need answer to mgt questions

Part 9

Reading 1

THE BASIC IDEA AND CONCEPT PATH

Leadership, rather than being a set of tool-like behavioral patterns to be enacted through emulation, is best portrayed as a state of being rather than a means of doing.

Anyone who aspires to leadership must engage in a continuous and, perhaps most important, courageously and consciously intended learning journey.

PRACTICES FOR ENTERING THE FUNDAMENTAL

STATE OF LEADERSHIP

The eight intergraded but creatively tense and seemingly paradoxical practices individuals can engage in for entering the fundamental state of leadership are as follows:

1. Reflective action

2. Authentic engagement

3. Appreciative inquiry

4. Grounded vision

5. Adaptive confidence

6. Detached interdependence

7. Responsible freedom

8. Tough love

DEVELOPING LEADERS

It is encouraging people to engage in the process of deep change in themselves

and then inviting others to do the same.

1. Precontemplation

2. Social liberation

3. Emotional arousal

4. Self-reevaluation

5. Commitment

6. Countering

7. Environment control

8. Reward

9. Helping relationships

Reading 2

INTRODUCTION

Managers need to understand the psychology of creating a true sense of urgency in organizations to solve problems and address issues that will achieve strategic and financial objectives

THE STRATEGY FOR INCREASING TRUE URGENCY

The primary way to develop a true sense of urgency is to aim at the heart first. This can be done

by creating thoughtful human experiences, such as bringing in a customer who has a passion for

quality and performance, or visiting a successful competitor’s place of business.

THE FOUR TACTICS FOR CREATING A TRUE SENSE OF URGENCY

There are four tactics for creating a true sense of urgency:

1. Bring the outside in.

2. Behave with urgency every day.

3. Find opportunity in crises.

4. Deal with the NoNos.

Bring the Outside In

Success creates an inward focus and a false sense of security that diminishes the critical influence and reality of serious threats from the outside. To bring the outside in to the organization, top management needs to listen to those employees who have regular contact with customers, suppliers, and the business community.

Behave with Urgency Every Day

The information revolution and proliferation of electronic communications have added to the

often-unrelated busy activities that fail to address real threats and bring the outside into the organization

Behave with Urgency Every Day

The information revolution and proliferation of electronic communications have added to the

often-unrelated busy activities that fail to address real threats and bring the outside into the organization.

Find Opportunity in Crises

Managers can often find opportunities in crises if the situation is used effectively to create a true

sense of urgency.

Deal with NoNos (Perpetual Naysayers)

NoNos are those few individuals in the organization who are against change in any form. They

are far more dangerous than we want to believe, and frequently their negative behavior is not

fully seen by their superiors.

1. Keep the NoNos fully occupied with value-added responsibilities and activities that do not

allow them to have a negative effect on the change process.

2. Eliminate NoNos from the organization and give them an appropriate severance package.

3. Expose their negative behaviors and allow the force of peer pressure to reduce or eliminate

their effectiveness.

Part 10

Reading 1

Workplace Survival: Dealing with Bad Bosses,

Bad Workers, Bad Jobs

BAD BOSSES

1. Abusing their power.

2. Failing to control their anger.

3. Exhibiting poor management skills.

4. Being insecure and/ or incompetent.

5. Being backed by weak/ poor upper management.

BAD EMPLOYEES

1. Lack interpersonal skills

2. Take or subject others to unnecessary risks

3. Manipulate, threaten, harass, bully, or sabotage others.

4. Don’t carry their own weight.

BAD JOBS

1. Unpleasant or unsafe workplaces.

2. Low rewards and poor security

3. Bad customers.

4. Poor organizational culture/ climate

WHAT CAN BOSSES AND WORKERS DO TO BECOME “GOOD”?

Option #1: talk with your boss

Option #2: report the situation

Option #3: get another job

HOW CAN JOB SEEKERS AVOID JOINING AN ORGANIZATION WITH BAD BOSSES AND BAD COWORKERS?

WHAT CAN BOSSES DO TO AVOID HAVING BAD WORKERS?

1. Hire the right employees

2. be aware of employees’ behavior through direct observation and second-hand reports.

3. Reinforce your expectations consistently

4. Take action with bad workers promptly

5. Provide feedback to employees

6. Provide remedial training

7. If the employee doesn’t correct the unacceptable, assist the exit

WHAT CAN COWORKERS DO ABOUT BAD WORKERS?

1. Improve undesirable workplaces, by asking employees for suggestions

2. Ensure employees’ safety is your top priority all of the time.

3. Try to modify a dysfunctional organizational culture.

4. Select better workers and outside contacts

5. Explore increasing pay, job security, and advancement opportunities

6. Redesign jobs to make them more desirable.

WHAT CAN WORKERS DO ABOUT BAD JOBS?

1. Change or adapt to the workplace

2. Try to deal with the organizational culture

3. Change or adapt to bad bosses, coworkers, and outside contacts

4. Reevaluate your career.

Reading 2

INTRODUCTION

“Who hired this jerk?” is a frequently asked question. Unfortunately, almost all organizations have some mean-spirited employees who are bullies, tormentors, tyrants, egomaniacs, and weasels—bluntly speaking, assholes—who make our lives miserable.

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OF THEM?

The terminology is used widely and frequently, perhaps indiscriminately, and without an

agreed-upon definition.

1. Does the target of the abuse feel oppressed, humiliated, de-energized, or belittled by the

person?

2. Is the venom directed at people who are less powerful rather that at those with greater stature

and hierarchical power?

There are strategies and techniques that are frequently found in the quiver of everyday actions

that such individuals use. They include the following:

personal insults

sarcastic testing

two-faced attacks

humiliation

public shaming

threats

intimidation

rude interruptions

treating people as if they are invisible

EVERY WORKPLACE NEEDS THE RULE

All organizations need a no-asshole rule, or the rule , to offset the harm caused by mean-spirited

and abusive people. These jerks cause damage to the targets of their venom as well as to bystanders

and colleagues, and their actions are detrimental to the success of the organization and to

themselves.

The victims of this abusive treatment suffer psychologically, physiologically, and

through damage to their careers

Innocent battered bystanders also are affected by the acts of these misguided managers and colleagues.

IMPLEMENTING AND KEEPING ALIVE THE RULE

If an employee is extremely successful, our societal norm is to overlook little imperfections in

conduct and the lack of cultural fit.

1. 1. Make it public: Having official policies buried in handbooks, sentiments posted in the hallways,

and intranet reminders is necessary but not sufficient. What you say and what you

do—consistently—are what really matters.

2. Integrate the rule into hiring: Left to their own devices, people making hiring decisions

will hire people similar to themselves. The potential for bad outcomes is obvious when

we hire our clones. To escape this dilemma, references are essential, especially those that

go beyond technical competence. Likewise, interviews and other face-to-face elements of

the selection process should focus on human qualities. All job candidates should be interviewed

by people who will work with and be subordinates of the new hire.

3. Apply the rule to customers and clients: Organizations that really care about their employees

expect their customers and clients to uphold comparably high standards of behavior.

4. Status and rank shouldn’t matter

5. Enforce the rule and walk the talk:

HOW TO SURVIVE NASTY PEOPLE

Don’t become one of the jerks; recognize the assholes are contagious.

1. Hope for the best, but expect the worst.

2. Develop indifference and emotional detachment.

3. Look for small wins; you’re not going to change the world.

4. Limit your contact and risk.

5. Develop a support network.

DO ASSHOLES HAVE ANY VIRTUES?

Much to the annoyance of their peers and subordinates, jerks often are successful—sometimes,

very successful.

THE RULE AS A WAY OF LIFE

The following lessons shown will not cure the ills of the world or suddenly turn jerks into model

citizens. They are, however, constructive steps to achieve incremental improvement and help

victims cope with bad situations. The seven key lessons are as follows:

1. A few jerks can overwhelm the good of a large number of civilized people.

2. Policies and rules are a start, but successes are built on day-to-day actions.

3. The rule lives or dies by dealing with problems immediately and directly.

4. A few bad people, if managed properly, can be helpful in demonstrating how not to behave.

5. Enforcing the no-asshole rule is not just management’s job; everyone should step up to the plate and support the goal of eliminating unacceptable behavior.

6. Embarrassment can be a powerful learning tool, so jerks must be put on the spot.

7. Remember, there are times when WE are the assholes.

Reading 3

POLITICS: IS IT REALLY A BAD THING?

Most people consider workplace politics as a necessary evil.

THE DEFINITION OF POLITICS

Quite simply, politics is the positioning of ideas in a favorable light by knowing what to say, and

how, when, and to whom to say it.

Letting Intuition Be the Guide

People who are born with natural intuition are a very rare breed. The good news, however, is that

anyone without natural instincts can develop them just by observing those who are intuitive and

then replicating certain behaviors. Therefore, it is important to be able to identify these general

characteristics of an intuitive person.

Here are some common, straightforward guidelines to improve your intuition skills:

Political Insight: It’s About Thinking

Another component of politics is knowing what to do after you predict what is about to happen.

This is called political insight. Political insight is typically 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent

inspiration. Essentially, it is using creativity to respond to typical situations. Insightful people

demonstrate the following behaviors:

Understanding Persuasion

Political influence can be more important to bring about change in the workplace than the

standard methods of authority, culture, or expertise. Persuasion, one of the most important

components of influence, is the ability to position ideas in an appealing manner so others will

accept them.

Common Persuasion Strategies

There are many methods and approaches to persuade others. The approach that is most effective

will depend on each person and situation. Typically, however, the three more commonly used

strategies are reciprocity, scarcity, and authority.

Reciprocity is doing a favor for someone now in order to have it returned later. Skilled

politicians are very good at giving help up front to get things accomplished in the future. Scarcity

is the ability to create a high demand by providing scarce resources. People want what they can’t

have. An example of this strategy was the Tyco Beanie Baby craze of the late 1990s. Authority

is becoming an expert in a certain field, preferably in a field that is inadequately filled. Thus, a person becomes a “niche” player.

How Does Political Power Work?

In order to get ahead in the workplace it is paramount to understand how political power works

and to learn how to gain this power. Accomplishments alone are not enough; selling yourself is

the key.

improve and maintain their power base:

Political Power: Courage Versus Suicide

Most people would agree that in order to increase power, a person must take risks and not

be afraid to make misjudgments or mistakes. But the question is: When does political courage

become political suicide? The answer lies in one’s intentions.

POLITICAL BOUNDARIES

To some extent, all organizations mold and shape their political direction by the nature of their

culture. A company’s political environment should be carefully analyzed prior to employment

whenever possible.

THE POLITICAL GAME

Staying on top of the political game can make all the difference between hiding out on the bench

(frightened to take risks) and getting out on the field to score the necessary points to stay ahead.

PART 11. Managerial Decision Making

A group made decision entails a participatory process that involves multiple individuals acting in a collective manner. Each group is entitled to reason together in any problem and develops alternatives, collectively. The number of each group matters greatly as the number may vary from two to seven individuals. Additionally, the group is selective in accordance to demography and/or diversity. The nature, composition and engagement of any group in decision making-process vary greatly. There are several measures used to design decision-making process like brainstorming. The latter entails group members with verbal communication and are suggesting ideas or alternative courses of action(Bass, 2010). Brainstorming is therefore relatively unstructured since it involves a detailed process to make each group come to conformity of issue or problem. Each group leader will therefore come out with a lateral program to make everyone comfortable. The "generation of alternatives" stage is clearly differentiated from the "alternative evaluation" stage, as group members are not allowed to evaluate suggestions until all ideas have been presented. Once the ideas of the group members have been exhausted, the group members then begin the process of evaluating the utility of the different suggestions presented. Brainstorming is a useful means by which to generate alternatives, but does not offer much in the way of process for the evaluation of alternatives or the selection of a proposed course of action.