Overview of OB Topics

We each took the time to reflect back on the semester and decided that we would each talk about the topic that impacted us the most.These are the topics that we found to be the most important that will affect our personal and professional lives in the future.

Sam: Boss/Employee Relationships
In our last class, we discussed the two way relationship that exists between the employee and his or her boss. Like most topics in organizational behavior, many of the choices to be made in the relationship depend on its context. However, there are a few general rules that anyone should follow with their boss. You should always be honest, and not afraid to express your opinions and have engaging conversations with him or her. It is important to focus on solutions and not problems, and showing a boss alternatives may help you express different ideas. Working with a difficult boss can bring a lot of stress to your life, but it is important to deal with that stress effectively. It may be helpful to look forward to something fun to do after work, or set up an employee support group where you can discuss issues and solutions with people whom you work with. When I was working at a sporting goods store during the spring and summer of 2008, a new manager was hired about half way through my tenure. I was an assistant manager in the store, and this new boss was very different from the previous one. Looking back on the situation, it would have been helpful for me to approach the new manager, Tim, and talk to him about his expectations of me, and what his goals were. Because we did not have this conversation, I reacted negatively when he started treating me differently from my previous manager, and I was unable to form a relationship with him, which affected my ability to be truly effective in the workplace. So I learned through that experience and this class that a cohesive relationship between you and your boss is key to your advancement and success in the workplace.


Mike: Group Decision Making
I believe one of the most important topics that we covered this semester is decision making, more specifically, group decision making. Everyday we are exposed to many problems, obstacles and events that require us to make decisions that hopefully create the best outcome. Knowing the facts and consequences of your own decisions is extremely important because as it does now and as it will continue to in the future within your career, your own decisions effect many people. I know that all of us will eventually experience a time where we need to be able to make a group decision efficiently and positively. This is present in our lives currently with group projects and will continue to be important as most careers require teamwork to be successful. As we learned within the class, group aided decision making have advantages and disadvantages. Advantages consist of containing more knowledge within a group, varied perspectives, deeper comprehension to the decision and create a training ground for inexperienced employees. The last advantage listed is one I believe to be extremely important to my class right now. We are soon going to be joining the workforce as the inexperienced employee and it is important that we recognize this and know how to deal with it effectively. Disadvantages of group decision making include ideas such as creating social pressures, domination by a member of the team, displacing goals and logrolling between individual interests. These advantages and disadvantages are important to our learning because they must be balanced for success. Learning about all this now will set myself and my peers up well for the “real world.”

Andrew: Leadership Styles
One of the most important things we covered in this class were the different styles and theories about leadership. Over the course of our careers, we will be called upon to lead others, whether in a team-based project early on, or as a person in a senior management position. Knowing about different leadership styles will be crucial in these situations. One of the most surprising things to me about different leadership styles is that the most effective leaders do not always lead in the same way, but switch up the way they lead in order to best fit the situation. For example, if a member of management has employees that are willing and ready to work, all he/she needs to do is “delegate” tasks. If, however, employees lack that sense of initiative and readiness, he/she may need to be more authoritative and give orders. Different employee characteristics and environmental factors play a huge role in determining which leadership style may be most effective in a given situation. Going forward in our careers, keeping these leadership styles in mind will be fundamental to not only our personal success, but also to the success of the companies we work for as a whole.

Lisa: Perceiving Others
Before this class I was aware of stereotypes and that people all have their own biases going into situation. However the section on perceiving others, which included stereotypes, attribution error etc., opened my eyes to the fact that this happens everyday. While perceiving others includes diversity I think one of the important point made was that perceiving others incorrectly is not just based off skin color but also by what organization they are in or even their major. I have become so interested in this topic that I am taking a Psychology class next semester focused solely on Stereotyping and Prejudice.

The Five Stages of Group Development

Every newly created group goes through a maturation process in order to work efficiently. While the group development process is recognized across many theorists, the exact number of stages within the process is an idea which is often disagreed upon. Most of the processes contain four stages yet Tuckerman added a fifth in 1977. When analyzing this process with a real life situation, such as our groups personal experience, it is important to remember that the development process is a theory, not fact.




Stage 1: Forming
Our group was a little behind the rest of the groups in starting the “ice-breaking” stage because none of us were in class the day groups were created. I think this slow start of getting to know each other might be the cause of our weak start as a group. No one wanted to step on each other's toes and we were all hesitant to take charge. We did not all know each other and that created an environment where we all held back and did not trust each other. However moving into the next stages our group began to grow and work more efficiently.

Stage 2: Storming
We did not get stuck in stage two, which often happens in groups. There was no rebellion of power and in meetings we were productive and rarely got off topic. I attribute this to the outcome of our first blog. After realizing that we needed to step it in gear and really all work together to get the results that we wanted.

Stage 3: Norming
The norming stage in group development is where questions about power and authority are resolved, and the group begins to come together.  This is where the “we” feeling begins to take shape, and marks the turning point for many groups.  While our group did not really have any kind of “power struggle” we did begin to come together after we did not receive the grade we wanted on our first blog.  It was at that point that we all collectively realized that we were in this together, and that we needed to trust and rely upon each other if we wanted to excel.  That event proved to be the catalyst our group needed to come together, and the sense of cohesiveness we began to develop allowed us to do much better on our subsequent blog.

Stage 4: Performing
Our group was able to excel is the fourth stage. Again, due to our weak start we were able to fly through the storming and norming stages in a very positive way. This set us up for a strong performance. With a little extra incentive we jumped into solving the task problems. Not only did we have to overcome “breaking the ice” but we also had to dive into writing a successful blog in a very focused manner (We were able to do both). It was as if we flipped a switch and each member contributed effectively while not hindering anyone team member’s work. We were able to communicate and work off of each other. The cooperation that seemed to come out of thin year was abundant between all members and every one's comments were helpful. If there were any disagreements they were not only minor but they were handled maturely and fixed constructively, only to add more strength to the blog. We created goals that were of high expectation, and each member was committed and successful in achieving these. The strong performing stage of our group work was a huge reward for us, as it led to a high grade. The grade achieved would not have been accessible without the work and cooperation of the entire group.

Stage 5: Adjourning
The adjourning stage of the group development process involves reflection, and a general closing to a project. It may involve an award ceremony or an end of the job party. The main goal of adjourning is for the team to leave with a sense of closure, and group leaders should emphasize valuable lessons and work to prepare the group members for future projects. This step in the process did not really apply to our group. Because we did not have an assigned leader, we do not have anyone to prepare the rest of the group for future projects. However, I think we can reflect back on our groups experience and look at a few lessons. Undoubtedly, our first lesson learned came after our dismal first blog attempt, where we did not put forth our best work, and lacked the proofreading and organizational skills to succeed. On the second blog, we moved forward, put forth our best effort, and the results followed. A second lesson our group can take away from the experience is how to be more efficient in our communications. We have been using Google Docs to write our drafts, so that all members can edit and see what others have written before it is published. This has given us the opportunity to work off of each others ideas and proofread others’ work.

Four styles of Decision Making: NFL lockout and whether there should be 16 or 18 games a season

After the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl this past February, the football world’s attention turned towards the renegotiation of the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL Player’s Association and NFL owners. When the owners and players failed to reach a compromise before the agreement expired, the possibility of an NFL lockout next season became a very real possibility. One of the issues at the center of the debate is expanding the NFL regular season to 18 games, up from the current total of 16. The problem here is balancing NFL owner’s desire for increased revenue without putting players at increased risk for injury. Using what we have learned about the four decision making styles, our group examined how hypothetical people, Directive Dan, Analytical Alvin, Conceptual Curt, and Behavioral Bill might view the issue, and what they would do to resolve it.

Directive Dan
When a person’s decision making style is directive, they have a low tolerance of ambiguity and are drawn to task and technical concerns when making decisions. They can be labeled as efficient, practical, systematic and logical when they attempt to problem solve. They like to focus on fact and the short run outcomes. Due to this, when evaluating the NFL lockout and more specifically whether there should be 16 or 18 game seasons I would focus on facts such as money and advertising. I would evaluate if players, coaches, franchises, and broadcasting companies would be making too much money and how it has increased from previous seasons. I would study whether advertising companies would be helped or hindered economically and what sort of numbers would be cut. I would care about the hard facts and would be looking for what is best in the short run for both viewers and the league.

Analytical Alvin
People who solve problems in an analytical manner have a very high tolerance for ambiguity, may have a tendency to over analyze the situation, and often consider many options and alternatives which causes them to take a long time to make a final decision. When applying this to the NFL labor dispute over a longer schedule, Alvin would want to gather mass amounts of data, and carefully consider all options. Alvin may wonder about the differences monetarily between a 16, 17 and 18 game season, and whether or not another bye week should be implemented (a bye week is a week that an NFL team has off; there are currently 17 weeks in the NFL season, and each team gets one scheduled bye week). He may not take into consideration the feelings and personal beliefs of the players and owners because Alvin may focus too much on numbers and data driven analyses. Finally, Alvin may have trouble finding one solution that works for all of his preconceived conceptions of what should happen.

Conceptual Curt
The biggest issue here is balancing our players’ health and safety against the owners’ desire for additional revenue. We’ve got to think long term here and consider what is best for the league. 18 games would be good for both owners and the fans, as it would mean higher revenues for owners and more games for the fans to watch. At the same time, however, more games also puts our players at greater risk of injury and makes an already demanding sport that much more wearing on our players. We need to find a creative solution to this problem, perhaps by investing money in making equipment safer or increasing penalties and fines for dangerous hits. Another potential solution could be to experiment with expanding the schedule to 18 games for a few seasons, then comparing data on injuries and revenues and adjusting accordingly. We need to examine all possible solutions when tackling this problem, and make the decision that is most appropriate for the long term health for the league.


Behavioral Bill
I understand both sides of the situation. The owners obviously want eighteen games a season that his two extra games of not only admission tickets but parking, concession stand and apparel that they are gaining. But on the other side playing two more games has a couple of draw backs for the players. They will have less time than they already do with their families and a higher chance of being injured. I think we should hold a meeting to discuss all angles of the problems and make sure everyone involved is satisfied with the final outcome. This is a difficult issue that should be dealt with in a professional and sympathetic manner.

Diversity: Four Demographic Trends relating to entering the job market when it comes to summer internship

Understanding demographic trends in the workforce is imperative as many of us take our first step into the workplace this summer. We analyzed four demographic trends that are creating an increasingly diverse workforce: increase of women, increase of difference racial groups, the growing mismatch between workers’ educational attainment and occupational requirements and the large number of people in the work force that are aging. While we may not encounter all of these in our internships this summer it is important to be aware of them and their potential effect on the workplace and environment.

Women are encountering a glass ceiling
In recent years the glass ceiling for women has become less and less of an issue. In the most recent statistics women have just as much chance as their male peers of winning promotion to top management. Over the last ten years we have seen the most improvement, in 2001 just 30.7% of managers and senior officials were women now it is up to 35.5% which better reflects the full time workforce (which is 35.8% women). While it seems that the glass ceiling will soon be a barrier of the past, it is important to be aware of it, especially entering the workforce. This upcoming summer a good portion of the junior class will be stepping into their first workplace environment. Although the overall statistics support the notion that there is no longer a glass ceiling for women, in certain industries it still exists and there are people, coworkers, bosses that we will run into that have an old fashion way of thinking. It is important to be aware of demographic trends, such as the increase of women in the workplace, to better understand the workplace as a whole, whether you are an intern or full time employee.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/work/article.html?in_article_id=524480&in_page_id=53928

Racial Groups: Glass Ceiling and Discrimination
In 2008, the Population Reference Bureau did an extensive study on US labor force trends. They found that in 2005, the American workforce was compiled of 70% white non-Hispanic, 13% Hispanic, and 17% non-Hispanic. By year 2050, minorities are estimated to comprise 49% of the US labor force. This means that during our lifetime, the majority in which we are currently a part of, will become even with all other minorities in the workplace. It will be increasingly important for our generation to look at the labor force through an equal lens, knowing that talented workers can come from any race. Also, with the increasing amount of globalization of businesses, it will be important to foster relationships with people of differing backgrounds. Managers should welcome the opportunity to work with people of global races because it may give them a new perspective, or ability to work on the global scale more effectively. Companies also need to be cognizant of any glass ceilings in their company. It is not enough to simply employ a racial diverse workforce; we must be willing to give everyone equal opportunities at advancement, without any glass ceilings.
http://www.prb.org/pdf08/63.2uslabor.pdf
http://www.dol.gov/oasam/programs/history/reich/reports/ceiling.pdf


Mismatch Worker Education Attainment and Occupational Requirements
Over the past 30 years, education levels in the United States has waned significantly when compared to the rest of the world. Whereas the United States used to boast 30 percent of the world’s college population, that level has fallen to 14 percent in recent years. Recent studies have shown that American college graduates lack teamwork skills, critical thinking, and analytic reasoning when compared to the rest of the world. In addition, there is a shortage of graduates in the technical fields. In an increasingly global world, where technology and the Internet have lead to higher levels of interconnectedness than ever before, this has a number of implications for us heading into the work force. Not only are we competing against other college graduates from the United States, but college graduates from all over the planet. Its important to recognize and understand the mismatch between education and occupational requirements, as it directly affects the opportunities we will have both for internships and for jobs post-graduation. As the quality of American education continues to decline versus the rest of the world, it will mean more and more opportunities being outsourced overseas, alongside a number of other negative implications for future college-graduates.

Aging Workforce
It is evident that America’s workforce is getting progressively older. To many people the idea of an aging workforce is unknown; many believe the younger generations are taking over and starting new trends. Studies show that between 2010 and 2050 the population of 65 year olds and over will more than double while the population ranging from 18 to 24 will only increase by 21%. In addition it is calculated that by 2025 the portion of the workforce below 25 years old will actually decline by a percentage point to 8.9%. These statistics seems confusing to me as I am soon to join the workforce this summer. With many of my friends doing the same, applying for summer internships to major firms, I am blinded with the idea that my generation is taking over the workforce when we still only make up a very small portion and are not increasing as fast as other groups may be. I come to the conclusion that this is happening due to the increasing life expectancy. People are not retiring at the same age anymore. With an increasing life expectancy many people stay healthy and able to work for a longer period of time. Although the birth rate is also an increasing statistic, it is not as high as the increasing life expectancy. I look forward to experiencing the workforce this summer while at first I expected to work with many my age, it is clear that I will more than likely be surrounded by people much older than me.

Michael Scott - personality type

Extroversion- Introversion
Extroverts tend to enjoy social interaction and can be labeled as assertive and enthusiastic. They enjoy large social gatherings and gain energy from them. After watching “The Office” for years the character of Michael Scott is easily evaluated. Emotional Intelligence can be distinguished by many characteristics, specifically, Michael is labeled as an extrovert. He is not only outgoing and assertive but he goes over the top on both of these levels. Michael is not only loud and outgoing but his character makes it easy to evaluate him against many introverts since it is him who makes the social environment uncomfortable. He creates the atmosphere of pure awkwardness and the minor characters in this show consequently feed off of this. His crude and blunt comments are what create his extroversion. Although they are usually inappropriate, his personality not only distinguishes him but also creates the characteristics of the rest of the cast.

Thinking-Feeling
Michael Scott works purely off his feelings. He does not have much regard for those around him, is not in tune to their feelings at all, and does not respond to social cues well. He constantly makes poor decisions when it comes to keeping things secret between parties in the office, and insults people based on their race, gender and job performance. This can be exemplified by Michael’s repeated mishandling of the relationship between Pam and Jim, and his treatment of the HR representative, Toby.

Judging-Perceiving
Michael Scott is most definitely a P. He approaches work as play and works in burst of energy. He is a casual leader who keeps laid out organized plan to a minimum. Throughout the work day he constantly distracts his employees and tries to be their friend rather than their leader. He lives a flexible spontaneous life that is guided by his emotions and feelings.
In one of the episodes Jim, Michael’s co-manager, makes a graph of how Michael spends his time. The graph is 80% “distracting others”, 19% “procrastination” and 1% “critical thinking”. It is clear, through this graph, that everyone in the office sees Michael as a P. He is not known to work hard on a daily basis or add any structure to the work environment.


Sensing-Intuitive
Michael Scott is more of an intuitive thinker than a sensing thinker. One of the most entertaining parts about the office is listening to the wild, big picture ideas Michael gets and watching his attempts to put them into practice. Even though his plans are often imaginative and inventive, they often fall apart because Michael misses details and is unaware of what is going on in reality.

The Rush Process through the Lens of the Big Five

Openness
Freshmen and sophomores who make the decision to rush a fraternity or sorority here at Wake Forest have a medium to high rank of openness when we evaluate the Big Five. The rush process is sometimes a very stressful event and because of that students who are the most social and confident are the ones who participate. Looking back at past rush events it is clear that only the students who fit the label of having high openness when it comes to the Big Five are the ones who finish the rush process successfully. To qualify as having a rank of high openness the student must be ready to live and learn from social events. It is the experience that they learn from whether it be positive or negative. From these experiences they make judgement calls in which they decide what “group” they fit in with the best and from there can make the decision of joining a Greek organization.

Neuroticism
Freshman and sophomores who rush here at Wake Forest are medium to low on neuroticism and the overwhelming majority of those who receive a bid are low neuroticism. People who score high on neuroticism have a tendency to experience negative feelings are not going to put themselves in social situations, like rush. And those that do make it to rush events are going to be timid and unhappy. People with medium neuroticism may be able to get through a couple rush events but eventually will be unhappy especially around people who are all low in neuroticism. Two aspects of neuroticism that apply directly to the rush process are anxiety and self-consciousness.
Anxiety: People high in anxiety would not go through the rush process. It is hard to meet and talk to people if you constantly feel tense and nervous. On the other hand people with low neuroticism will thrive during the rush process and in the Greek system. You have to be somewhat fearless to throw yourself into an environment where you know you are going to be judged and then picked or not picked based on your time at an event.
Self-consciousness: Someone who is sensitive about what others think of them is not going to rush at Wake Forest or anywhere for that matter. The entire rush process is based off of people in the organization judging those who want to join to see if they meet the requirements. People with high neuroticism are fearful of rejection and ridicule therefore they avoid situations, such as rush, where they know there is a possibility of being rejected. Even though no one is going to criticize or make fun of them at a rush event, people with high neuroticism think that it will happen which makes them stay away from these social situations.

Extroversion
It is very important to be extroverted during the rush process. For fraternities, we have three days of “formal rush” where candidates come to our lounge and we are basically just forced to conversate with them for thirty minutes. During this time, you can really pick out the outgoing extroverts, versus the quieter introverts. Although it is not completely necessary to be an extrovert in the rush process, usually introverts will try to be as extroverted as possible to attract the attention of brothers. I am not extroverted, but I found that during the rush process, I was much more likely to go out on a limb in rush situations, because I knew it would get the attention of the brothers more, and give me a better chance of sticking in their minds, and getting a bid. Extroverts have a better chance of getting to know a lot of brothers, and also benefit from the fraternity party scene. They probably feel more comfortable in our bigger parties, and may have a better chance at getting to know brothers in a crowded, hectic social setting.

Conscientiousness
Conscientious people are those who demonstrate a good amount of self-discipline and control over impulses. During rush, it is important to have fun and do the best one can to be sociable, but it is also important carry oneself with dignity and self-respect. Although fraternities and sororities often get stereotyped as individuals who like to party too much and as people who show disregard for responsibility, Greek organizations are also full of successful people. Thus, this trait is mixed amongst members of fraternities and sororities. Some individuals show control and discipline and make the most of what Greek organizations have to offer, while others abuse the social side of Greek life, demonstrating a lack of control and responsibility.

Agreeableness
The vast majority of people who rush at Wake Forest would score highly on agreeableness. A high score on agreeableness means that one can get along with and cooperate well with other people, while disagreeable people are less concerned with the well-being of others. Greek organizations are highly social groups, where people are constantly in interaction with one another. Thus, it makes sense that members of fraternities and sororities are people who care about each other and take an interest in the feelings of their brothers and sisters, rather than isolating themselves and putting other people down. In addition, one of the largest aspects of Greek life is philanthropy; every fraternity and sorority on campus hosts a multitude of charity events over the course of the year, raising money for causes like cancer research or scholarship funds. Getting along well with people and taking an interest in others is extremely important not only during rush, but throughout the rest of an individual’s time in college as well.