THE RISE OF MNC’S

During one of the classes we saw the documentary “The Corporation”. This documentary help us understand many ways and reasons why corporations act in certain ways and the impact that their decisions have in the organization and in society.

The corporations were awarded with the power of having the same rights as a person. Even though they have the same rights as a person, corporations can have different interests and goals. Their main interests have always been profit even though they affect others or a society. “I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. ... corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.”1

It is obvious that they help individuals and make their life easier with the products but their main goal is just their profit. They create good and services to help individuals but they create them not to help or make humans life easier, they create them in order to make money. Or that is what we have always seen or the image we have about corporations. We have had a bad image of corporations because of the effects they have caused to the environment and to individuals. In this documentary they list some cases where organizations harmed workers and human health (layoffs, union busting, fires, dangerous products, pollution, toxic waste, and using chemicals) they have also harmed animals when they destruct their habitat and when they experiment with them. Companies have generated irreversible harm to the biosphere through the emissions of CO2 and nuclear wastes. All of this horrible damages caused by corporations to the human beings and the environment are what everyone see of the corporations, just the bad side.

Corporations sometimes have good ideas that can be helpful but they have caused lots of damage. In the documentary they talk about privatizing many public goods. The idea is to give the public goods to a corporation that manages everything that has to deal with a specific good. In the documentary they generate a doubt or question of whether we should or shouldn’t trust a corporation to handle the world’s public goods. What we really know is that corporations will keep growing and new ones will be constantly emerging due to the globalization process. The bad thing about this is that we have been disappointed by the corporations in many ways and that is why some people are starting to go against many of the bad and unethical things that organizations do to our world.

QUESTIONS

1. Do Corporations pursue today other interest or the "bottom-line" remains as their single priority? What are the factors influencing the corporation’s objectives and goals?

Nowadays corporations still have a really bad reputation because we still have a bad image. They are trying to change that horrendous image we have from them and that is why they are starting to help in foundations in order to help animals and with the recovery of their habitat. Technology has become one of their allies in order to overcome with all of the challenges they can have during production but it has also helped with the environment because fabrics are not as harmful as before. But they are still exploiting individuals in developing countries because of the cheap hand labor they can have in third world countries. Even though human rights issues are crossing boundaries some corporations keep exploiting people in those countries. Some corporations are starting to care more about those issues and are decreasing working hours and constructing better infrastructures for employee’s safety. Not everything they do is bad and they are starting to have a considerable change that can benefit everyone. Organizations have learned from their mistakes and they are trying to emend their mistakes. Multinational corporations have a large and important impact in many aspects all around the world.



2. The film focuses on the negative consequences that the Corporation’s behavior causes to the environment, to human health and animal life. Discuss from a critical perspective, the possible benefits and arising from the actions of MNCs for these 3 groups.

The documentary showed a concern about what corporations are causing to the environment and the consequences that this will have for future generations. There are some images that impact and show all the bad things that corporations have done to the environment. Some corporations use oil that damage water, pesticides and toxic substances that cause irreversible damage to animals, humans and the environment. Many employees get sick because they have been exposed to highly toxic chemicals and they usually stay in the human body which in a long term can cause birth defects. Some animals are tortured because they are used in order to test different products. Organizations have caused global warming, extinction of many animals, human and animal intoxication and starvation, birth defects and pollution.

“Recently, the role of MNCs in economic development has changed from outside agent to partner; at the same time, host governments have increasingly acted on the need to conserve natural resources in the interest of long-term productivity. Citizens' groups and international organizations are also becoming more involved in environmental management.”2 People and governments are starting to be aware of all the bad consequences that corporations have created to the world, animals and human beings. That is why many human and animal rights groups have been created in order to help prevent more damage for future generations.

3. Do you think a corporation should be considered a "person"? Discuss the implications and limitations of granting such legal existence to corporations.

I think that corporations shouldn’t be considered as a person and shouldn’t have the same rights. A corporation is just a building and a brand name that has people working in the organization which are the brain of the corporation. A corporation doesn’t feel, doesn’t think and doesn’t take decisions by itself. The ones in charge of all this are human beings and that is why a corporation shouldn’t be seen as a person. The weird thing is that they are seen and have the same rights as persons but they don’t receive the same punishments as humans when they commit a crime or do something against human race. It is sad to see that when a corporation is accused of committing a crime the ones that go to jail are the employees in charge. “Why shouldn't anybody or any corporation be responsible completely for any damage that they cause? Isn't that the catchword from the 'conservatives' - personal responsibility? Isn't a corporation seen as a person in the eyes of the law? Aren't all persons seen as equal in America? If somebody took an oil truck and pumped 10,000 gallons of oil into BP's building would they do anything? Would the person be responsible? Would they throw the person in jail?”3 Also it is not fair that if corporations have the same right as people why they receive support when they have an economical crisis and why people don’t.

REFERENCES

1. U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864 (letter to Col. William F. Elkins) Ref: “The Lincoln Encyclopedia”, Archer H. Shaw (Macmillan, 1950, NY)
2. http://archive.wri.org/publication.cfm?id=2664&z=?
3. http://bigthink.com/ideas/20575
• http://www.globalissues.org/issue/50/corporations
• The Corporation, a documentary made by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=FA50FBC214A6CE87
• http://www.rau.ro/websites/e-society/lucrari/mariana%20preda%201.pdf
• http://www.globalissues.org/article/55/corporations-and-the-environment

IMAGES TAKEN FROM

- http://www.exonblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/online-marketing-graph2.jpg
- http://www.greencitizens.net/news/archive.php?c_name=World&month=March%2010

MERGING ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES

As we know, mergers and acquisitions are strategic solutions used in order to improve the position that a company wants to have in the market. They can also be seen as a source of knowledge and learning. But there are also difficult decisions that have to be taken and when they are not managed on a proper way many issues can emerge. Such issues can affect the stability and the future of the organization. It is very important for a company that is having a merging or acquisition to have present the creation of values inside the company because without them there will not be a north or goal in order to achieve. The values can’t be created until capabilities are transferred. There is a concept or term that can describe what happens with mergers and acquisitions and the situation during the process of integration, the term is acculturation. The definition proposed in the document for acculturation is "the changes resulting from the interaction of one organizational culture with another, or the ways in which two groups adapt to each other resolve emergent conflict ". It is common for an organization that is going through the process of integration to have problems and conflicts during the process. It is hard for everyone inside the organization to adapt to all those instant changes.

In the text they explain the way in how two companies can merge on an effective way. It is possible to join two companies together and they can become one. A new organization is created and because of being new it also brings new ideas, objectives, a new cultural organization and a new environment. All of these are new facts that have to be taught to employees and it is very important to guide them through the process. The integration process is really important because this is where everyone has to start to adapt t the new ideas, projects, objectives, people, etc. this is the process where the two companies connect or join together as whole. It is important for the companies to create integration teams that work actively during the whole process. The executives play a really important role during integration because they have to show employees security and give example of commitment with the organization and the new transition. They are seen as guides for everyone in the company and they help to manage uncertainty, help others to understand the new goals and the reasons why merging will bring benefits to everyone. That is why the acculturation process is really important in order to have a successful integration.

QUESTIONS

Based on the required reading for this module, list and explain - using evidence from the cases presented in the reading - the main challenges and opportunities arising in processes of mergers and acquisitions from an organizational culture perspective. Include at least 3 challenges and 3 opportunities.

In the cases presented in the text assigned for this topic, one can see several opportunities and challenges, which I'll go looking for cases.

• Case 1: Integrating Deutsche Bank (DB) and Bankers Trust (BT)

In this integrating case three main challenges are clearly seen. The first and most important one is the conversion of a German bank in a global organization, in other words the integration process. The integration and the Bankers Trust helped the Deutsche Bank to have a wider and globally-orientated business. The Deutsche Bank has to start innovating in many aspects and guide its employees during the process.

The second challenge that can be seen is the internal conflict with the employees that think they are losing their identity. The company has to guide and support their employees during the process in order for them to not loose trust and confidence with the organization. The integration brought a new name and it was The Deutsche Bank - Alex Brown Investment Bank. They have to create an environment in which every employee feels comfortable and secure in the new organization. Employees need to feel love for the new brand and adapt to the new organization.

The last and third challenge was to defeat and understand what the Bankers Trust employees thought of the Deutsche Bank. They had the idea that the DB was a company with a strong and rigid bureaucracy that had problems when taking decisions. The leaders of this new organization had a great idea because they used this challenge in order to create new objectives for employees and the objectives where to improve the company having in mind all of those bad opinions.

The DB gained many good things with this integration. This bank gained a good reputation worldwide because of the integration with the oldest bank in U.S. because of the use of the good image of this institution.



• Case 2: Integrating British Petroleum (BP) and Amoco into a single organization.

In this case there is a clear and really hard challenge for any organization that is passing through a process of integration. In this case two companies are becoming one and when this happens the idea is to create one and only organizational culture. The hard thing is to unify different cultures into just one corporate culture. These two companies in order to unify and have a successful integration they had to have several meetings with all workers and managers in order to show and explain the new philosophy to everyone and guide employees with the socialization process with the other co-workers.

• Case 3: Volvo and Ford

For companies like Ford and Volvo having advanced technology is really important. Sometimes these companies get stuck in ideas and innovation and they have to try to search for partners that can help them keep growing, be better and offer new products with new features. Edge technology is one of the tools that make a big difference in an automotive brand. Volvo and Ford realized that each company was the best partner or allied in order to be bigger, better, to progress and endure through time. The integration process between these two companies required team work between engineers, managers, plant workers, etc. The idea was to learn from each other, share ideas and knowledge. With this integration process many challenges arise but the most difficult one was the challenge between the two different organizational cultures. The Volvo culture was team work oriented and decentralized and the Ford culture was hierarchical and structured. These companies had to create new cars and models in order to endure in the market and become competitive in the world market.

REFERENCES

• Alzira Salama, Wayne Holland, Gerald Vinten, (2003) "Challenges and Opportunities in Mergers and Acquisitions: Three International Case Studies – Deutsche Bank-Bankers Trust; British Petroleum-Amoco; Ford-Volvo", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 27 Iss: 6, pp.313 – 321.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mergers_and_acquisitions
• http://www.bakerb.com/alexsaenger/Marketing/eMergerCS.pdf
• http://money.cnn.com/1999/01/27/deals/ford/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex._Brown_%26_Sons

IMAGES TAKEN FROM

- http://dscedu.wordpress.com/
- http://www.pacificadventure.org/main/services/employment-engagement

MANAGING CHANGE AND CONFLICT

Organizational change is defined as “Companies that are undergoing or that have undergone a transformation.”1 In order to keep on track with the world’s constant change and evolution, companies have to be competitive and adapt to all the changes that come with the market and they have to evolve at the same pace. Organizations nowadays are seen as a dynamic entity because of the constant changes they have to deal with in order to adapt, improve or evolve in a world full of changes.

There are different types of changes but the most common are the changes that the organizations have already planned and the ones that are imposed by the organizations that are mostly known as regulations. Significant organizational change occurs when an organization changes its overall strategy for success, adds or removes a major section or practice or wants to change the way they operate. Change may also occur when an organization evolves through various life cycles because each cycle comes with new things and in order to develop they must undergo significant changes at various points of the life cycle.

There are different reasons that take an organization to transform in different aspects. There are external forces such as globalization, technology, diversity, market change, etc. There are also internal forces influenced by the organizational culture which involves workers and their expectations in the organization. Individuals inside the company are also in constant change and sometimes the leader fails and a new one comes but all of these forces are the ones that make a company more flexible to evolution. Another internal force can also be the financial situation of the organization and their desire to grow and improve. Companies have to face competitive environments each and every day which takes the organization, workers and products to improve. That is why managers continually make efforts to accomplish successful and significant changes in the organization. Some managers are very good at this effort but others continually struggle and fail. That is why leaders have to be well prepared in order to be able to face, lead and handle change.

In order for an organization to have a successful change leaders or managers must have the best communication with the whole organization. It is really important to involve each and every person inside the company and ask their opinion about wht they would change in the company in order to improve. It is also important that when a change is going to take place in a company, everyone knows about it and they must be well informed because it would be easier for people to understand and adapt to the new ideas and changes. Support and motivation are key factors that leaders have to implement in order to succeed in the change. Participation in organizational change is a useful tool which demonstrates commitment with the organization.



QUESTIONS

1. Ubuntu at the workplace

• It’s Ubuntu present at the workplace, it there a link between this philosophy and organizational culture?

Ubuntu “is a traditional African philosophy that offers us an understanding of ourselves in relation with the world”2. According to this there is a common bond between every person and it is through the interaction with other human beings that we discover our own human qualities. In other words: “a person is a person through other persons”3. Ubuntu is part of the African culture and because of that it is also part of the organizations that involve people that believe in this philosophy. It is seen as philosophy and as a way of living. This philosophy is linked with the organizational culture because it helps internal integration and allows people to know how to interact and treat others in the organization. Ubuntu philosophy can be seen in many ways inside the South African organizations. Some of them are: the way they communicate, the language, managing time, decisions making, the importance of age, ideas and beliefs.

“A person with Ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm, generous, and willing to share”4. People with all of these characteristics are open and available to others, willing to help, affirming of others, they don’t feel threatened by others capabilities, they are committed and have always present in their lives that they belong to a whole group. All of these are great characteristics in order for a company or organization to succeed because the organizational culture will always be in harmony and that is really important in order for a company to keep growing and functioning. Ubuntu philosophy provides stories, symbols and structures of power inside the organization. They have a firm respect for elders because they are the ones with knowledge and wisdom which are the ones that teach and guide the organizations.

• Please select and explain 3 aspects of organizational life that evidence the presence of Ubuntu at the workplace.

1. An organizational aspect that shows the presence of Ubutnu philosophy is the way in which individuals relate within the organization and with others. Employees see their partners or co-workers as brothers and sisters, like a family that has to work together in order to grow and evolve. Their relationship are calid and respectful because they treat each other with respect in order to learn from everyone. They treat themselves between them as family members. In other words, the organization is seen as a home which involves a family that has to be united and supportive.

2. The way an organization manages time is another aspect of the Ubuntu philosophy. In other cultures time is fragmented and has a price but in this philosophy time is seen as a whole which can be used to have a progress in the community and because of that community progress everyone will also have a live improvement. They don’t have money as a priority, their community is their priority. Everyone has to be and feel good.

3. The decision making process is another aspect present in organizational philosophy. For them the collective welfare is the most important thing in the organization. They seek for profitability but as mentioned above they don’t have money as a priority. Their major priority is that everyone within the organization feels good and comfortable. When taking a decision everyone is involved and the most important thing is that it always seeks a favorable result for the community.

2. African Bank Miners Credit – Case study

This case study illustrates the main difficulties faced in a process of merging two companies and the role played by culture. It is very important that in this section, you try to build relevant links between the 2 readings and your research about change theory.

• Please identify and explain 3 strategies used by the acquiring company in order to facilitate the change process through the use of Ubuntu.

As I mentioned above, some changes in the organization are planned and other have to be done on the way. The African Bank Miners Credit is a great example of those changes that a company has to undertake. When the bank bought a controlling stake in the National Union of Mineworker's (NUM's) everything started to change. Even though the bank did this as a strategic movement and change all of this created a bigger and continuous change in the organization.

As we already know, Ubuntu “is a traditional African philosophy that offers us an understanding of ourselves in relation with the world”5 The African Bank decided to use this philosophy in order to adapt to all the changes when they decided to join together. Ubuntu is a way to help to adapt and explain the change to the individual's in the organization.

There are some strategies used by the company relying on the Ubuntu philosophy. One of the strategies was to use a kind of booklet where every person in the organization contribute with ideas and comments in order to help the company to improve. This booklet was taken from the Ubuntu philosophy because they use a booklet where everyone can express their ideas and feelings towards something they like or dislike. In that booklet they tell stories which help others in their evolution. This is a good idea to implement in the company because workers are free to express themselves and their feelings which can help managers understand the way they think and have better ideas to manage change.

In the Ubuntu philosophy they have the drum as a symbol of communication. The African Bank decided to have the presence of the drum inside the organization because of the importance it has a communication symbol. This shows how this philosophy and the organization can be linked and how having a good communication with workers and co-workers can help in order to have a successful change.

Another important strategy used by the organization in order to grow was the Ubuntu concept of working as a family. Ubuntu says that what is good for everyone is also good for the individual and that is why every person is seen as a brother or sister. This strategy was implemented by the Bank in order to grow and succeed because if all workers have the idea of the company as a family that has to work together in order to grow. If they family grows every individual will also grow.


REFERENCES

1. http://ccs.mit.edu/21c/iokey.html
2. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-22-2006-103206.asp
3. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-22-2006-103206.asp
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(philosophy)
5. http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-22-2006-103206.asp

IMAGES TAKEN FROM

- http://careerchoicecoach.com/managing-change/
- http://www.mennoniteusa.org/Home/Leaders/Equipping/Augustpastors/tabid/1529/Default.aspx

East Asia

Convergence, Divergence, The Japanese and Korean Management Style



The Japanese management style has changed due to the new international market aspects. Before they focused in industries and products that had not been affected by the international economy and areas and their goods that were at a disadvantage in the beginning, for example, cotton and wool. The new nature of the firm in Japan is much more like a community. Property firms are treated as the property of the shareholders but in entity firms, there is some sense of being like a school, university, or public institution which continues through time and has a reputation of its own. There are three pillars of Japanese industrial relations system: lifetime employment, the seniority wage and promotion system, and enterprise‐based unions.

Japanese management beliefs that with the participation of workers and middle management the organization starts building group loyalty. Decisions are taken in group because it is important for everyone to make part of the organization. Remember that they see the firm as a community in which everyone can give ideas. They also belief in harmony and it has to be really positive. They have a fast, flexible manufacturing process and product development. Suppliers, manufacturers and distributors are really important for them and they are seen as a business partner because they will give the company good information.

The "Zaibatsu" is “a powerful family-controlled commercial combine of Japan, a Japanese conglomerate or cartel.”1 Groups of companies that have been passed from generation to generation. These companies are from families that have been accumulating power. They are close to political parties and have grown due to governmental support. They control a great part of Japan economy not only with their companies but with the banks because they own them.


Korea was a Japanese colony form 1910 up until 1945 this is why they have an evident influence from Japan. Because of Japan’s economical growth and development they became Korea’s development model. They decided to have a governmental intervention in order to face the new international market with credits and export growth benefits. This helped firms to grow fast and diversify in a better way. But gaps between large and small firms widened even more.

Korea also has a group of companies that have a clear influence in the economy. They are also from family origins that have been keeping power for decades. These groups also have a name and are known as the "Chaebol". The Chaebol is a “Korean term for a conglomerate of many companies clustered around one parent company. The companies usually hold shares in each other and are often run by one family.”2They differ from the Japanese group of companies; they don’t own banks because banks were nationalized and they have strong ties with the government and use its financing. Korea had a financial crisis in 1999 due to all the loans the companies had made and they couldn’t pay on time.

In order to explain the convergence and divergence terms we can use these two countries mentioned above. There are some countries that decide to converge into a model found in a developed country due to international pressure. Countries have to adapt to the new market rules and conditions so that is why countries are pressured to adapt their management styles to a much more developed one. But they also have domestic pressure in order to retain culturally determines forms of management. That is why they have adapted their management style to much more developed ones but without losing their identity. This is really clear in the influence that Korea received from Japan. Japan was seen as an economic development model by Korea but they didn’t adapt all of Japans management style, they just adapt their management style to the Japanese style.


Questions

1. List the main similarities and differences of Japanese and Korean management styles.

The similarities of Japanese and Korean management styles are the way they work for the organization in order to grow even more and to become much more internationalized. Improvement and growth are their main objectives for the organization. The organization as a whole is what matters for them. For both cultures having a good relationship with the employees is really important and also counting with their opinions. Decisions are taken in group and the company is seen as a community. They have a good and straight relationship with their suppliers, manufacturers and distributors and see them as trading partners with important information.

The differences between Japan and Korea are pretty clear. These two cultures diverge in their hierarchical orientation and in the economic environment. Korean government tried to tie up with business corporations in order to have a successful economy. They help companies with credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a strong labor effort. The government promotes the import of raw materials, technology, and encouraged savings and investment. Korea recognizes the technology as an important tool to develop economies of scale. They compete in electronic products, machinery and equipment, automobiles, steel, shipbuilding, and clothing. Japan has a strong relationship between government and industries which work together and influence in one another. Japan is the second most technologically powerful economy in the world and third largest economy country. Japan emphasizes more on flexible manufacturing in order to have a rapid adaptation to market changes. They have been concentrated on automobile, semiconductors, office machinery, and chemicals.

2. Explain the phenomenon of convergence in terms of management styles. What are the forces or factors pushing for convergence?

As I mentioned above, convergence towards different management styles is really common when countries and companies develop. When an organization starts to grow and develop it has to start adding new ideas and considering new managerial ways. International pressure is one of the most important factors that take organizations into a managerial convergence. These companies have to make part of the international market place in order to keep growing so they start to adapt new concepts to their production systems and employees. In other words, organizations change or adapt their culture and environment in order for them to make part of the international market. They also have to converge because the international culture is in constant transformation so they have to adapt to new demands which sometimes cannot be satisfied if organizations are not aware of these. They have to adapt or converge to new production ways and norms. Also be aware of which management styles are more effective and can be helpful in the organization. Convergence in organizations is completely necessary in order to be competitive.


References

1. http://www.answers.com/topic/zaibatsu
2. http://www.investorwords.com/820/chaebol.html
- http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/mgmt_kaizen_main.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_management_culture
- http://www.applet-magic.com/zaibatsusp.htm
- http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaibatsu
- http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Zaibatsu
- http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/South-Korea-Management-Style.html
- http://www.applet-magic.com/chaebolsp.htm

Images Taken From:

- http://www.csudh.edu/global_options/375students-sp96/Japan/gifs/2.jpg

- http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/2269764/2/istockphoto_2269764-south-korea-flag-icon.jpg

Communication + Virtual Teams

Communication

Communication is defines as "any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person information about that person's needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge, or affective states. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or unconventional signals, may take linguistic or nonlinguistic forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes."1 It is a learned skill or process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior. For humans the interpersonal communication is an important process because it’s the base for relationships. There are some important and necessary elements involved during this process: the communicator, the receiver, the perceptual screens, and the message. But there are also some issues and barriers that humans have to overcome like the noise, distance, age, gender, encode and decode, language barriers, and the feedback. All of these have an important role in the way individuals communicate and interpret. Communication is the key to social support.

For organizations, communication plays a really important role at the moment in which managers have to express rules, goals, ideas and opinions to employees. It is what links managers and workers to share information and vice versa. Leaders have to maintain an effective communication with everyone inside the organization. Clarity, a specific objective (purpose of the message), a full understanding, consistency, completeness, feedback and time are some principles in order to have an effective communication. There are different types of managers in each organization and each one uses singular approaches. There are five different ways managers exercise their role:

1. The expressive speaker:This type of managers openly express thoughts, opinions, ideas and feelings which help employees know where they stand.

2. The emphatic listeners: These types of leaders are really patient and are willing to listen. They worry about others but don’t take responsibility for their actions.

3. The persuasive leaders: These leaders encourage others to achieve goals instead of given orders.

4. Sensitive to feelings leaders: This leader is sensible to feelings and self image. Tries to take critical perspectives and provide negative feedback in a constructive way. Works to improve employee self-esteem.

5. Informative managers: These managers are willing to maintain open communication with employees. They avoid information overload.



Virtual Teams

Virtual teams are defined as: “known as a Geographically Dispersed Team (GDT) – is a group of individuals who work across time, space, and organizational boundaries with links strengthened by webs of communication technology. They have complementary skills and are committed to a common purpose, have interdependent performance goals, and share an approach to work for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Geographically dispersed teams allow organizations to hire and retain the best people regardless of location.”2 Virtual teams have some specific characteristics which are: geographically dispersed over different time zones, driven by a common purpose, enabled by communication technologies, involved in cross-boundary collaboration, not permanent, small team size, knowledge workers and members may belong to different companies.

There are different types of virtual teams which vary in the number of people and the degree of interaction. There are four types:

1. Teleworkers: “Allows employees to work at home or at a local telework center one or more days per week using communication tools, such as such as phone, fax, modem, Internet teleconferencing, e-mail or IM, to perform work duties from a remote location.”3

2. Virtual teams: “Are teams of people who primarily interact electronically and who may meet face-to-face occasionally.”4 They have common goals and are visible in the organization structure.

3. Virtual communities: Are larger entities with common purposes, roles and norms. “Virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals.”5 People participate and interact via internet.

4. Virtual groups: Are a combination of a number of teleworkers that have no common goals or objectives with independent tasks and activities. These groups are flexible, save time and money. They require strong coordination, good communication and advanced technology.

Questions

1. Communication is a process that allows organizations to send/receive messages within their own boundaries but also to interact with outside entities (customers, suppliers, the media, etc.). Messages are send/received not only through oral and written statements, there are many channels and ways that need to be considered when discussing effective organizational communication. In that sense, the use of sounds has become increasingly important.

Based on the article “If Intercontinental were a sound…what would it be?” Please discuss the implications (potential advantages, disadvantages, challenges, etc.) of using sounds to send strategic messages. You need to integrate the use of key concepts relating to the topic of communication to support your answer.

I think that communication by sounds can make things much more difficult and confusing. For some people understanding certain words, languages and concepts can be hard. For organizations having a good communication with their employees can be hard if leaders don’t use simple language and basic ideas. Imagine if sometimes people don’t understand what their boss is trying to say even though they speak the same language, how it would be if they communicate by sounds. An organization to communicate all of its components by sounds will not only be hard but it will also leave important information aside and maybe it won’t be clear.

Clarity, a specific objective (purpose of the message), a full understanding, consistency, completeness are some of the principles for an effective communication which are not completely satisfied when a message is given through a melody. This type of messages are unclear and confusing, and don’t send a clear purpose. They don’t give a general image of the organization and the message is not consistent because they can be subjective.

“There are many aspects to verbal communication and social interaction with others. To communicate well on a verbal level a person must be able to: hear well, translate thoughts into words with fluency, speak well, feel confident in themselves and desire to make contact. Any difficulties in one of these areas will restrict the exchanges needed for an easy conversation.”6 If we analyze this we can conclude that verbal communication can be affected easily and it is kind of complicated. Communication by sounds could be easier because people don’t have to speak, don’t have to learn language rules but they have to hear well.


References

1. http://www.unm.edu/~devalenz/handouts/defcomm.html

2. http://managementhelp.org/grp_skll/virtual/defntion.pdf

3. http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/T/teleworking.html

4. http://www.seanet.com/~daveg/vrteams.htm

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_community

6. http://www.soundtherapy.com.au/information_sheets/communication.pdf

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpersonal_communication

Images Taken From:

- http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_185/1189978433pU44RK.jpg

- http://pmtips.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/virtual_team1.jpg

Motivation

Motivation

“The definition of motivation is to give reason, incentive, enthusiasm, or interest that causes a specific action or certain behavior. Motivation is present in every life function”.1 It’s a set of forces that make people act in certain ways and behave according to the event.

There are many theories that explain what motivates humans and what takes them to behave in certain ways. According to these theories behavior can be predicted and influenced through motivation. The teacher introduced some of the most important and known theories which are: Maslow's hierarchy of needs, McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y, Herzberg's two-factor theory, Alderfer's ERG theory and McClelland's need theory

The Maslow’s hierarchy of needs or theory of motivation assumes that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs. There are certain lower factors that need to be satisfied before higher needs can be satisfied. “According to Maslow, there are general types of needs (physiological needs, safety needs, belonging and love needs, self-esteem needs and self actualization) that must be satisfied before a person can act unselfishly”.2 In other words, individuals are motivated if their needs are met. Maslow’s pyramid is really popular and explains on a simple way his theory.


Douglas McGregor in his book “The Human Side of Enterprise” proposed two theories in order to understand employee’s motivation. The McGregor theory describes two different attitudes toward workforce motivation which he named Theory X and Theory Y. Companies follow either one of the theories. Theory X shows that the average human being dislikes work and will avoid it if he can. Workers described by this theory have no ambition, wants no responsibility, they prefer to follow than lead, are self-centered, don’t care about organizational goals and resists change. Theory X assumes that people work only for money and security. The Theory Y shows that management assumes employees may be ambitious and self-motivated, that employees enjoy their mental and physical work duties. Workers have the ability for problem solving, but most of the time their talent is underused in most organizations. This theory believes that the satisfaction of doing a good job is a strong motivation. Employees under Theory Y can be seen as people that show that work can be as natural as play and rest, self-directed to meet their work objectives if they are committed to them, committed to their objectives if rewards are in place that addresses higher needs such as self-fulfillment and they will seek responsibility. Both theories give recommendations of how managers should deal with workers. The Theory X recommends that money and security are the main motivators for workers. Theory Y recommends having a good relationship and communication with workers and also converting the organizations goals into individual needs and goals.

Herzberg made a lot of research and studies in order to determine which factors caused satisfaction or dissatisfaction on people working in an organization. He discovered that people are influenced by two factors which he called motivation factors and hygiene factors. Motivation factors are needed to ensure that the employee doesn’t become dissatisfied. This can be achieved by giving them challenging work, recognition, responsibility and other challenges that give positive satisfaction, achievement, or personal growth. Hygiene factors are needed in order to motivate an employee to higher and better performance. Such factors are: salary, status, security, working conditions, quality of supervision, interpersonal relations and company policies and administration among others.

The Alderfer's ERG theory is based on the Maslow’s theory. It has much in common with it but differs in some important aspects. He classifies needs into three categories and ordered them hierarchically as Maslow did. He talks about the growth needs (development of competence and realization of potential), relatedness needs (satisfactory relations with others) and existence needs (physical well-being). Alderfer believed that as people start satisfying higher needs, they become more intense or even become an addiction. The main difference between Alderfer’s theory and Maslow’s theory is that the needs can be met at the same time, so various levels of needs can cause motivation simultaneously.


The McClelland's need theory explains that the individual specific needs are achieved over time and shaped by life experiences. He said that individuals have three needs; the need of achievement, the need of power, and the affiliation need. People are motivated by achievement and that is why they look for challenging goals, moving up in the organization, progress and accomplishment. Human beings are also motivated by power which produces a need to be influential, effective and to make an impact. They want to be a leader and their ideas to prevail; this can generate an increasing personal status and prestige. Affiliation is also really important because people has a need for friendly relationships and is motivated towards interaction with other people; this can lead to be popular among a group and creates a need to be liked among others.

Questions

1. What are the Hawthorne Studies? Explain its importance for studying motivation at the workplace and its influence over diverse motivation theories. (Include key findings and limitations)

The Hawthorne Plant of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois was the place selected in order to carry out the research project about how individual behaviors may be altered because they know they are being studied. This research was lead by Elton Mayo, F.J. Roethlisberger and William J. Dickson between 1927 and 1932. They started to examine the influence that the environment had over workers and production. First they measured if the lighting of the workplace increased employee productivity and they realized that it actually worked. Then they moved into the psychological aspects like breaks, group pressure, working hours, managerial leadership. All of these changes tend to improve production because workers were pleased to receive attention from the researchers who expressed an interest in them.

“Four general conclusions were drawn from the Hawthorne studies:

o The aptitudes of individuals are imperfect predictors of job performance. Although they give some indication of the physical and mental potential of the individual, the amount produced is strongly influenced by social factors.

o Informal organization affects productivity. The Hawthorne researchers discovered a group life among the workers. The studies also showed that the relations that supervisors develop with workers tend to influence the manner in which the workers carry out directives.

o Work-group norms affect productivity. The Hawthorne researchers were not the first to recognize that work groups tend to arrive at norms of what is "a fair day's work," however, they provided the best systematic description and interpretation of this phenomenon.

o The workplace is a social system. The Hawthorne researchers came to view the workplace as a social system made up of interdependent parts.”3

This study demonstrated how working conditions influence the behavior and performance of individuals. There are factors that motivate employees but like the McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y says, not all workers are motivated by the same things. It is really important for managers to understand and differentiate the kind of workers the organization has.

The Herzberg's two-factor theory can also be related to the Hawthorne studies because it shows that there are other factors that involve the employee to work and do a good performance but not with satisfaction. In this study they discovered that improving lighting, giving workers time to rest, water, comfort, less humidity are all better working conditions that can make workers feel better but deep inside those are not strong motivators. For workers when they receive challenging work, recognition, responsibility and other challenges that give positive satisfaction, achievement, or personal growth are much more important motivators.

Managers play an important role in any organization. They have to analyze and study the organizational environment and the people that make part of it. When employees realize that they are being observed they can feel important because they feel that they are part of the organization. Sometimes workers can also become depressed or feel uncomfortable because they feel they are being observed because they are doing something wrong. A positive result depends on the way managers manage things and people. If the leader observes workers in a good and friendly way they will feel comfortable. Also a good communication creates a positive environment.

2. Based on the class activity about "Flight 001: Motivating Employees", please answer the following question: ¿Which motivation theory do you think has the most relevance for understanding the behavior of Griffin and fostering her motivation at work?

I think that the McGregor's Theory Y has the most relevance for understanding the behavior of Griffin and fostering her motivation at work. This theory shows that employees may be ambitious and self-motivated, that they enjoy their mental and physical work duties. They have the ability for problem solving and the satisfaction of doing a good job is a strong motivation.

In the Flight 001: Motivating Employees is really clear that Amanda Shank is a good example of a person that has been fulfilled the basic or lower order needs. After her basic needs are completely fulfilled she wants to move on and start with the higher order needs. Amanda Shank starts to look for a further responsibility in the organization and knows that she is completely capable of having a better performance and help with the achievement of organizational goals. She has the ability of problem solving and going further on with her tasks. All of these are good reasons for why he enjoys working in Flight 001.


References

1. http://ezinearticles.com/?Definition-of-Motivation&id=1567108
2. http://www.envisionsoftware.com/articles/Maslows_Needs_Hierarchy.html
3. http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/history/hawthorne.html
- http://www.accel-team.com/human_relations/hrels_03_mcgregor.html
- http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/mcgregor/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_X_and_theory_Y
- http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_herzberg_two_factor_theory.html
- http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/herzberg/
- http://www.envisionsoftware.com/articles/ERG_Theory.html
- http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_alderfer_erg_theory.html
- http://www.businessballs.com/davidmcclelland.htm
- http://www.netmba.com/mgmt/ob/motivation/mcclelland/

Images taken from:

-http://informationrain.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/400px-maslows_hierarchy_of_needssvg.png

-http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://dept.sfcollege.edu/crc/musselman/cwp/erg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://lukasz-janczak.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html&h=183&w=285&sz=7&tbnid=yiCvFwcbK4dIqM:&tbnh=74&tbnw=115&prev=/images%3Fq%3DAlderfer%2527s%2BERG&zoom=1&usg=__dVpnXnsSfuecM5uIZkGG5hSemw8=&sa=X&ei=Q9huTK-dO4OBlAe54tyMDg&ved=0CDEQ9QEwBQ

Personality, Perception and Attribution + Attitudes and Values

Personality, Perception and Attribution

Perception, personality and attribution are characteristics that have a really big and direct influence in the organizational behavior.



“Personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make a person unique. “In addition to this, personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life.”1 Each and every person has their own personality. People have a dynamic and organized set of characteristics which influences motivations, behaviors and cognitions in different situations. This is what makes each person unique. Some people can be extroverted and others introverted. The extroverted ones are the ones oriented towards the external, objective world; have a better interaction with others and are open mind towards certain things. The introverted people are the ones oriented towards the inner, subjective world; their interaction with others is limited and sometimes can have problems when they have to express their feelings toward something or someone.

“Perception is the process by which organisms interpret and organize sensation to produce a meaningful experience of the world… perception in humans describes the process whereby sensory stimulation is translated into organized experience.”2 This is a really basic but simple definition given by Peter Lindsay and Donald A. Norman in the book Human Information Processing: An Introduction to Psychology.


Perception is the way in which each individual see, feel, and understand the world in a particular way. Perception is always changing because it is linked to past experiences. If a person has a bad experience about something maybe the perception will be negative because of the bad experience, or if someone has a good experience about something the perception will probably be positive. You can see that perception is reflected on the way people act and behave in different places and with different people. Perception may also vary depending on others experiences because generally people talk about their past experiences and they can influence others perspectives about things. Perception can be easily persuaded by situations, events, other people and the environment. Sometimes people even have a distorted perception about things and misplace reality.

There is a theory for attribution and it was developed by Fritz Heider, Harold Kelley, Edward E. Jones, and Lee Ross. “The attribution theory explores how individuals "attribute" causes to events and behavior.”3 There are two categories that explain behavior. The internal attribution is related with personal factors (personality, ability and motivation) and the external attribution is associated to the environment and its factors (organizational rules, luck and natural environment).

Attitudes and values

Attitude is defined as “Predisposition or a tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certain idea, object, person, or situation.”4 The attitude can influence a person’s choice of action, and responses to challenges, incentives, and rewards. There are four major components of attitude, they are: Affective (emotions or feelings), Cognitive (belief or opinions held consciously), Conative (inclination for action) and Evaluative (positive or negative response to stimuli). Our attitudes are reflected in our actions and reactions which most of them are formed because individuals are not born with certain attitudes. People adapt certain attitudes after past experiences that have had positive or negative impacts on them. Human beings are constantly evaluating their every day experiences and start behaving according to what they learn about them. Eventual situations and persuasion may change a person’s behavior towards something. Attitude is something really important when someone is developing a job because it can affect the result and the workers commitment with the organization.



Values are the set of ideas and beliefs of a group or a society. They are defined as “Important and enduring beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good or desirable and what is not. Values exert major influence on the behavior of an individual and serve as broad guidelines in all situations.”5 Values can vary in each culture, group or sub-culture. Generally they contain rules and beliefs of what is right or wrong. This can also be seen inside organizations because they have their own set of values and people that make part of the enterprise have to act according to those ideas and beliefs established in the organization.

Questions

1. Please explain, using your own words, the concept of Pygmalion Effect.

What are the potential implications, uses, or challenges that this effect may pose for organizations engaging into international operations that require the understanding of diverse cultural contexts? Can you use this concept to explain the relationship between national and organizational cultures?

The Pygmalion Effect talks about the way in which what people expect can interfere in the result of things. Your expectations of people and their expectations of themselves are the key factors in how well people perform at work. The Pygmalion effect was described by J. Sterling Livingston in the September/October, 1988 Harvard Business Review. "The way managers treat their subordinates is subtly influenced by what they expect of them," Livingston said in his article, Pygmalion in Management. What he was trying to say is that when managers have high expectations on their workers they will treat them better and have preferences for them. This high expectation will have as a result a good performance of the worker and an excellent final result. But on the other hand, when managers have low and poor expectations about someone this bad energy will be transmitted in the way he treats the person and this will interfere in the final result, which will be a bad one.

We can see that in the international environment many organizations are becoming much more competitive and want to be the market leaders to any cost. Being successful companies has become their main goal. The ones in charge of the organizations are the ones that have the responsibility to make the organization a successful and profitable company. Managers are the ones that have to be responsible for the organizational environment, be aware of what workers like or dislike, team work results and make action plans in order to improve the fallacies that the organization has.

It is important to trust and belief in the people that make part of the organization because this will help maintain and achieve a positive environment. “People tend to live up to what's expected of them and they tend to do better when treated as if they are capable of success”6. It is common that people try to adapt their behavior and performance to the expectation that other’s have of them. People in an organization like to be trusted and they feel important when significant works are assigned to them. That is why when they feel that the manager trusts them and belief they can do the best, they will normally do the best and have an excellent performance in their work in order to not disappoint the boss. People in an organization can notice if they are trusted or not by their boss because it can be analyzed in the way he or she treats them. Trust can be seen as a motivational tool in order to improve the workers performance in the organization and their jobs.

It is evident that an organization in an international context will have different cultures that will eventually meet. Each organization has its own cultural environment so that is why the national culture won’t have a big impact in the organizational environment. When a person is new in a company, he adapts its behavior according to what he observes in the organization, even though his national cultural behavior is different. The organizational culture relies on the people that make part of it so cultural differences will not affect the environment in the organization but it depends on what employees think that their superiors expect from them. As we all know organizations are in constant changes and this takes workers to adapt to different circumstances that can be hard or easy to them. But a good manager that can handle a clear and fluid communication with workers will help them adapt easily to any change. The key to a successful change is to belief in them, motivate them, listen and talk to them, encourage work and have high expectations on workers as the Pygmalion effect describes.

References

1. http://psychology.about.com/od/overviewofpersonality/a/persondef.htm
2. http://www.sapdesignguild.org/resources/optical_illusions/intro_definition.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attribution_theory
4. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/attitude.html
5. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/values.html
6. http://www.envisionsoftware.com/articles/Pygmalion_Effect.html
- http://humanresources.about.com/od/managementtips/a/mgmtsecret.htm
- http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/hawth.html#pyg
- Peter Lindsay & Donald A. Norman: Human Information Processing: An Introduction to Psychology, 1977.
- Takao Inamori, Farhad Analoui, "Beyond Pygmalion effect: the role of managerial perception", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 29 Iss: 4, pp.306 – 321

Images Taken From:

- http://www.biziki.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/masks.jpg

- http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/psychology/images/stories/images/perception.gif

- http://www.resumecafe.net/page3/files/core_values2.jpg