Week_13_Discussion_Reply
Post 1
Many of you have heard the popular slogans and taglines centered on the importance of teams – “Team work makes dreams work” or “A job worth doing is worth doing together.” However, there is yet resistance to teams in organizations. According to research, conflict and resistance from employees that are assigned to teams have resulted from violations of fairness, increased work-load concerns, uncertain manager support, unclear role definitions, and the lack of team member social support (Bradley, Jones & Shapiro 2000, p. 74). I would agree. My personal resistance to team work, as a leader and team member, would be work-load concerns and unclear role definitions. I believe unclear role definitions has a direct positive correlation to work-load concerns.
In 2016, Xueting, Flores, Leelawong, and Manz studied team empowerment and suggested that teams can increase knowledge sharing (p. 62). Xueting et al. (2016) explains that team empowerment yields different team performance across cultures due to moderate effects of power distance and collectivism (p. 67). The same research also suggests that team empowerment can increase intra-group conflict believing that this conflict impairs team performance (2016, pg. 67). I would agree. Teams can bring many things to the table to include knowledge sharing to strengthen the team. However, if there is any sign of conflict the goal of teams will be impaired and change the scope of the team’s dynamic.
What has your research revealed about resistance to team work.
Post 2
According to Chad Brooks employees give a variety of reasons for why they don't enjoy working in team settings. The study found that 35 percent said the most frustration comes from trying to motivate others, with 27 percent saying that making sure everyone executes on plans is the biggest aggravation. In addition, 27 percent said the planning phase of a team project is their biggest source of irritation (Chad Brooks).
As per Katy resistance to team-based work groups among workers can be overcome, but it may take a considerable amount of persuasion.
1. Isolate the source of resistance by interviewing each team member to see how your employees are responding to the idea of implementing team building.
2. Create a list of the specific objections you are able to uncover during the interviews. Knowing the objections will give you an opportunity to overcome them one at a time. Having a general climate of resistance gives you nothing specific to work with. A list of specific objections gives you a concrete starting point for overcoming resistance (Katy Lewis).
3. Deal with any of the concrete objections by providing a solution when appropriate. For example, if team dynamics are one of the problems many employees have difficulty with, change the teams so you have groups that work better together (Katy Lewis).
4. Implement education programs to show employees the benefits of the team-building process. Sometimes resistance occurs because employees erroneously assume the changes you make will adversely affect them or their paycheck. Showing them the opposite may be true could change their minds about the team-building process.
5. Appoint a team leader for each group. Put someone in charge of the group who is supportive of the team-based environment and can be counted on to continue to build the team.
6. Provide additional incentive for working in teams. Having a bonus or other incentive that encourages the detractors to get on board with the team-building efforts can help reduce resistance (Katy Lewis).
Post 3
Cyber terrorism refers to the utilization of the internet to carry out violent acts which may cause loss of life or harm to an individual to attain ideological or political gain. Cyber terrorism can also be defined as an act of internet terrorism in which the activities carried out by the terrorists which involve interfering with computer network especially the network for personal computers which the network has been connected with the use of tools, for example, computer viruses or worms
An example of cyber terrorism occurred in Estonia in the year 2007. The Baltic state of Estonia was the main target of a denial of service which in return made the country offline. All the services which depend on the network were shut down. The infrastructure of Estonia involves mobile phone network and banking online network which could be used to access healthcare services and government services. The attack occurred due to the conflict over eradication of bronze statue which indicates World War II-era soldier from Tallinn. At the midpoint of the dispute, Georgia was also subjected to the attack on electronic infrastructure in the year 2008. Based on the two attacks the evidence showed the planned attacks in Russia but the characteristic of the attack were not that easy although the affected countries blamed Moscow as a contributing factor to the cyber attack.
Post 4
The FBI defines cyberterrorism as a “premeditated, politically motivated attack against information, computer systems, computer programs and data which results in violence against non-combatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.” Similar to terrorism, the goal of cyberterrorism is to gain attention and cause mass panic and fear amongst civilian populations; while terrorists use bombs, cyberterrorists use the internet.
The threat of cyberterrorism has grown ever more pressing in the past few years. As of 2018, 81% of Americans viewed cyberterrorism as a critical threat—an increase from 73% in 2016.
In 2007, an experimental cyber attack titled the “Aurora Generator Test”, researchers found that by altering the software of a power generator remotely they could cause the turbines to set fire and thus eventually cause serious damage to the generator.
How Can an Organization Prevent Cyber-Terrorism?
1. Secure systems with hardware and software protection, install intrusion detection systems and respond immediately to any intrusions. These are three key recommendations from the Computer Emergency Response Team, which deals with computer threats. CERT also recommends that companies keep all programs patched when vendors supply security updates, and that they keep logs of activity to detect any unusual events.
2. Affiliate with defensive organizations such as InfraGard, a public-private partnership to track threats. Use the FBI as a resource to keep up with threats and defense mechanisms. Make sure your system or network is secured with such things as strong passwords and effective firewalls. Install antivirus systems, keep them updated and run regular checks to detect and remove any problems.
3. Create a firm security policy. Train employees to guard against such things as opening email attachments or responding to messages from unknown sources. Institute regular checks to make sure security precautions are followed. Follow news and computer information reports about new threats, such as a new worm or other malware being circulated, even if it's not in your immediate area. Apply filters to screen out suspicious material or messages from known sources of threats such as specific countries.
4. Test your defenses regularly. Employ a testing or security service to routinely try to invade your system or network -- and have it report any deficiencies. Use secure encryption for any messages, internal or external, and install a password system to regularly change passwords; always use passwords that include a combination of numbers, letters and other characters -- and never store them in a computer. Change a system or network when a vulnerability is identified.