Q 1. What contribution does the concept "multiple constituency" make to our understanding of organizational effectiveness? In particular, does the concept make it easier or harder for a manager to know when she has accomplished effective performance for her group or organization? Explain.
The “multiple constituency” approach to organizational effectiveness determines the various constituencies that exist in a particular organization, then, analyses the effectiveness of each constituency and then, evaluates the consequence of these effectiveness assessments. In the words of Tsui, “while several variants of the MC model exist, the central tenet across all the variants is that an organization is effective to the extent it satisfies the interests of one or more constituencies associated with the organization”,(Tsui, 2003)
This concept makes it easier for a manager to evaluate her team’s performance for her organization. Multiple Constituency theory is based on the assumption that an organization has multiple goals since they have multiple constituencies. This is a fundamental difference in approach compared to traditional approaches. According to this approach, organizations are political grounds, where there are vested interests that compete against each other for control of resources .It assumes that survival is the decisive criterion. This approach tends to address the concerns of those who have most impact in the organization. The multiple constituency approach, thus, focuses on the organization’s relationship with respect to its environment. It believes that it would not do the organization long-term health, if a manager just focus on a single goal or one constituency. Thus, for the manager, the multiple constituency approach provides a more realistic perspective of effective performance.
Q 2. Identify the three socialization stages. Which of these stages is most important for developing high-performing employees? Explain.
Socialization is the process through which people are conditioned to accept the tradition and maintain the uniformity of ethos and behaviors. There are three stages to socialization: Pre-arrival, Encounter and Metamorphosis stage.
Pre-arrival: Pre-arrival stage happens during the selection stage of a future employee. This stage tries to make sure that the potential employees in the organization arrive with a certain set of values, attitudes and expectation. Here, selectors try to choose someone who they believe is the “right fit” to the organization. This is the organization’s attempt at creating a uniform culture throughout the organization.
Encounter: Once a new member is recruited into an organization, they face the “encounter” stage. There is a distinct possibility that there would be a collision between the employee’s expectations and the actual organization culture. If the expectations match, then, this stage passes smoothly and leads to confirmation of the image. If not, the employees are faced with two options. The first option is to experience further socialization and find a new set of expectation. This would help the employee to adjust to the prevailing organizational culture. The second option is for the employee to drop out completely. In both cases, the organization maintains its status quo.
Metamorphosis: This is applicable for those people who discovered inconsistencies in their expectations, but still stayed on. They have to sort out their issues and go through change, in order to align with the organizational culture. Once this metamorphosis is complete, the employee’s productivity is expected to be as per the organization’s norm.
The most important stage in developing high-performing employees is the Pre-arrival stage. If the selectors do thorough research during this stage, and, if the selectors are able to identify candidates who are the exact fit to the organization, anomalies between the employee’s expectations and the actual culture can be prevented. These employees would not further time to make adjustments in order to fit, and hence would become high performers.
Q 3. Assume that you want to develop your global skills so that you can pursue international assignments with your company. Identify five skills that you would want to develop and describe how you would go about improving these skills.
Five key skills that would be required to pursue international assignments are:
i. Rapport-building skills: Building a relationship within a network is critical in the global marketplace. Without having a rapport, it is not possible to build connections, which can act as support system when we need to go through constant change. The first step to build a rapport is to find a common ground. Once we find a common ground, we can base it to build trust. The next step is to be empathetic to the other person. We have to learn to listen to other’s needs and understand their perspective. The next step would be to learn to be assertive. Assertiveness is not the same as aggressiveness. We should learn to always act in the best interest of the client and learn to say “no”, if need arises, without sounding rude. We should also look at sustaining the relationship.
ii. Curiosity: Curiosity is generally thought of as an inherent attitude, but, in fact, it can be developed into skills. In the global marketplace, it is essential to have the ability to think “outside the box”. The key to learn this is to stop depending only on how we have done things in the past, and instead to focus on what change we can bring to the solution.
iii. Ambition: To pursue international assignments, ambition is a necessity. The individual must be ready to make necessary job improvements, to learn new things and to be more flexible. This seems like a personality trait, but it can be developed into a skill. For this purpose, we must learn to challenge our selves. We should work for our professional development and should work towards having clarity- in our intent and in our actions.
iv. Communication: It is important to understand that communication is a two-way process. To develop the skill, we should learn to effectively share information. At times, this means that we should learn to listen to others.
v. Conflict Resolution: In a global marketplace, where different cultures clash, there are chances of conflicts. It is important for us to develop interpersonal skills in order to face conflicts and resolve them.
Q 4. Why is religion often incorrectly ignored in discussions and analyses of business, negotiations, and culture?
U.S, as a norm, separates religions from any discussion and analysis of business, negotiations, culture and politics. The believers of this exclusionist position in religion assume that sharing of religious viewpoints does not produce any productivity and instead would create altercations. The liberal theory gives primary importance to human life, dignity and autonomy. So, any such altercations would be dangerous. But, the believers of this exclusionist position have not been able to prove why these altercations are worse than oppression or why a religious dialogue is not possible without any strife. For comprehensive business/cultural discussions, it is better to include religion (Fort, 1997).
Q 5. Explain the differences between the id, the superego, and the ego.
Id is the only constituent of our personality, which exists from our birth. This part of our personality is totally unconscious and includes our instinctive behaviors. According to Freud, the id is the primary component of our personality. The basis for Id is the “pleasure principle”, which aims for the immediate fulfillment of all desires, needs and wants. If these are immediately satiated, then, there is a state of anxiety.
Ego is the constituent of our personality trait, which deals with reality. According to Freud, the ego makes certain to express the impulses of id into acceptable behavior. The ego functions in the conscious state, the preconscious state and the unconscious state. The basis for Ego is “reality principle”, which aims to satisfy the desires created by Id in a realistic fashion so that it would be accepted by the social world.
Superego is the constituent our personality which processes our internalized moral ideals and standards that we pick from where we grow up. According to Freud, we develop superego when we are around five. The superego functions to provide a code for making judgments. The last component of personality to develop is the superego. The superego is the aspect of personality that holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from both parents and society--our sense of right and wrong. The superego provides guidelines for making judgments. According to Freud, the superego begins to emerge at around age five (Wilson, 2009).
Q 6. Discuss needs and how they relate to employee motivation and management practices. According to Maslow hierarchy of needs, there are five primary needs that are ranked in order from low to high which determines individual’s behavior and actions.
The lowest level need is physiological needs, which consist for our need for food, water, air and shelter. An individual cannot move to the next level until his basic needs are satisfied.
The second level of need is safety needs. Individuals who are motivated by this level of need look at a job, fundamentally, as a way to avoid the loss of their basic needs.
The third level of need is the need is the social needs or the need for affection and belonging. At this level, the individual is looking for developing relationships and to have a sense of belonging. At this level, the individual wants to belong to a group. Individuals who are motivated by this level of need are focused on maintaining their current relationships and on building new relationships.
The fourth level of need is the esteem needs or the desire to achieve and for recognition. It is in this level that majority of employees fail into heir pursuit of need fulfillment. Managers should focus on employees at this level of need and help them to achieve their desires at this level.
The last level of need is self-actualization, when the individual wants to realize their full potential. Most people do not reach this level until much later in their lives. Many of them do not reach this level at all. Managers can help employees in this level of need by involving the employees in job design, by creating special assignments for the employee and by giving power to the employee to make decisions in matters concerning their work.
The first three levels of needs are often referred to as deficiency needs. The highest two needs are referred to, as growth needs.
Q 7. Goal setting encourages game playing. What types of games might employees and/or managers play?
Games are a great way to learn to identify a goal and to make a plan to reach the goal. The rules for when playing goal setting games are:
- Start small: It is important that the first goal that we set are easy-to
achieve goals.
- Keep it fun: It is important to maintain positivity and fun during the game. Otherwise,
It would become more of an ordeal rather than fun.
- Document: It is important to document what the goal is and to identify the steps required to achieve the same
- After achieving the first goal, set another one immediately
- Maintain an animated atmosphere for the team
Managers and employees must focus on games that encourage team activity, team building, and goal setting. Some of the activities that can be considered are:
Warp Speed
This is a goal setting activity, which can be played by up to twenty people.
Every participant should stand in circle with a small ball in his or her hand. The group passes the ball from one to the other, making sure that they do not repeat passing the ball to one who has already touched the ball, until every participant has touched the ball and the ball is returned to the person who started the activity.
Also, the participants are not allowed to pass it to someone who stands adjacent to them. The participants must decide by themselves as to how fast they can pass the ball. The co-ordinator/manager must continually encourage the participants to improve on their time. This game encourages the participants to think outside the box as they can dramatically decrease the time. This also allows the participants to set new goals, achieve them and realize the full potential of group work.
Building Activities
In these activities, participants can work together in groups to build items so as to achieve a goal. To play the game, each group is divided into teams of five. Then, each team is given several pieces of pipes and a marble. The team must hold the pieces of pipes together and must pass the marble from a starting point to finishing point without dropping it. Make sure to increase the distance between starting point and finishing point to increase the challenge. This game also builds teamwork and is a good goal setting game.
Q 8. What women are examples of transformational leaders? Would you include Liz Claiborne, Debbie Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and Hillary Rodham Clinton? Why?
Transformation leaders are leaders “who motivate subordinates to transcend their own self-interests for the good of the group or organization” (Powell, Butterfield, and Bartol, 2008, p.159). The transformational management style involves manager who is more or less like good teachers than the traditional bosses. The management style involves nurturing aspect, and motivates each individual involved to find identify their part in the work they are doing. These leaders would assist employees to be more knowledgeable, and confident in decision-making.
As examples of women transformational leaders, I would definitely include Hillary Clinton, Liz Claiborne and Debbie Fields.
Hillary Clinton did a “listening tour “in 2007, so as to understand the needs of her constituents. She also uses listening as a tool to articulate her vision. Listening is very important tool for a transformational leader. As a U.S. Senator, she has gained considerable respect for her leadership as a politician. In 2008, at the Democratic Convention in Denver, Clinton convinced most of her supporters that she supported Obama. Her words touched people’s heart and emphasized to people the importance of achieving their goals together and that she was for the greater good for all. All this shows her qualities as a transformational leader.
Liz Claiborne is another transformational leader. In an interview, Claiborne says: “I lead, I believe, by doing and teaching. I try to set an example. I try to show others how I implement what I see in my mind's eye as I design, assess fabrics, comment at fittings. I naturally speak slowly. I've been taught patience. I try to hear everybody out." (Ortenberg, 2010, para 3). These are clearly the principles of a transformational leader.
Another woman who can be added to the group is Debbie Fields’ believed in a management system, where managers could stay close to the employees and customers, instead of doing administering work. She used to visit each store to individually understand firsthand the problems of the store managers. She believed that she should consider the goals and needs of the managers’ if the company has to grow effectively. This kind of supportive leadership is a quality that is required by a transformational leader.
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