Vision of a Model Research Center
Rachel’s style of leadership in ICCR is definitely a transformational one given that the research center was her idea and all other employees seem to be following her vision. One of the assumptions of this kind of leadership is that it believes that people tend to follow those who inspire them. This is evidenced in Rachel’s leadership as she even has women in her organization looking up to her as a role model. Rachel is also a transformational leader as can be seen by the fact that she believes in injecting energy and enthusiasm into ICCR; this is why she feels cut off when she does not get an opportunity to play this role in the company. Rachel’s style of leadership also shows that she is into transformational leadership as she cares about her employees and wants them to succeed- a sure characteristic of this kind of leadership (Lucia & Achua, 2009, p. 112).
Rachel has successfully managed to build a prosperous research center using her transformational leadership skills; however, this success seems to be having a great impact on her leadership style. First, due to her many trips around the country, Rachel is no longer able to oversee the day to day operations of the center. This seems to be slowly transforming her leadership style to a passive management style. This is contrary to her initial leadership style which was based on her being at the centre of the company’s operations. Rachel is also aware of this as she feels that she is losing grip of the organization. Transformational leadership, initially practiced by Rachel, involves the leader having a good relationship with the followers; she seems to be losing this as even some of her employees no longer know who she is. This shows that she has lost contact with her followers contrary to what her leadership style was initially. Also, Rachel’s leadership seems affected by the growth of ICCR as the departmental heads are the ones now in-charge of planning for the company. One thing that was unique about Rachel’s initial leadership style, transformational, is that it is based on the team following the leader’s vision. So, the current planning by the departmental heads is an exact contradiction to this initial leadership style.
To successful take back control of the leadership, Rachel should stop leading the company and go back to leading her vision; setting up an independent research center. The current situation is brought about by the fact that she is so focused on leading the company to greater heights but this way she fails to lead her dream. This is the reason why she feels that the departmental heads are leading the company the wrong way. Rachel should also go back to leading the operations of her company just like a transformational leader should. She should also go back to conducting her weekly pep talks, this way she can sell the vision of the organization more to the employees. The current situation where the departmental heads have a different vision with hers is a clear indication that Rachel has not successful sold her vision to her followers, just like a transformational leader should.
Moving Mountains for Education and Peace
Motivation often results to influencing positively the leadership abilities of individuals (Lussier & Achua, 2009, p 70).The main driving force behind Greg’s leadership abilities is misery. Greg not only gets afflicted by misery himself but also painfully observes the misery of others he is in contact with. The death of his sister, and the vow to honor it by taking the difficult task of hiking the mountain translates into a long and vital quest of building a school in the Pakistan village. Greg importantly exhibits the characteristics of an authentic leader. He is full of dedication, and couples this with extreme determination to see that he accomplishes his promise of building the school. Further, he relentlessly works towards overcoming the shortcomings of his intentions of building the school in the village. He therefore clearly portrays an authentic leader.
When Greg decides to abandon his quest and goal of reaching the peak of the mountain because his friend is critically injured and ill, he clearly demonstrates the vital aspect of moral reasoning. This is further backed by the fact that he is so close to accomplishing his task save for the hard time he has hard in getting there. He also opts to sell most of his hard earned property and luxury for the benefit of ensuring someone else has basic education. This factor brings out the attribute of moral reasoning as exhibited by Greg. Greg further demonstrates his transparency by using the allocated funds for their supposed purpose. He does not misappropriate the funds meant for building the school. Given this chance, it is evident that many individuals would not keep their end of the deal.
The numerous challenges faced by Greg in his quest to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan cannot be easily and successfully overcome by an unauthentic leader. The trustworthy nature he has was one factor that helped him to successfully accomplish this. Further, he developed a close and worthy relationship with the local people including taxi drivers. The effect of this is that the locals supported most of his quest by influencing and showing open support of his conduct to influential politicians. By so doing, authentic leadership therefore played a very vital role in ensuring that he successfully accomplished this.
They Dominated the Conversation
The effectiveness of this team can be assessed by analyzing its effectiveness in meeting its objectives. This can be seen in the fact that the patients the team is supposed to take care of feel neglected and misunderstood by the team. This failure to meet its objective, take care of cancer patients, show that the team cannot be said to be effective. Also the fact that most of the decisions made by the team are made by two out of the six team members also shows ineffectiveness. The team should be making decisions as a unit for it to be effective; this helps in incorporating ideas from all the team members and also pointing out weaknesses in ideas already put forward.
The internal relational level of functioning of this team is where the greatest problem of the team is. This is because the team members do not relate well as would be expected of a team. This is caused by the fact that only two of the team members dominate the discussions of the team. A team is supposed to appreciate each other regardless of how strong one member may think they are; this helps in creating a good relationship between the team members (Linda, Northcraft, Neale & Langlands, 2002, p. 67). The case in this team is totally different as the Linett and Hidyat think that they are the best in the team.
The way that I would improve how this team functions is by re-building the team again, but still with all the six members. First, I would seek to re-build the team through emphasizing on team work; I would do this by ensuring that the team members have regular meetings to discuss other issues other than their work. This would help in the team members understanding each other more. I would also have a talk with the two dominant team members and point out to them the role they are playing in discouraging other team members. Chances are that these doctors may not even be aware of what they are doing and it may just be that they have a strong personality and hence their domination. I would also set up a framework for managing conflict in the team. I would do this by having team pep talks where members resolve any disparities between them in peaceful but rational method. I would also ensure that I design a leadership structure for the group. I believe that another reason that may be behind this team’s failure is that there seems to be no clear leader; Cathy seems not be in control. The situational approach used by the team in leadership is failing it; the approach is where a leader arises in every situation. This approach means that there are no clear lines of who leads the pack and who even leads the meetings.
An important leadership skill that I would use to improve the functioning of this team is motivation. I would motivate the team members to feel important in the team and would also show them the significant role they play in making the team successful. I would also recognize that this is a team of experts and hence recognize the ideas put forward by each team member.
Not the Type who sees the Bigger Picture
If jenny and Connie developed a program meant for the two of them only, they would help in creating the necessary connection that evidently seems to be lacking currently. The unconscious factor that is evidently affecting their relationship is going to be clearly dealt with. Therefore, Jenny should consider this course of action and successfully talk Connie into it, for their mutual end benefit.
Jenny should also consider having a session with the training and development team. With this, she is likely to learn better skills of leadership, which she would apply in her group. Therefore, for personal development, and the important purpose of comparing notes, Jenny should take into serious consideration this action.
Connie has the right to know her analysis report. However, considering the fact that she is a student, it would be inappropriate to avail to her the analysis report of her teacher Jenny. This undertaking is likely to harm their relationship more. It would be much better if Jenny had the analysis results of Connie.
It is important that Jenny and Connie engage themselves in a serious discussion. The discussion should entail the process of creating harmony between them. Further, they should share their attributes based on the analysis report. This is likely to aid in positively solidifying further their relationship. As individuals, people have their capacities to accomplishing complex tasks in the organization limited (Northcraft, Stroh, Neale, & Langlands, 2002, p 31). Therefore, the two should combine their needed efforts for the positive end result of their organization.
Considering that Jenny finds Connie as an excellent problem solver and a practical down to earth individual, giving her leadership oriented posts in the future would be appropriate. By so doing, she would end up sharpening her skills and become a much better person resource wise, and evidently a vital input in the organization.
Staff Meeting Problems
Stan should not give up on the meetings just because they seem to be generating more conflict than unity. Meetings in such a division are important since they provide a forum for employees to voice their views on issues that might be disturbing them. Also, such meetings are necessary to share with the employees the organizational goals and any new policies. Putting all these into consideration, Stan should continue having the meetings.
Stan should be more precise in asking for participation during the meetings. According to my opinion, Stan is forgetting that leading the division also entails leading meetings. Stan should recognize the fact that just because he calls for a meeting doesn’t mean that everything else will play out for the meeting to be successful; he needs to have a more active role in leading the meetings. Stan needs to ask the technical team to participate more in the meetings, while at the same time taking time to understand why the team does not participate.
To bring about change in how staff meetings go on in his division, Stan needs to devote one meeting to laying ground rules for proceedings. Rules are important as they give a clear outline of how each person is expected to behave in the meetings; making rules together with the team also helps in making the rules appreciated more by the staff. It is also important that Stan defines the division’s goals again to the members because what he might be dealing with is a problem of sub-optimality brought about by each department having individual goals. By telling the members what is expected and showing them what role they play in achieving these goals, Stan can increase participation in meetings. This is because members will know that if they don’t play their role, through participation in meetings, the division’s goals cannot be met.
It is advisable that Stan gets the help of a consultant. This should be someone who specializes in team building and also organizational behavior. The advantage of having a consultant resolve Stan’s problem is that it brings in a specialist’s perspective on the issue. Also, Stan may be missing out on the real problem because he is a member of the division and also knows other members outside and inside the office. Hence his judgment may be influenced by other factors beyond those in the workplace. A consultant does not know these people beyond the work place and so will make judgments based on workplace attributes alone.
Unexpected Reactions
Maxine should not adapt to Randy’s way of interacting as this will result in her losing her leadership style; what she should do is adapt. The reason for this is because adapting to Randy’s style would mean changing her interaction with other employees which might result in them conflicting with her just like Randy is doing. However in understanding, Maxine has a chance to consider why Randy behaves the way he is and what can be done to help him adapt to Maxine’s style of leadership. This is because it is an individual who is supposed to fit into an organization and not the organization into the individual.
Understanding why Randy behaves the way he does is important; this is because one cannot help a person whose problem they don’t know. By understanding why Randy’s predictions are so unpredictable, Maxine has the chance to see how he can help him and also get to see Randy’s perspective of things.
Maxine should ask Randy why he behaves so unpredictably but she should make sure that her question is taken as a wish by her to help Randy adapt to the organization and not an attempt to patronize him. By asking Randy the question, Maxine has the opportunity of getting first hand information on the former’s behavior. This is because Randy might be aware of something in his past that made him become such an unpredictable person.
It is also important that Maxine establishes whether Randy was this unpredictable in his previous employment. This would help in identifying whether the problem is a characteristic of Randy or as a result of coming into Maxine’s organization. This way Maxine can know how to go about helping Randy.
In my opinion I think that Randy is just being resistant to change; because he believes that the authoritarian leadership used in his previous employment. This makes Maxine’s leadership style something new and Randy is scared that changing to this style may result in him not having as many opportunities as before to work on new problems. So, Randy is rationalizing his behavior by criticizing Maxine’s leadership. To him, pointing out flaws in Maxine’s interaction style is the only way to justify that the authoritarian style is better. I would also like to point out that what Randy is going through is normal for most human beings when they have to deal with change. I believe what is lacking is an opportunity for Randy to be informed of the advantages of the leadership style he has found himself in.
The “Glass Ceiling”
Lisa faced the challenge of getting higher to higher posts in her job given that she was female. This factor is further advanced by the fact that she was the only woman seeking such kind of posts and achievement. The notion that she is a woman and can not defeat men is evidently rife in her organization. This is one factor that barricades her from advancing in her position.
The firm’s top executives, including Michael had a wrong strategy and policy application towards their employees with special emphasis on Lisa. The top executive should have used personal abilities, record performance, and work competency should have been used in determining the positions of all employees. Generalities and gender bias should not have been used in any decision making in the firm. This would have ensured retention of Lisa as a competent and productive member of the larger organization.
The Equal Employment Opportunity organizational policy supported by the federal government is one that would have helped Lisa and Pamela in their firms. The proper application of this policy would have seen the two women rise in the ranks of the leaders within their organization. This is so considering their current achievement even with the evident defaulting of the EEO policy by the top executives.
The organization has the obligation of raising and informing the gender consciousness of all its employees. In this case, Michael and Lisa’s male colleague clearly needed this knowledge. The organization could have endorsed or create programs aimed at educating all the male colleagues over the issue of gender bias. With this step, the gender consciousness of the employees would be positively addressed, thereby creating an enabling environment to not only Lisa, but other employees as well.
Lack of Inclusion and Credibility
The barrier to advancement that Lori is facing is male chauvinism which leads to her colleagues considering her as a weaker person in the team. Chauvinism in this case can be said to be similar to sexism where a particular sex feels stronger than the other just because of their difference in sex. This is the reason why Ted, Ian, and even Ian feel that a point from Lori should be ignored while when the same point is said by Ian, they fully support it.
Lori’s coworkers should have first greeted her as she entered the room; this is because members of one team should be concerned with each others personal life. This is important as it promotes cohesion of the team. The two should also have changed their subject of discussion as it is evident that this topic excluded Lori from their conversation. The new topic did not necessarily have to be about work but something that Ian, Ted and Lori could relate to.
Len played a major role in what happened at the meeting. He should have changed the topic of discussion from football the moment he walked in as a good leader should be concerned of each member of their team. Len should also have taken note of Lori’s point and made sure that it was not ignored the first time it was tabled. It is interesting to point out that had Len acknowledged Lori’s point then time would have been saved in the discussions that followed. Len should also have pointed out that Ian was repeating Lori’s recommendation. From the way things unfolded at the meeting it can be concluded that part of the reason why Len’s team is chauvinistic is because the leader not only tolerates it but is also chauvinistic.
The organization should come up with a policy that clearly outlines the fact that it does not condone chauvinism. Top level managers should also conduct pep talks where they sensitize all managers that sex is not a defining factor for a person’s effectiveness. The human resource department should also organize frequent team building activities to sensitize the managers on the importance of working as a team regardless of their sex.
Pregnancy as a Barrier to Job Status
Clearly, Marina faces numerous challenges and advancement barriers in regard to her job. Backed with her diverse educational background and achievement at that, Marina is guaranteed to having a higher stake and say in her company. She is also further supported by her experience and current position in the firm. However, with her pregnancy, she clearly fails to impress her senior Roy. With this in mind, Roy is likely to set the road very rough for Marina, and may even see her dismissed from her position permanently, regardless of the provisions of the law.
Roy inappropriately conducts himself when Marina faces her fears and discloses that she is pregnant. Considering his professionalism and obviously learned background, his statement negates his personal wisdom and understanding. Roy should have let Marina finish talking before cutting her out. Further, he ought to have congratulated her for conceiving a baby. It was unnatural and unfair to dismiss and cut her out before she could even finish.
Roy has the responsibility of ensuring that Marina’s job is preserved during her pregnancy leave. According to the current provisions of the law, Marina reserves the right of having her job retained. Roy could have ensured that Marina’s structure of ensuring that her duties are effectively carried out by other staff is viable. By this process, Roy could have acted positively in ensuring that Marina’s job and position were not compromised.
Evidently, creation and inception of various organizational changes is vital in regard to this case. Firstly, creation of policies that are not negatively biased to all the employees, especially women, and mostly regarding natural processes such as child bearing, would go a long way in helping the women in the organization. Further, ensuring that women hold high positions such as that of Roy in the organization would help. If a woman was in the position of Roy, she would have handled the situation differently.
A Challenging Work Place
The difference between Japanese and North American working styles is mainly in the way decisions are arrived at. In North America, decisions are mainly arrived at by one person or a small team while in Japan decisions are made after a consensus is arrived at. Japanese working styles emphasize on harmony in a team while in North America the emphasis is mainly on productivity of the team. Also, Japanese companies are not as diverse in terms of gender and race in comparison to their North American counterparts. This is one of the reasons why women are not many in Japanese companies. The working hours in North American companies are fewer as compared to those of Japanese companies. However these two working styles are similar in that the feedback the managers give to the employees is indirect.
This company reflected the characteristics of other Asian Confucian countries in that it is aiming to conduct businesses in economically disadvantaged countries. Also the fact the company is slowly allowing diversity in its work place and operations shows a characteristic evidenced in Asian Confucian countries.
The report given by Samira’s supervisor which indicated that she was not a team player was correct. This is because she was mostly proactive and not reactive. Also she had an opinion in almost all situations; this proved what her schoolmates told her that she was an assertive female. The reason why these factors made her not a team player is since these made her dominant. Also at times one needs to be reactive and wait for other people to take charge. Samira was also not a team player as at times she initiated tasks on her own. Also, she did not want to discuss her family issues and ambitions with her colleagues; this shows that she does not recognize that she was operating in a team where her private life was of concern to everyone.
Samira had universal leadership attributes such as self drive as she is able to initiate things on her own without waiting for others. She was also willing to help others and share her opinion; though she may have overdone it making her appear as domineering over her colleagues. Her competence and ability to meet deadlines were attributes she had that should be in all leaders. These two attributes were also noted by her superior.
I would advice Samira to look for work in a North American company since she is not a good team player; these companies are not that keen on teamwork. Also based on the fact that she at times makes decisions on her own, Samira should try the North American companies which have placed little emphasis on consensus. Otherwise if Samira intends to work in a Japanese company she should be ready to hear more of her friends’ opinion and also adapt to the work place she is assigned to.
A Special Kind of financing
Banks in the United States have been reluctant to offer credit services to the Muslim community. One major reason that could be the cause of these actions is that the banks want to avoid the criticism that comes with the preferential treatment that the Muslim population would want. Further, the creation of new policies that are completely different with the existing banking norms would mean diversion of the banks statement missions and normal practices. With these factors in consideration, the banks could be opting not to offer their credit services to the Muslims.
The question as to whether it is right to offer preferential treatment to one community. From a religious and social perspective, this act is wholly justified. The Muslims here are considered to be faithfully following the teachings and provisions of their religion. However, from an economic and business perspective, the practice fails to make sense. The Muslim should not be offered any preferential treatment. In case of adoption of such measures, they should be as well availed to other citizens in the population. This is further backed by the fact that the Muslims are also given the chance to choose from the common and normal banking programs.
Ethnocentrism refers to the act of believing that one’s social beliefs and cultural practices are more important than those of other individuals. Ethnocentrism clearly crops out from this concept. The Muslim seem to be holding the notion that their religious beliefs are more important than those of other people.
In group collectivism comes into play when the Central Bank tries of finding the reason why they did not have any Muslim customers. They do this by involving a group of Muslim citizens and engaging them in a discussion. This factor relates to Central Banks finance plan since they develop a Muslim banking package as a result of the findings from their group discussion.
Many banks would not be impressed by the actions of Central Bank. This may arise from the factor of negating banking principles or from the simple competitive base. If competition is the chief reason of misunderstanding, the respective banks may react by creating similar policies in a rush to get a share of the Muslim citizens.
A struggling Company without enough Cash
Though the first option, capital for control, is very viable businesswise, it is not as ethical in application as the adoption of the second option. In the second option, Joe discloses his company’s financial standings to the people that are directly affected. His honesty helps in allowing the respective players decide their stand and thoughts towards his company.
Egoism refers to the excessive and often exaggerated sense of personality and self importance. Egoism clearly comes into play in this case. Joe does not want to have his reputation harmed and is not willing to give up despite the dire economic situation his company faces. Further, Joe clearly holds a positive picture of the end which is inclined to ensuring that he overcomes his current state and succeed. The first option presents a clear situation and application of altruism. With the adoption of this option, Joe will end up losing his position as the owner but in the long run, guarantee the jobs and salaries of his existing employees.
The second option would provide the greatest good for most of the concerned individual. Further, the people mostly and closely associated with the business would have the truth over the financial state of the company. With this in mind, the respective individuals would offer their best performance in trying to ensure that the company regains its financial viability. Joe has the obligation of ensuring that he lets the concerned individuals know the true position of the company. This presents a clear case of practicing ethics in business.
Joe faces numerous pressures in his undertakings. By telling the truth about the financial stand of the company, Joe risks losing other potential customers and qualified employees. Further, the banks may consider his stand as a failure and eventually take over his business.
How safe is safe
As a company, PPI has a clear and identifiable philosophy of moral values. The processes of conducting numerous activities in ensuring that the working conditions presented for their workers are safe prove this aspect. Prioritizing of the safety measures in the company helps in contributing to this policy.
Virtue based ethical approach is the one clearly adopted by PPI. In contrast to the utilitarian mode or approach, the company clearly puts the importance of its employees first even with an increased budget of foreseen the success of this process.
The management of the company overly accepts its obligation of ensuring employee safety. Despite the fact that there are financial consequences in implementation of the safety processes, the company sees its need in ensuring the success of this aspect. However, the attorneys of PPI find this process as a waste of money and an extravagant undertaking. They see their responsibility towards PPI as legal only. They try to avoid future financial implications from possible lawsuits.
Evidently, the ethical practices and beliefs of PPI and its attorney are in conflict. This is clear considering their actions. The attorneys are opposed to the current trends and practices which they find may be used in future by other individuals as relevant cause to cost the firm significant amounts of money from lawsuits. However, the PPI management seems to be opposing this aspect and clearly wants to address its current obligations despite any future implications.
REFERENCES
Northcraft, Stroh, K.L, Neale, M. A, & Langlands, C. (2002).Organizational Behavior.
London: Routledge.
Lussier, R.N & Achua, C. F (2009). Leadership: Theory, Application, & Skill Development.
Stamford. Cengage Learning.
