Chapter 16

16-23. What does this story tell you about the effect of top management on organizational culture?

Top management sets the culture for the organization or sets standards that they will allow to continue in the organization without sensor.

16-24. Denise Brown, a former member of the Tribune’s management, said, “If you spoke up, you were portrayed as a sissy.” How would you have reacted if you witnessed some of these behaviors?

I have been in this same type of situation and I have spoken up and been labeled as the trouble maker by the other employees until they left or were fired.  When I voiced my dislike for the actions of the other employees, everyone was made to attend sexual harassment training and one individual was fired.  The workplace was very stressful for a while and I eventually also left that department.  The problems that existed at this department were a result of a bunch of old timers that didn’t think women should be in that particular type of work and didn’t want to see change.  This behavior was passed down from the top management and so was reflected in all levels of the employees as tolerated behavior. When the subordinates saw that the high management was able to get away with the words and behavior the rest of the workplace followed along.  (Stephen Robbins,page 474)

16-25. How can you determine when a line has been crossed between a fun and informal culture, and one that is offensive and inappropriate?

The line has been crossed when someone is offended or hurt by the comment or action.  If someone takes offense or doesn’t feel comfortable around what is being said than the line has been crossed and has made it an uncomfortable work environment.

Choosing Your Battles

 

14-11.How would you ensure sufficient discussion of contentious issues in a work group?  How can managers bring unspoken conflicts into the open without making them worse?

One way to bring up discussion of issues at work that need to be discussed is to bring them up in a discussion during a routine meeting and making it a discussion rather than a situation that needs to be taken care of.  Making it into a discussion and asking for input, makes people willing to add to the discussion rather that bringing it up as an issue that needs to be discussed and taken care of.  Also to make sure that the situation is taken care of to the full extant is to continue to bring up in discussion to make sure that everyone has voiced what is necessary and that everything has been taken care of to the extent needed.

14-12.How can negotiators utilize conflict management strategies to their advantage so that differences in interests lead not to dysfunctional conflicts but rather to positive integrative solutions?

Negotiators can utilize several of the conflict management strategies including problem solving which involves face to face meetings and can help identify the issues and help them get resolved and discussed through open discussions.  This can be achieved through meetings that occur at work and also is helpful to have proactive meetings to discuss matters that are becoming issues, but are not serious yet (staff meetings).  Also by giving the individuals a shared goal and playing down the differences while emphasizing the common interests that exists between the conflicting parties.  Also by using authoritative command, which requires someone to take control and lead to resolve the conflict.  Again a manager leading the meetings and making share they are positive rather than negative encounters for all individuals involved in the meetings.

14-13. Can you think of situations in your own life in which silence has worsened a conflict between parties? What might have been done differently to ensure that open communication facilitated collaboration instead?

I worked at a department once where individuals felt they were treated differently according to sex and position they were hired for.  Everyone kept their mouths shut because we all feared for our jobs.  Several people including myself took alternate employment and the supervisor ended up leaving a couple of years later and the department was left with a lot of new people and very inexperienced.   If we all would have met and voiced our experiences and problems, the department might still be manned with experienced people that enjoy their jobs and I would be in a different job field at this time.  I think if one of us would have spoken to everyone else and started the discussion we might have felt more secure about speaking as a group about our issues. 

Chapter 13

13-16. If you were Samanatha Parks, how would you prioritize which projects or parts of projects to delegate?

Parks has made a name for herself so I would think she should delegate the easier projects and keep the projects that needed her individual attention and prioritize the projects in the order they come in.  How many projects she accepts also depends on how large and how busy she wants her company to grow to.

13-17. In explaining what makes her decisions hard, Parks said,”I hire good people, creative people, to run these projects, and I worry that they will see my oversight and authority as interfering with their creative process. “How can she deal with these concerns without giving up too much control?

Keeping her involvement to oversight, instead of intruding, by being involved in meetings and the decision process, without getting too involved or taking over the project.  This would also involve strong management individuals that would be able to lead meetings and the creative process and keep this moving so Parks wouldn’t get too involved or take over the process.

13-18. Should executives try to control projects to maintain their position of authority? Do they have a right to control projects and keep in the loop on important decisions just so they can remain in charge?

I don’t believe that executives should control all projects that is what they have staff and managerial staff for.  They do have the right to remain involved in the process and remain involved in meetings.  This keeps staff also involved and everyone up to date with what is going on.  I think that the chain of command is important to keep the right people informed and also give everyone a job that is correct to their abilities. 

Deciding to Cheat

Deciding to Cheat

6-16. Do you know a classmate who have cheated in school? Have you ever cheated?

I don’t know any who has cheated recently and I haven’t cheated anytime in the recent past. I cheated on a math test in the fourth grade and have never did it again.  I was caught after I felt so guilty I gave myself away and then had to tell me parents.  I was having a hard time in math and the teacher wouldn’t let me go to a lower level and I tried to take the easy way out, it didn’t end up being the easy way out.

6-17. The authors of one study noted that people feel they don’t need to be objective in evaluating potential cheaters when there are disclosures of unethical behavior. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Cheating is wrong, but I do feel that we should be objective when evaluating why and when someone is caught cheating. I don’t feel that someone should get away with criminal activity because they have a good reason, but I do feel it should change the severity of the outcome.  I think this way because I came across someone stealing because their family was hungry. I don’t believe they should be let go without any consequences, but I think the penalty should be lease than someone that steals for monitory reasons.

6-18. Do you think that if we admitted it to ourselves when we cheated, we would be less likely to cheat in the future? Why or why not?

I do think that for some people this would be enough to change the actions in the future, but I don’t think this if the same for everyone. Some individuals feel that if they cheat it is a victimless crime, so why is it wrong.  I have to disagree with this and that is why we have a lot of the problems we have with honesty in and around schools.

Is it okay to cry at work?

Case incident #1, Is it okay to cry at work?

4-17 What factors do you think make some organizations ineffective at managing emotions?

I think sometimes the laws and people being afraid of everything going to court or getting them sued.  I think that people spend too much time trying to be politically correct, instead of just speaking to each other. 

4-18 Do you think the strategic use and display of emotions serve to protect employees, or does covering your ture emotions at work lead to more problems than it solves? 

I think trying to cover your emotions causes stress and also makes the work environment more hostile.  I also think this can cause small disagreements to blow way out of control and last longer.  If things were discussed and attempted to be dealt with when they were just beginning most work place arguments wouldn’t get so large and last so long. 

4-19 Have you ever worked where emotions were used as part of a management style? Describe the advantages and disadvantages of this approach in your experience.

Most of the places I have worked at, look at emotions as a weakness. This way of thinking I feel can cause other side effect, in this I mean goes arguments and stress.  Most of the places I have worked in are male dominated and they just don’t know how to deal with emotions and tend to walk away or push it under the rug. 

4-20 Research shows that acts of co-workers (37 percent) and management (22 percent) cause more negative emotions for employees than do acts of customers (7percent).  What can Laura’s company do to change its emotional climate?

I think that the management needs to show the organization that they care about what every thinks and feels.  I really don’t think that discussions about feelings and force talks work all that much.   I think making people feel like they are able to talk about how they feel and what bothers them at work happens slowly.  What my organization does is allow longer lunches during training sessions to allow for people to get to know each other and also traveling together for training and also work events.  This allows people to get to know each other and feel like they can talk freely.  Managers also need to make themselves available for some of the lunches and coffee breaks to give the individuals the chance to talk things out. 

 

Ethical Dilemma

Ethical Dilemma Bounty Hunters

3-12. If you had reason to believe someone was lying about an absence from work, do you think it would be appropriate to investigate? If so, by what methods?

I think it makes a difference what the policies are regarding sick leave and what is involved within sick leave. Some work places, sick leave covers a lot of different things.  I think if they are using leave that they have, as a manager it would be appropriate to speak with the employee well before you looked into investigating which would prove that you don’t trust the employee.  I think that after speaking to the employee and looking into what is covered by the workplaces sick leave; investigation might be worth looking into if after speaking to the employee and the supervisor of that employee.  I am not sure that I would go as far as hiring a private investigator.  I think we need to look into the work place itself,” if employees don’t like their work environment, they’ll respond somehow, though it is not always easy to forecast exactly how” Job Satisfaction and Workplace Deviance (page 81).  I think as a manager or a supervisor we would need to look into why the employee wants to stay away from work and why they are lying about it.

3-13. If excessive absenteeism is a real problem in an organization are there alternatives to surveillance? If so, what are they and do they have any limitations of their own?

I think that the organization can start with speaking to employees, managers, and supervisors about what is wrong in the work place and what needs to be improved. Knowing why employees are unhappy and not wanting to be in the workplace or why employees are using excessive amounts of sick leave will show the employees what type of organizational commitment the organization has.

3-14. How might an organization help to curb sick leave abuse through its policies? How might administrators help or hinder effective implementation of those policies?

A lot of companies require a note if you are out for more than two days in a row from a doctor or get evaluated by a doctor to make sure that you are medically cleared to return to work. Some people see this as the organization getting to involved in their employees personal lives.  I think this helps keep sick leave to lower amount and also helps manager know if anyone has an  injury or sickness that might mean an will need to miss a larger amount of time and might need to qualify for different programs the organization has.  Some work places have policies that give sick leave to employees that need it for serious injuries or sickness.

Aging Worforce

2-19. What changes in employment relationships are likely to occur as the population ages?

As the population ages in the work force several changes can be observed in the work force including, but not limited to work experience, strong work ethic, commitment to quality, and experience.  These changes will also have a positive result on turnover, the longer the individual works for a company the less likely they are to want to leave and seek new employment.  (Robbins, page 46)  When you have this type of workforce you have an abundance of life and work experience to pass onto the younger employees.  Another difference in older employees is that they are not having children and are not missing work due to their children’s medical issues and sicknesses from school and or missing for maternity leave.

2-20. Do you think increasing age diversity will create new challenges for managers? What types of challenges do you expect will be most profound?

I feel that the increasing age diversity will create new and different challenges than what already present in the workforce.  I do feel that changes would have to occur in some job fields, like emts, police officers, jail guards, and certain military jobs.  The changes would only mean that some parts of the jobs would have to be changed on a case by case basis.  Many companies and agencies use fitness tests to determine the reediness of the employees to insure that they can still complete the job to safe a standard.  Many people, myself included would think that job performance would decline due to an increase of someone’s age, but the evidence does not support that line of thinking, a lot has to be said for training and experience. (Robbins, page 46) 

2-21. How can organizational cope with differences related to age discrimination in the workplace? How can older employees help?

Organizations can cope with the difference related to age discrimination in the workplace by having a workplace atmosphere that is against age discrimination and actively promote it.   Several companies have been none for promoting workers of all ages and abilities and making it very public, like Walmart.  Walmart makes a practice of hiring people of all ages and abilities to be greeters at their stores and making them the faces of the company.  This shows that people of all abilities and ages can still work and can still make a positive addition to the company.  Older employees can assist by showing younger workers what they have to offer and why they are important to the workforce.  Also older employees can make an effort to show younger employees that they are there to teach and also learn from younger employees. 

Chapter one ethical Dilemmas

 

1-18. What Starting salary will you give Gabriel? What salary represents the minimum offer you would accept? If these two numbers are different, why? Does giving Gabriel a different number than your “internal” number violate Jekyll Corporation’s transparent culture?  Why or why not?

I think you should do your research and give the company the exact amount that you would be willing to except.  I also think lying to yourself and stating a lower amount would just give you an excuse or a reason for leaving at a further date for a higher paying job.  I am not sure if I would state that it is in violation to a transparent culture, but under rating yourself as a person and an employee.

 

1-19. Assume you’ve received another offer, this one from Hyde Associates.  Like the Jekyll job, this position is on your chosen career path and in the consumer products industry.  Assume, however that you’ve read in the news that “Hyde Associates has been criticized for unfair trade practices and for employing underage children.  Would that change whether you’d be willing to take the job? Why or why not?

First I would do my research and not believe everything that I read in the newspaper or hear on the news.  Lots of articles and sensationalized and are not all based on factual information.  If I did the research and felt that the company was employee under age employees and breaking the law or doing something that I didn’t feel was ethical, I would have no choice but not to be employed with that company.  So long story short I would work for the lower paying company and feel good about my choice of companies. 

Introduction

My name is Allison Sartori and I have taken a long break between returning back to school and I am 41 years of age.  I currently live in Craig on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska.  I have worked mostly in the criminal justice field; Deputy Sheriff (jail guard), Police Officer, and Juvenile Probation Officer.  I have worked in several different states and also out of the country.  I am currently a Senior and I am working towards my masters in Emergency Management.  I have attended several different schools due, to the amount of traveling I have done over the years.  I am not sure what job I am currently looking at pursing, but I know that it will be in the same line of work that I am currently in.