WEEK 1Rules for High Performance Organizations (graded)This week our text discusses the definition of organizational behavior and in particular its applied focus, and our lecture focuses on high performance organizations (HPOs). Right at the intersection of those would be the Ten Golden Rules of High Performance listed below. What do you think should be added to the list? Is there anything on the list that you disagree with? Please support your opinion with evidence from our readings and also from your own work and life experience. Please also remember to respond to your classmates posts to stimulate further discussion.Ten Golden Rules of High Performance1. Hire by committee make sure recruits talk to their future colleagues.2. Cater to every need make it easy, not hard, for people to perform.3. Pack them in put people to work close to one another.4. Make coordination easy use technology to keep people talking together.5. Eat your own dog food make use of the company products.6. Encourage creativity allow freedom to come up with new ideas.7. Strive for consensus remember that many are better than few.8. Dont be evil live tolerance and respect.9. Data-driven decisions do the analysis and stay on track.10. Communicate effectively hold many stay-in-touch meetings.Satisfied Workers (graded)Our second graded discussion question this week comes primarily from Chapter 3 in the textbook. Assume you are new to your job and on the first day you have a conversation with your boss, who says, Satisfied workers are productive workers. Do you agree with her statement? Why? Why not? Please support your opinion with evidence from our readings. Please also remember to respond to your classmates posts to stimulate further discussion.WEEK 2Performance Mgmt, Diversity, and Motivation (graded)Please consult the course Webliography, listen to the WBUR radio article Introspection After Allegation of Discrimination, and read the summary. The discussion is rich in references to many of our current topics and touches on some that we will cover in more depth later. These include diversity, cultural influences on behavior, managing across cultures, and specifically touch on performance management and motivation.- How do the new practices at Sodexho align with the essentials of performance management?- How is Sodexho using social networking to its advantage?Motivational Theory Exploration (graded)Dr. Peter Drucker has stated: “You cannot motivate employees, employees must motivate themselves.”What does Dr. Drucker mean by this statement in regard to motivational theory?What are some methods you could use to promote self-motivation in the workplace?WEEK 3What Constitutes a Team? (graded)Focusing on the material related to team building, compare and contrast this MGMT591 session with a team that you are familiar with. In what aspects does the class resemble a team? Are there parallels between the stages of team development and the progression of our class? What type of team formatioA Lesson in Team Building (graded)One of your Facebook friends has posted this note.Help! I have just been assigned to head a new product design team at my company. The division manager has high expectations for the team and for myself, but I have been a technical design engineer for 4 years since graduating from college. I have never managed anyone, let alone led a team. The manager keeps talking about her confidence that I will be very good at creating lots of teamwork. Does anyone out there have any tips to help me master this challenge? Help! You immediately start to formulate your recommendations. What are the three key things you will advise her to do, and why those three first?n is going on in this classroom? Does the notion of social loafing apply to our class in any respect?Please be specific in your examples, and support your opinion with evidence from the text.WEEK 4Conflict and Negotiation (graded)Research on the Internet (and provide the reference) a recent situation where a fundamental conflict or disagreement occurred within a group setting. How was the conflict resolved (if at all)? What resolution methods were used in order to resolve the issue? Learning from the conflict resolution methods presented this week, what methods would you have implemented and used in this situation and why? Organizational Communication (graded)It seems common in many of todays workplaces that people dont actually talk to one another frequently. We rely on e-mail or the even less rich communication channel of text messaging. The benefits of moving lots of information quickly around an organization and between individuals are real. However, people can too frequently hide behind their computers and send messages electronically that they might otherwise censor or rethink in face-to-face communication. What approaches would you recommend or implement as a new manager taking over an organization to improve communications without abandoning the use of e-mail?WEEK 5Power and Influence (graded)From the Cairo Review of Foreign Affairs (read the .aucegypt.edu/gapp/cairoreview/pages/articledetails.aspx?aid=69″>Cairo Review), we read about Nelson Mandela’s use of power for the greater good. Using the text’s discussion of power and influence as a backdrop, analyze Mandela’s power from multiple perspectives, and assess how his use of power changed the perspective of a nation.Leadership (graded)Read the following Harvard Business Review interview of Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, regarding his leadership principles and vision regarding the turnaround strategy of Starbucks. What leadership principles did Schultz display in applying his personal beliefs and values in transforming the organizational culture at Starbucks? What are Schultz’s views regarding the championing of innovative practices within an organization?Do you share in his leadership philosophy? Why or why not?WEEK 6Organizational Culture Inventory (graded)Using the OCI instrument online, and the cultural change background information on Conglomerate, Inc. provided in Doc Sharing, we will be identifying and prioritizing cultural attributes and also identifying areas for change. (Note: The Cultural Change Situation can be downloaded from Doc Sharing.)Review Profiles 1a (workforce results) and 1b (senior leadership teams ideal state) closely.Identify and describe the cultural aspects that management cites as important and contrast them to the cultural attributes that employees report as being expected. How do employees believe they are expected to act to fit in?What are the most significant gaps between management and staff?What observations can you make on the differences between Conglomerate Inc.s preferred culture and ideal culture presented by HSI?Once weve identified and discussed the gaps, Ill cue everyone to move onto the review of the suggested change initiatives and onto observations around your own OCI results.Resistance to Change (graded)When Jorge Maldonado became general manager of the local civic recreation center, he realized that many changes would be necessary to make the facility a true community resource. Having the benefit of a new bond issue, the center had the funds for new equipment and expanded programming. All he needed to do now was get the staff committed to the new initiatives. Unfortunately, his efforts have been met with considerable resistance to change. A typical staff comment is, Why do we need all these extras? Everything is fine as it is. How can Jorge deal with the employees resistance to change, to enable him to move the change process along?WEEK 7Organizational Design Preference (graded)Our text takes us through a thorough review of various organizational design structures; let’s investigate our own organizational design preferences.Describe your current or most recent employer’s organizational design (mechanistic, organic, hybrid). Is the structure consistent with the company goals?If you had the opportunity to redesign your current organization where you are employed, would you maintain its current structure or change it to another model? What would that model be and why?Empowering Teams: Fact Versus Fiction (graded)Over the last 3 weeks, we have focused very much on leadership, power, organizational culture, and organizational change. Our case study for the week is a great synthesis piece that addresses all of these topics through a detailed study of firm’s attempted move to team-based management.The article isDiagnosing Whether an Organization Is Truly Ready to Empower Work Teams: A Case Study. By: Bergmann, Thomas J.; De Meuse, Kenneth P., Human Resource Planning, 1996, Vol. 19 Issue 1, p. 3847.As you read through the report, pay close attention to the discussion about Harley-Davidson and Shelby Die Casting, and their eventual conclusions about how to manage resistance to change. Also, keep in mind our OCI material from Week 6 and think about the process from a cultural change perspective. And of course, pay close attention to the lessons for top management presented at the end.A few opening topics for this week’s discussion:1. Assess the process from the model for planned change.a. What did the company do right? b. What more might have been done to prepare for the change?2. What are your thoughts on Harley-Davidsons resolution for resistance to change? a. Do you support the conclusions of the management team? Why or why not?3. Share with the class what you found most interesting about the article and why.a. Compare and contrast the case studys findings with our discussions and the information from our text.As always, but particularly given the synthesis nature of our discussion this week, be certain to read, consider, respond, and probe your classmates thoughts and ideas. This is a great opportunity for us all to weave together many of the topics weve covered this session.This week our text discusses the definition of organizational behavior and in particular its applied focus, and our lecture focuses on high performance organizations (HPOs). Right at the intersection of those would be the Ten Golden Rules of High Performance listed below. What do you think should be added to the list? Is there anything on the list that you disagree with? Please support your opinion with evidence from our readings and also from your own work and life experience. Please also remember to respond to your classmates posts to stimulate further discussion.Ten Golden Rules of High Performance1. Hire by committee make sure recruits talk to their future colleagues.2. Cater to every need make it easy, not hard, for people to perform.3. Pack them in put people to work close to one another.4. Make coordination easy use technology to keep people talking together.5. Eat your own dog food make use of the company products.6. Encourage creativity allow freedom to come up with new ideas.7. Strive for consensus remember that many are better than few.8. Dont be evil live tolerance and respect.9. Data-driven decisions do the analysis and stay on track.10. Communicate effectively hold many stay-in-touch meetings.Our second graded discussion question this week comes primarily from Chapter 3 in the textbook. Assume you are new to your job and on the first day you have a conversation with your boss, who says, Satisfied workers are productive workers. Do you agree with her statement? Why? Why not? Please support your opinion with evidence from our readings. Please also remember to respond to your classmates posts to stimulate further discussion.WEEK 2Please consult the course Webliography, listen to the WBUR radio article Introspection After Allegation of Discrimination, and read the summary. The discussion is rich in references to many of our current topics and touches on some that we will cover in more depth later. These include diversity, cultural influences on behavior, managing across cultures, and specifically touch on performance management and motivation.- How do the new practices at Sodexho align with the essentials of performance management?- How is Sodexho using social networking to its advantage?Dr. Peter Drucker has stated: “You cannot motivate employees, employees must motivate themselves.”What does Dr. Drucker mean by this statement in regard to motivational theory?What are some methods you could use to promote self-motivation in the workplace?Focusing on the material related to team building, compare and contrast this MGMT591 session with a team that you are familiar with. In what aspects does the class resemble a team? Are there parallels between the stages of team development and the progression of our class? What type of team formatioOne of your Facebook friends has posted this note.Help! I have just been assigned to head a new product design team at my company. The division manager has high expectations for the team and for myself, but I have been a technical design engineer for 4 years since graduating from college. I have never managed anyone, let alone led a team. The manager keeps talking about her confidence that I will be very good at creating lots of teamwork. Does anyone out there have any tips to help me master this challenge? Help! You immediately start to formulate your recommendations. What are the three key things you will advise her to do, and why those three first?n is going on in this classroom? Does the notion of social loafing apply to our class in any respect?Please be specific in your examples, and support your opinion with evidence from the text.Using the OCI instrument online, and the cultural change background information on Conglomerate, Inc. provided in Doc Sharing, we will be identifying and prioritizing cultural attributes and also identifying areas for change. (Note: The Cultural Change Situation can be downloaded from Doc Sharing.)Over the last 3 weeks, we have focused very much on leadership, power, organizational culture, and organizational change. Our case study for the week is a great synthesis piece that addresses all of these topics through a detailed study of firm’s attempted move to team-based management.The article isDiagnosing Whether an Organization Is Truly Ready to Empower Work Teams: A Case Study. By: Bergmann, Thomas J.; De Meuse, Kenneth P., Human Resource Planning, 1996, Vol. 19 Issue 1, p. 3847.As you read through the report, pay close attention to the discussion about Harley-Davidson and Shelby Die Casting, and their eventual conclusions about how to manage resistance to change. Also, keep in mind our OCI material from Week 6 and think about the process from a cultural change perspective. And of course, pay close attention to the lessons for top management presented at the end.A few opening topics for this week’s discussion:1. Assess the process from the model for planned change.a. What did the company do right? b. What more might have been done to prepare for the change?2. What are your thoughts on Harley-Davidsons resolution for resistance to change? a. Do you support the conclusions of the management team? Why or why not?3. Share with the class what you found most interesting about the article and why.a. Compare and contrast the case studys findings with our discussions and the information from our text.As always, but particularly given the synthesis nature of our discussion this week, be certain to read, consider, respond, and probe your classmates thoughts and ideas. This is a great opportunity for us all to weave together many of the topics weve covered this session.
