in my head, all of which were, ironically, stereotyping.
The presentation on glass ceilings was also interesting. The idea that people are refused promotion because of gender or race is deplorable, and I think the fact that we all recognize that fact is a positive step, because I'm not sure the old guard sees what a problem it is. There is a great episode of "The West Wing" that deals with the argument of equal pay for men and women, which I believe was in Season 2, that covers this better than I ever could. I recommend it. I recommend all 7 seasons, actually.
I'll end this post with a few thoughts on the "Work-Out" plans that GE put in place that the last group talked about. The idea of firing 10% of your workforce and replacing them just can't be that inspiring to the people that work for you. How can you keep morale up when 1 in 10 employees are being turned over? The other idea about GE that struck me is the fact that they like to be #1 or #2 in their industry. A quick Google Search on GE showed that they are buying two more companies, an energy company and a finance firm. It will be interesting to see how these two companies perform in the coming months and years. GE Signs 2 Deals.
Not a perfect post, lost it in the 4th on a looper over short. Oh well, gotta try again next time. Until them, you stay classy, San Diego.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Self-Management For Dummies
So this week, I thought I'd wax poetic on the Druskat & Wheeler article "How to Lead a Self-Managing Team". (20). No, I'm kidding, I'm not doing that bit again.
This is an interesting concept, and on the surface, it seems like an oxymoron. Why would a self-managing team need a manager? Aren't those diametrically opposed to each other? Who can we fight? Who can we sue? Hide your kids! Hide your wife! Rabble Rabble Rabble Rabble!
However, having been a part of organizations that run largely on self-managing and self-governing teams, I will admit there are times where a manager or overseer would be beneficial. People can get off track easily, especially if the "de facto" leader is someone charismatic who either intentionally or unintentionally leads the group astray.
The four factors and eleven behaviors the article lays out are all very good ideas, and as I read this article, I found myself agreeing that all of these would be excellent ways to reign in a self-managing team. That being said, I can see a few of these coming into conflict with each other, such as influencing the team and delegating authority. Influencing the team sounds a lot like managing to me, especially if what you want to do goes against the group's ideas. Delegating authority could also swing you into the "infringement zone". If you choose someone who the group does not want to have that power, you run the risk of violating the group's perceived sovereignty, whether or not that is a real thing. If you tell a group of employees they are a self-managing team, and then you start managing them, they'll realize pretty quickly that they're not as free as they thought.
Here's an article I found online with a few more tips for how to be an efficient "Self Managed Team Leader": Oh boy! A link! I thought it provided some insightful stuff, even though some of it is a bit redundant after the Druskat & Wheeler article. Anywho, that's my piece for tonight, I'll see you all tomorrow.
Tom
We’ll be washed and buried one day my girl,
And the time we were given will be left for the world.
The flesh that lived and loved will be eaten by plague
So let the memories be good for those who stay!
This is an interesting concept, and on the surface, it seems like an oxymoron. Why would a self-managing team need a manager? Aren't those diametrically opposed to each other? Who can we fight? Who can we sue? Hide your kids! Hide your wife! Rabble Rabble Rabble Rabble!
However, having been a part of organizations that run largely on self-managing and self-governing teams, I will admit there are times where a manager or overseer would be beneficial. People can get off track easily, especially if the "de facto" leader is someone charismatic who either intentionally or unintentionally leads the group astray.
The four factors and eleven behaviors the article lays out are all very good ideas, and as I read this article, I found myself agreeing that all of these would be excellent ways to reign in a self-managing team. That being said, I can see a few of these coming into conflict with each other, such as influencing the team and delegating authority. Influencing the team sounds a lot like managing to me, especially if what you want to do goes against the group's ideas. Delegating authority could also swing you into the "infringement zone". If you choose someone who the group does not want to have that power, you run the risk of violating the group's perceived sovereignty, whether or not that is a real thing. If you tell a group of employees they are a self-managing team, and then you start managing them, they'll realize pretty quickly that they're not as free as they thought.
Here's an article I found online with a few more tips for how to be an efficient "Self Managed Team Leader": Oh boy! A link! I thought it provided some insightful stuff, even though some of it is a bit redundant after the Druskat & Wheeler article. Anywho, that's my piece for tonight, I'll see you all tomorrow.
Tom
We’ll be washed and buried one day my girl,
And the time we were given will be left for the world.
The flesh that lived and loved will be eaten by plague
So let the memories be good for those who stay!
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Evolution or Revolution
Dr. Weyant's conversation on this topic really stuck with me after class today, and I wanted to put a few thoughts on here about that. The Khe Sahn mentality, as he put is, is definitely something that I can relate to. My bosses are constantly coming up with ways to revolutionize the way we work at my job. The first time they wanted to do this, I was on board with the ideas they had, so I voiced my support, but it never came to fruition. The second time, I disagreed with their ideas, so I made my opinion known about how I felt these plans were not going to help us do out jobs better, my ideas were heard and taken into account, and then it was announced that the changes would go ahead anyway. Then, nothing happened.
From then on, I learned to keep my mouth shut, especially if two of my bosses were in disagreement. My favorite comment became "You write the playbook, I run my routes."
Later on, as more employees came, the first time the wave of change swept through the management, the new people were concerned, but I and the two people who were there previously just told them to just wait it out, and we'd return to business as usual in a few days. As part of a university department, we experience a high amount of turnover, with only GA's for continuity, and every time a new wave of students comes, we go through these revolutionary ideas that often amount to nothing.
That being said, there is glacially slow evolutionary change that happens as well. Some of our processes have occurred recently that were in the pipeline for a long time and have improved the focus and direction of the business as a whole, but change does seem to happen at a glacial pace.
I'm going to ask my co-workers to refrain from making this post public, for obvious reasons, but I just wanted to share that story with the group because I thought it fit in well with our discussion tonight.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Social Media & You
I'm aware that this blog post is one that you've seen before, and for that I apologize, but I need a break from reading and writing about a tire company in Ohio that can't train anyone and seems poised for a work floor riot, and I don't think me posting my thoughts on movies I've watched lately (Trainspotting & The Bourne Trilogy) counts as relevant.
OK, now that I've wasted about 50 words (73 actually), let's get to something relevant to class. (82). When Dr. Weyant talked about blogs and facebook and twitter and the rest of the social media craze, there were understandable objections from members of the class as to the relevancy of these things in their businesses. Just to name a few jobs I know people in this class have, pretzel factory and Small Business Development Center, I fail to see how these types of social strategies would help. At the SBDC, all work we do is confidential, so we couldn't get on twitter and say "OMG, just helped Karen Smith start a business! #werock". That being said, I do agree that there are ways to use social media to help your business, and that doing so can be a cost-effective way to market your company if done correctly.
Now for the part where I sound like your mother. "Be careful what you put on that Internet". More and more, businesses are using people's personal social media pages as a form of background check on employees and applicants. Once it's up there, it's there forever in some capacity. I've got a facebook, I'm on it all the time, but my friends know not to even try to put photos of me up because I untag them faster than anyone's ever seen. Now, part of this is because I hate photos of myself, but it's also because I know that if there's something in that photo that's questionable, even if it's something I'm not involved in, that reflects poorly on me out of context, which would be how a potential employer would be viewing it. In fact, companies have even sprung up that will look through your social media and web 2.0 sites and deliver a report to any company that wants to research you. Here's a story about them: http://www.ere.net/2010/09/28/background-checking-using-social-media/
There, that's gotta be 250 words, right? (390). Ok, that's enough from me for tonight. Have a good evening everyone, and I'll see you tomorrow! (408) (It's actually 409 if you count 408 as a word, but that would lead to a never ending numerical sequence, wouldn't it?) (431)
(432)
(433) See what I mean? I'll shut up now...
OK, now that I've wasted about 50 words (73 actually), let's get to something relevant to class. (82). When Dr. Weyant talked about blogs and facebook and twitter and the rest of the social media craze, there were understandable objections from members of the class as to the relevancy of these things in their businesses. Just to name a few jobs I know people in this class have, pretzel factory and Small Business Development Center, I fail to see how these types of social strategies would help. At the SBDC, all work we do is confidential, so we couldn't get on twitter and say "OMG, just helped Karen Smith start a business! #werock". That being said, I do agree that there are ways to use social media to help your business, and that doing so can be a cost-effective way to market your company if done correctly.
Now for the part where I sound like your mother. "Be careful what you put on that Internet". More and more, businesses are using people's personal social media pages as a form of background check on employees and applicants. Once it's up there, it's there forever in some capacity. I've got a facebook, I'm on it all the time, but my friends know not to even try to put photos of me up because I untag them faster than anyone's ever seen. Now, part of this is because I hate photos of myself, but it's also because I know that if there's something in that photo that's questionable, even if it's something I'm not involved in, that reflects poorly on me out of context, which would be how a potential employer would be viewing it. In fact, companies have even sprung up that will look through your social media and web 2.0 sites and deliver a report to any company that wants to research you. Here's a story about them: http://www.ere.net/2010/09/28/background-checking-using-social-media/
There, that's gotta be 250 words, right? (390). Ok, that's enough from me for tonight. Have a good evening everyone, and I'll see you tomorrow! (408) (It's actually 409 if you count 408 as a word, but that would lead to a never ending numerical sequence, wouldn't it?) (431)
(432)
(433) See what I mean? I'll shut up now...
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Thoughts on tonight's class
A few thoughts on class tonight and our discussions that took place.
1. Central City
A lively debate, and one that I thought is what professors talk about when they say they want their class to be a seminar of discussion. My group had a set of ideas that were not exactly in line with what was discussed, and we made a few more assumptions. We thought that it had to be assumed that the two African American officers would be promoted because of the court order and the fact that the promotion ceremony was that day. To me, "court order" doesn't allow for a great deal of wiggle room. Personally, I wrote the case from the female officer's perspective (oops), and I thought that her best option was to sue, or at least threaten to sue, because that seems to get Central City to buckle and give in to whatever group is applying the legal pressure.
Once we heard the real story and the abuse that the officer took, it reminded me a great deal of the story of the first female to attend the Citadel military college in South Carolina. Here is a link to a case study from Harvard Law that discusses her situation: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/vaw00/Case%20Study%201%20Optional.html
2. Toxic Managers
Everyone has had the employee/co-worker/boss that has the attitude that threatens to destroy a company. I liked what was said tonight about "Who knows what we could do if this problem was resolved and we all worked together?" I'm most definitely an introvert, but I try not to bring that into the workplace, because my job is one that often requires collaboration and group work. My co-workers can comment on how successful I may or may not be at this. I don't see a problem with being introverted, although I did notice that several of the categories of poor managers are extreme introverts, so it's all about finding a balance between who you are and realizing that how you act in the business setting affects those around you.
Tom
1. Central City
A lively debate, and one that I thought is what professors talk about when they say they want their class to be a seminar of discussion. My group had a set of ideas that were not exactly in line with what was discussed, and we made a few more assumptions. We thought that it had to be assumed that the two African American officers would be promoted because of the court order and the fact that the promotion ceremony was that day. To me, "court order" doesn't allow for a great deal of wiggle room. Personally, I wrote the case from the female officer's perspective (oops), and I thought that her best option was to sue, or at least threaten to sue, because that seems to get Central City to buckle and give in to whatever group is applying the legal pressure.
Once we heard the real story and the abuse that the officer took, it reminded me a great deal of the story of the first female to attend the Citadel military college in South Carolina. Here is a link to a case study from Harvard Law that discusses her situation: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/vaw00/Case%20Study%201%20Optional.html
2. Toxic Managers
Everyone has had the employee/co-worker/boss that has the attitude that threatens to destroy a company. I liked what was said tonight about "Who knows what we could do if this problem was resolved and we all worked together?" I'm most definitely an introvert, but I try not to bring that into the workplace, because my job is one that often requires collaboration and group work. My co-workers can comment on how successful I may or may not be at this. I don't see a problem with being introverted, although I did notice that several of the categories of poor managers are extreme introverts, so it's all about finding a balance between who you are and realizing that how you act in the business setting affects those around you.
Tom
Monday, September 20, 2010
Motivation: A Diagnostic Approach
While I was reading these articles, the one that I thought I would have the most to say on was the one with the same title as this post. Even the title intrigues me, for a few reasons. First, a diagnostic approach to me is a meticulous carefully measured way with a check list of things that can be done, in this case, to motivate employees. Personally, I don't see how a checklist can work in this particular area, and a one size fits all approach would work to motivate. Some people are motivated by the idea of a potential of rewards, some are motivated by the prospect of losing their jobs, and some people are motivated by intangible ideas that don't normally appear on the usual lists by traditional motivational standards. OK, diatribe over.
The article does make a number of good points and observations about ways to change motivational tactics, which, arguably, have become stale and tired. Their new approaches they offer have some merit, as well. I like that their assumptions go against the impression that their title gives, particularly #3: "Different people have different types of needs, desires, and goals."
That being said, I do wonder about feasibility of some of their implications. "Figure out what outcomes each employee values." I realize that a manager has to deal with employees and to handle their issues, but to use their time to find out each person's individual motivators for each problem? When will they get work done? "Determine what kinds of behavior you desire". What if the manager's goals do not gel with the ideas of some of the employees that you just spent all that time finding out what each employee values? This article was interesting, to say the least, and I look forward to the discussions this week in class.
The article does make a number of good points and observations about ways to change motivational tactics, which, arguably, have become stale and tired. Their new approaches they offer have some merit, as well. I like that their assumptions go against the impression that their title gives, particularly #3: "Different people have different types of needs, desires, and goals."
That being said, I do wonder about feasibility of some of their implications. "Figure out what outcomes each employee values." I realize that a manager has to deal with employees and to handle their issues, but to use their time to find out each person's individual motivators for each problem? When will they get work done? "Determine what kinds of behavior you desire". What if the manager's goals do not gel with the ideas of some of the employees that you just spent all that time finding out what each employee values? This article was interesting, to say the least, and I look forward to the discussions this week in class.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Laying off the Layoffs
One of the articles we read for class last week talked about how Southwest Airlines was the only airline that did not lay employees off in the aftermath of September 11th, and perhaps not coincidentally, they were also the only airline that did not post losses in the next few years. There are a number of factors that contribute to this, some of which we can directly relate to the Organizational Theory of the company. First, they were able to lock in their fuel prices as very low rates in 2002, so when fuel prices shot up in 2003 and 2004, Southwest was spending much less than every other competitor. Second, as the article mentioned, layoffs foster an unhealthy work environment as employees become introverted and work only to keep their jobs, not to make it better. If you've ever flown on Southwest, you can see that the employees really seem to love their jobs. While Southwest's policies on seating and such are controversial to some (I have friends that refuse to fly it because of the "no assigned seats" policy), they don't charge for bags or in-flight beverages, which I believe makes them unique in the current airline market. Personally, I love to fly Southwest because of the attitude on their flights, and the no nonsense approach they have.
If you've seen a commercial for Southwest that features their employees, you can see that there appears to be genuine enjoyment in the work their employees do. Naturally, some people may think "It's a commercial, they're acting", but from the many times I've flown Southwest, I've never come across anyone who acts in any other way that what you see on television. To contrast that, I flew home from Chicago last year on United after flying out on Southwest, and my experience was decidedly less enjoyable.
This is a link to an outside source (not grade hunting, what? nooo) that has a survey from Wednesday's USA Today where frequent flyers ranked Southwest and JetBlue above the "major" airlines in terms of service and quality, hopefully lending a bit of support to the argument I've been making here for the last 350 words.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-09-15-1Aairlinecomplaints15_ST_N.htm
Tom
If you've seen a commercial for Southwest that features their employees, you can see that there appears to be genuine enjoyment in the work their employees do. Naturally, some people may think "It's a commercial, they're acting", but from the many times I've flown Southwest, I've never come across anyone who acts in any other way that what you see on television. To contrast that, I flew home from Chicago last year on United after flying out on Southwest, and my experience was decidedly less enjoyable.
This is a link to an outside source (not grade hunting, what? nooo) that has a survey from Wednesday's USA Today where frequent flyers ranked Southwest and JetBlue above the "major" airlines in terms of service and quality, hopefully lending a bit of support to the argument I've been making here for the last 350 words.
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2010-09-15-1Aairlinecomplaints15_ST_N.htm
Tom
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Importance of Management
Reading these articles for class on Wednesday serves to highlight the importance of good management when running a successful business. As a Graduate Assistant at the Small Business Development Center, I am constantly exposed to managers, potential managers, and people who hate their managers. Unfortunately, I can not give any specific examples of clients I deal with at the SBDC due to the fact that we sign a confidentiality agreement every semester to protect the people who work with us to start their dream of becoming their own bosses. However, I can talk about things I see without getting into specific instances and names.
Many times, the people that work with us have a desire to do the exact same job they are doing now, but they have a belief that they can do that job better on their own. If they had managers who were open to communication and discussion, perhaps they would be able to change the way things are done at their current places of work, or at least to ensure that they are heard, which is really what many of these people want. Even if their ideas are not taken and used, if their bosses sit down and hear what they have to say, many times they can come to an agreement about how to remedy the problem and placate these employees. There are times where people leave to go out on their own even if they like the management culture in their current workplace, but many times at the SBDC we hear people say "If they just did it this way...".
To wrap up this post, I wanted to include the quote from the end of the Senge article because I really liked it and thought it was applicable to my musings:
The wicked leader is he who the people despise
The good leader is he who the people revere
The great leader is he who the people say, "We did it ourselves." -- Lao Tsu
Tom
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Getting to know you
Hello Org. Theory Brethren & Sistern,
This is supposed to be an expanded "about you" post to kick off the semester, so here it goes. I'm a townie, raised here in Kutztown after my parents took my from my birthplace, the frozen potato fields of Presque Isle, Maine. Yes, my father is Professor Grant, who some of you may have had for Accounting here at KU, but when I graduated from high school, I had no interest in following him into the business side of the world. I went to the University of Pittsburgh (Go Panthers!) and double-majored in History and Political Science. During my senior year at Pitt, I realized that time was running out and I wasn't going to find a job, so I enrolled in the MBA Program here at Kutztown. I should probably be in law school, but there's a long drawn out story that explains the reasons I'm not, but that's probably a little bit personal and a lot of bits boring.
That being said, I've really enjoyed my time here at Kutztown in the MBA Program. I'm learning about a lot of things I never considered before as I make the transition from liberal arts to...actual knowledge. I'm a Graduate Assistant with the College of Business, working at the Small Business Development Center in the Professional Building here on campus. I'm in my second year, planning to graduate in May, so we've crossed the halfway point!
Hmm, short of 250 words. What else? I've got Pitt Football season tickets, so I'll be out there this weekend to see them bounce back against the not-so-mighty New Hampshire Wildcats following that tough loss at Utah. Oh, and before Dr. Weyant starts considering me an ally in his Steelers club, I should clarify. Lived in Pittsburgh for 4 years, never hated the Steelers until I moved out there, now I'm an Eagles fan who would (and has) rooted for the Dallas stinkin' Cowboys against the Steelers. I hate the Penguins too. The Pirates? Who hates the Pirates? They're too small and pathetic. But the Steelers? Hate 'em.
That seems like to good place to end things. I look forward to this post having a truly horrendous impact on my grade, and I'll see you all on Wednesday.
Tom
This is supposed to be an expanded "about you" post to kick off the semester, so here it goes. I'm a townie, raised here in Kutztown after my parents took my from my birthplace, the frozen potato fields of Presque Isle, Maine. Yes, my father is Professor Grant, who some of you may have had for Accounting here at KU, but when I graduated from high school, I had no interest in following him into the business side of the world. I went to the University of Pittsburgh (Go Panthers!) and double-majored in History and Political Science. During my senior year at Pitt, I realized that time was running out and I wasn't going to find a job, so I enrolled in the MBA Program here at Kutztown. I should probably be in law school, but there's a long drawn out story that explains the reasons I'm not, but that's probably a little bit personal and a lot of bits boring.
That being said, I've really enjoyed my time here at Kutztown in the MBA Program. I'm learning about a lot of things I never considered before as I make the transition from liberal arts to...actual knowledge. I'm a Graduate Assistant with the College of Business, working at the Small Business Development Center in the Professional Building here on campus. I'm in my second year, planning to graduate in May, so we've crossed the halfway point!
Hmm, short of 250 words. What else? I've got Pitt Football season tickets, so I'll be out there this weekend to see them bounce back against the not-so-mighty New Hampshire Wildcats following that tough loss at Utah. Oh, and before Dr. Weyant starts considering me an ally in his Steelers club, I should clarify. Lived in Pittsburgh for 4 years, never hated the Steelers until I moved out there, now I'm an Eagles fan who would (and has) rooted for the Dallas stinkin' Cowboys against the Steelers. I hate the Penguins too. The Pirates? Who hates the Pirates? They're too small and pathetic. But the Steelers? Hate 'em.
That seems like to good place to end things. I look forward to this post having a truly horrendous impact on my grade, and I'll see you all on Wednesday.
Tom
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