You are considering which leadership theories and models will help you succeed even further?

 Introduction

Assume that you have just been promoted to a new position where you have leadership responsibility. You have never had formal leadership responsibilities before, and you wish to maximize the possibility that you will be successful with this new responsibility. Thus, you are considering which leadership theories and models will help you succeed even further. How do you make the final decision? Recall the rational decision-making process, you should identify your subject first. For example, you wish to maximize the possibility that you will be successful with this new responsibility and it also fits with your style. Why it also should be fit with your style? Because it will influence your self-confidence in doing it. For example, with a contingency style of leadership, it would not fit with someone who believes that all subordinates should be treated identically. Now, we have two basic factors, fit with your own personal style and maximize your performance. The next step will be to research and brainstorm possible solutions for your problem. In this case, the possible solutions are the major leadership theories and models that we have learned. Therefore, the major challenge is to develop a pro and con list involving at least three of these theories or models and examine how the theory fits with your own personal style. 

Fits Leadership Theories and Models with My Personal Style

To find a solution, I have to develop a pro and con list involving some of these theories and models. The theories and models I list here are those I am more likely to consider adopting. Transactional leadership such as active management and passive management are not in my consideration because leaving employees to do their jobs without interference, proactively predicting potential problems, and preventing them from occurring, is not my style. That is likely to lead to many unpredictable issues and even big troubles, thus more stress will be pushed on me and my subordinates. Passive management is the same. I cannot leave employees alone and wait until something goes wrong before coming to the rescue because sometimes it will be too late to rescue them. Contingent rewards are probably the ones which relatively acceptable for me. Rewarding employees for their accomplishments is a positive stimulus for better performance. However, it is also can be a dark one when you can provide the same rewards anymore during a crisis such as the COVID-19.

Among The Theories and Models

Therefore, here I will discuss Fiedler’s Contingency Theory, Path-Goal Theory of Leadership, Vroom and Yetton’s Normative Decision Model, Transformational Leadership, and whether they are fit with my personal style. First, I conducted a Least Preferred Coworker scale (LPC) survey and found out I tend to combine my personal liking of a person from my ability to work with that person. However, it is not absolute. I think I can separate business generally, and personal life and work with those people when I am their leader.

Fiedler’s Contingency Theory

According to Fiedler’s theory, different people can be effective in different situations. Placing the right people in the right situation or changing the situation to suit an individual is important to increase a leader’s effectiveness. The theory predicts that in favorable and unfavorable situations, a low LPC leader would be successful. When situational favorableness is medium, a high LPC leader is more likely to succeed. Three conditions are creating situational favorableness: leader-subordinate relations, position power, and task structure. If the leader has a good relationship with subordinates and the task at hand is structured, the situation is favorable. In contrast, low-quality relations with subordinates and the task is relatively unstructured, it is unfavorable. 

Pros

i. Leader-subordinate relations, position power, and task structure are also three crucial parts of evaluating leadership.

ii. The journey of finding low or high LPC leadership is also a trip to better know yourself and understand what styles work better with you.

Cons

i. The relationship is not always at its stable status. Not to mention how to measure and define what is good or what is a bad relationship. 

ii. To predict where are we such as in favorable and unfavorable situations, is a complicated task and time-consuming.

Path-Goal Theory of Leadership

Robert House’s path-goal theory of leadership is based on the expectancy theory of motivation. The expectancy theory of motivation suggests that employees are motivated when they believe their effort will lead to high performance and to be valuably rewarded. So, the leader’s major task is to make sure that happens. In addition, the theory identifies four leadership styles, Directive, Supportive, Participative, and Achievement-oriented. Each of these styles can be effective, depending on the characteristics of employees and characteristics of the work environment. 

Pros

i. The theory makes specific predictions about what type of leader behavior will be effective under which circumstances.

ii. With a supportive style, treating employees well, is a way to build loyalty and also a relatively fair working environment.

iii. With participative style, making sure that employees are involved in the making of important decisions, is similar to providing a stage for excellent actors. It will be more effective when employees have high levels of ability.

iv. Achievement-oriented style challenges employees and focuses their attention on work-related goals. This style is likely to be effective when employees have both high levels of ability and high levels of achievement motivation.

Cons

i. Directive style provides specific directions to the employees by clarifying role expectations, setting schedules, and making sure that employees know what to do. However, the same messages do not get the same results from different people.

ii. House’s path-goal theory underlines the importance of varying one’s style depending on the situation. However, if I misunderstand the situation, I will apply the incorrect style.

Vroom and Yetton’s Normative Decision Model

The Vroom-Yetton model is designed to help leaders to identify the best decision-making approach and leadership style to take, based on each specific situation. Therefore, no single decision-making process fits every scenario. The leader is suggested to make the decision alone using available information, obtains additional information from group members before making the decision alone, shares the problem with group members but makes the final decision alone, shares information about the problem with group members collectively and acts as a facilitator, or just lets the team make the decision. 

Pros

i. Although the model is somewhat complicated, research results support the validity of the model. 

ii. It provides a citation list for adopting a leadership style, rather than looking for a needle in a haystack. 

Cons

i. Vroom and Yetton’s normative model is somewhat complicated.

ii. There are always some chances to be incorrect in each step when trying to find a solution. So, identifying the right scenario you are in is also a tricky task.

Transformational Leadership

Transformational leaders lead employees by aligning employee goals with the leader’s goals. Thus, employees start focusing on the company’s well-being rather than on what is best for them as individual employees. 

Pros 

i. More research has been conducted on this theory than all the contingency theories combined. So, it is a supported model.

ii. Transformational leaders lead employees by aligning employee goals with the leader’s goals. Thus, employees start focusing on the company’s well-being rather than on what is best for them as individual employees. 

iii. Trustworthy. When leaders demonstrate transformational leadership behaviors, followers are more likely to trust the leader. 

Cons

i. It can be hard to always be a charismatic leader, even though it is possible to train people to increase their charisma and increase their transformational leadership.

ii. Charisma is only one element of transformational leadership, and leaders can be effective without charisma.

Conclusion

In doing business or leading and managing a team, I tend to find a win-win strategy for each of the members. Therefore, I tend to align subordinate goals with my goals. It looks like the transformational leadership is relatively suitable for me. Moreover, it is also more research has been conducted and supported theory than all the contingency theories combined. 

References

Fiedler's contingency theory of leadershipif(typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-GPT-ad-expertprogrammanagement_com-box-3-0')}; Expert Program Management. (2019, April 30). Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2018/11/fiedler-contingency-theory/ 

the Mind Tools Content Team By the Mind Tools Content Team, Team, the M. T. C., wrote, M., & wrote, A. (n.d.). The vroom-yetton decision model: Deciding how to decide. Decision Making From MindTools.com. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_91.htm 

Think of A Leader You Admire

 Think of A Leader You Admire

In today's business world, there are so many excellent leaders I truly admire. They led their company to even better performance. However, I will discuss this topic with a popular virtual character from a series of movies, Captain America. People who watched and love his movies will know that he can be a great leader. 

A Brief Story about Captain America

Captain America came from a 2011 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character. Produced by Marvel Studios. According to the story, during World War II, Steve Rogers, a frail man, is transformed into the super-soldier Captain America and must stop the Red Skull from using the Tesseract as an energy source for world domination. Before he becomes Captain America, Steve Rogers is small and nearsighted and is deemed unfit for military service in World War II. But his heart leads him to a top-secret experiment that turns him into the hunky super-soldier we all know. In New York City, Steve Rogers is rejected for World War II military recruitment due to his various health and physical problems. Coincidentally, Dr. Abraham Erskine(a scientist who created the original Super Soldier Serum) overhears Rogers' conversation with Barnes about representing his country in the war. Dr. Erskine admired Rogers's personal traits to be a great leader. Then, Rogers was recruited into the Strategic Scientific Reserve as part of a super-soldier experiment. Although the generals were unconvinced by Erskine's claims that Rogers is the right person for the procedure, start to relents after seeing Rogers jump on a grenade to save his comrades. After Rogers emerges from the experiment taller and more muscular, he became a super-soldier.

What Traits Related To A Great Leader Does Steve Rogers Have? 

So, what makes Captain America a great leader? The first one is Bravery, a key characteristic in military leaders. Rogers jumped on a grenade to save his comrades, even though it was so dangerous. Secondly, Rogers, as a great leader, doesn't rely on their titles to command others. He uses his personal power and abilities to lead. Thirdly, Rogers values diversity and is able to balance world-sized egos and powerhouse monsters, finding the value in each of his teammates regardless of their background, powers, or personality. In Captain America: Civil War, Rogers refuses to give up on his childhood friend and eventually is able to bring him onto his own team. Moreover, Rogers has incredible integrity and conviction. He wants to fight the Nazis and refuses to stop trying to join the military. He focused on what he believed is justice and leads not only with words but also with action. Rogers always be the first into the fray and always the last to retreat from the battlefield. In many movies, Captain America acts on several occasions as a role model and puts the needs of the other soldiers above his own. 

So, let's summarize the traits he has that are consistent with what we learned as an effective leader. 

i. He created a shared vision of the future and then inspired other heroes to help achieve that vision. Coincidentally, it matches the definition of leadership, the act of influencing others to work toward a goal. 

ii. He was an informal leader who led people without a formal position of authority but demonstrate leadership by influencing others through personal forms of power.

iii. He does not rely on the use of force to influence people. Instead, other heroes willingly adopt his goal as their own goal. 

iv. He is conscientious, organized, takes initiative, and demonstrates persistence in his endeavors.

v. He has an openness to experience, demonstrates originality, creativity, and is open to trying new things.

vi. Self-Esteem. Leaders with high self-esteem support their subordinates more and, when punishment is administered, they punish more effectively. In Captain America: Civil War, Rogers refuses to give up on his childhood friend and eventually is able to bring him onto his own team. His action shows greater levels of self-confidence and this affects their image in the eyes of his followers. 

vii. He has integrity. He is effective as a great leader who tends to have a moral compass and demonstrate honesty and integrity. 

However, there are some traits related to a great leader he does not have.

i. EQ. Rogers seems to be very emotional sometimes. His ability to control his own emotions and understand other people’s emotions and their internal motivation is somewhat weaker I think.

ii. He is not an extrovert. He is an energetic person, assertive, and demonstrates self-confidence, but is not sociable. He is probably described as a quiet leader, not totally an extrovert one.

Reference

Wise, S. (2018, April 30). Why captain america is the leadership role model you didn't know you needed. Inc.com. Retrieved March 11, 2022, from https://www.inc.com/sean-wise/why-captain-america-is-leadership-role-model-you-didnt-know-you-needed.html 

Escalation of Commitment, Groupthink, Consensus Rule, and Personal Opinion on Nominal Group Technique (NGT)

 During this week's study, I found that if I connect the Escalation of Commitment with a common mistake that poor decision-makers identify their issue incorrectly when trying to use the rational decision-making model, it will be a tragedy. For example, they FEEL they need a car and then jump into step two to consider which one they should buy. However, they probably do not even need a car at all in the first place. Oftentimes, there is a fine line between rational decisions and escalation of commitment. I am an investor myself, most of my investments are in the US stock market. I recognize that some bad decisions I made in the past few years are downplaying negative information or warnings that might cause me to reconsider my investments. The truth is many IPO stocks are usually bad investments in their early five years. However, I overestimated them and did not pull the plug when I should.

Groupthink

Groupthink is also a common cue that leads to a dead end. Many employees feel they are stuck in a decision-making group and heading in the wrong direction but didn’t stand out for themselves. Moreover, they even try to make it reasonable while taking extreme risks. For example, when Russian leaders decided to invade Ukraine in 2022, an unquestioned belief in the group’s inherent morality occurs, which may incline the soldiers to ignore the ethical or moral consequences of their actions. Those decision-makers probably stereotyped views of other countries are seen when their countries discount rivals’ abilities to make effective responses. Many people are also under direct pressure that was exerted who express strong arguments against any of the country’s stereotypes or commitments.

Personal Opinion on Nominal Group Technique (NGT)

As we know that the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is a technique designed to help with group decision-making by ensuring that all members participate fully. However, I think it takes too much time to process. Moreover, many ideas cannot be explained by just writing them down. Even they could, the ability to clarify these ideas are vary. The solution to the same math question may be explained differently by different teachers. 

Majority Rule

With majority rule, each member of the group is given a single vote and the option receiving the greatest number of votes is selected. However, I reckon that the greatest number of the members does not always make correct decisions and those who did not vote in favor of the decision will be less likely to support it since they are forced to do the things they dislike.

Consensus Rule

Another decision-making rule that I found some bugs in is the Consensus rule. It is built for goals to get fully supported. So, the first bug is time-consuming when it may make sense when support is needed to enact the plan. It is absolutely suitable for big projects but not for daily operation routines. Secondly, it needs many repeated steps until consensus is reached. Therefore, although this decision-making rule is inclusive, participatory, cooperative, democratic, and helps members feel greater satisfaction with decisions, it takes longer with this approach. Moreover, if consensus cannot be reached, then it is sort of time-wasting, and time means money in the business world.

Reference

Roch, S. G. (2007). Why convene rater teams: An investigation of the benefits of anticipated discussion, consensus, and rater motivation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 104, 14–29.

The nominal group technique (NGT) as a tool for ... (n.d.). Retrieved March 9, 2022, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1609406919866049 

The Rational Model of Decision-making

People love the rewards of being rich but want to skip the process of getting there. When people talk about decision-making, most people only focus on what is the best result? Or, how do we get the best result? However, people usually do not pay much attention to their processes to get there. Appropriate decision-making is the veracious route to attain your goals. So, what is a good decision-maker and what is a poor one? Making good decisions consistently involves choosing options that have the best chances of leading to favorable outcomes. Instead of just relying on your intuition, applying a rational decision-making model can be more effective. 

So, what is the rational model of decision-making? It is a rational model of decision-making that uses logical steps to select the best possible solution. In short, it means that before you decide to do a great thing, you should analyze multiple alternatives and use credible data or facts to choose among options. Rational decision-making is a precise process when you have time to research solutions and discuss the possible outcomes with your partners. It aims to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs of decisions by being objective.

Now, let's talk about each step of the rational decision-making.

Step 1. 

The first step is to identify the problem. This is a tricky one because once you set the wrong topic or you actually don't know what exactly your problem is, you will fail and trap yourself in the darkness that doesn't even exist. For example, suppose that you want to purchase your first house. And, you identify your first step is to where should I live? Or, what kind of house should I purchase? However, the correct topic is to identify whether you actually need to buy a house or not. 

Step 2.

When you actually need to buy a house, the next step is to understand which factors are important to you. How many members will live with you? Where do you want to live? Which location is suitable? How's the climate? Crediable constructors? You probably only have a certain amount of money saved, and you don’t want to take on too much debt, so price range is an important factor as well. 

 

Step 3.

Now, you have listed many factors you care about. The next step is to figure out which factor is much more important for you than others. If each factor is equally important, then there is no need to weigh them. For example, if you truly care about the weather over how big your house should be, the rank of the weather is higher than a big house at the location which is frequently in bad weather. It is similar to writing down a to-do list with a priority order.

Step 4.

In the step 4, which is also the tricky one, requires you to generate ALL alternatives about your options. But, how do you know you have listed all the possible options? Moreover, it is also time-consuming. Therefore, ensure you do have much time for this process. 

Step 5.

Now, you have many options on your hands and you have to evaluate each alternative against the criteria you have established. You are now considering each house's pros and cons.

Step 6.

Okay, it is time to make the choice and pick up the best alternative. 

Step 7.

Then, you implement the decision. You go out and sign the contract to own it.

Step 8.

After you have owned it, you are now evaluating the outcome of your previous decision. Why? Because it will influence the next decision you made. You probably think that it is the final choice you made on purchasing a house. But, who knows? Many people own two or more houses during their lifetime. 

Conclusion

Overall, I think one of the key differences between a rational decision and a regular one is that although there are still many feelings involved in a rational decision, it still takes time to consider more options rather than just impulse buying and purely relying on emotion. Poor decision-makers often make decisions while they are getting emotional. Another common problem that occurs frequently on poor decision-makers is they often identify the topic incorrectly. For example, they FEEL they need a car and then jump into the step two to consider which one they should buy. However, they probably do not even need a car at all in the first place. Good decision-makers must identify their issues correctly. 

Reference

Chi, C. (2018, July 18). Rational decision making: The 7-step process for making logical decisions. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved March 4, 2022, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/rational-decision-making 

Good leadership skills combined with knowledge of group development will help any group perform at its peak level

 During this week's learning journey, I have learned many useful topics about teams, groups, and some leadership skills. Good leadership skills combined with knowledge of group development will help any group perform at its peak level. Instead of just punishing employees when they are lazy, I think there are many ways we can create a win-win strategy to achieve higher goals without sacrificing anyone or anything. As a leader, we are not just hiring a team to help us achieve our goals. We also connect our goals to each member's goals.

Moreover, many issues that can plague groups can also hinder the efficacy of a team. Problems such as social loafing can be avoided by providing clear definitions for roles, expectancy, measurement, and rewards. Suppose that a four-member team is assigned to decode a separating sixteen-figure password, each member is allocated four numbers to decode. The team will get $1,000,000 in cash if they decode it. Each member has to work hard on the task they are allocated to do, to help the team complete the mission. In this case, each task is clearly defined. The expectancy, the measurement, and the rewards are all been put on the plates. Task independence also provides the team with the incentive to work harder since each member knows they must accomplish their own tasks. 

In the case of PointCast, its founder rejected many acquisition offers and walked away from the bargaining table. Such missed opportunities happened frequently in the history of the business world. That reminds me of one successful acquisition, Google bought YouTube for stock that is valued at $1.65 billion. By successfully negotiating the deal, Google has ascertained that it is the Internet’s dominant company and an IT giant. Under the terms of the deal, YouTube will retain much of its identity and will keep its name. This acquisition of YouTube will enable Google to thrive in one area of the Internet where it has failed to gain footing, the online video traffic. Moreover, it was an excellent strategy and opportunity for both of them because the deal will benefit YouTube by having Google’s vast resources to help it navigate some tough issues and developing new software to prevent copyright infringement. 

In addition, another significant knowledge point that I found during this week, is that keeping conflicts centered around ideas rather than individual differences is important in avoiding a conflict escalation. I think many people usually take it personally and then fight each other to prove they are right. However, it is not helpful. Sometimes, we have to resolve a conflict first to solve the actual issue. Moreover, conflicts are not always as bad as we think they are. Why? Because conflicts are often where the new ideas take place or while discussing something new. Just like appropriate stress keeps us growing, healthy conflicts also help a team to perform better.

Reference

Sources: Arnoldy. B. (2008, November 19). Why Yahoo’s Jerry Yang stepped down. Retrieved January 20, 2009, from the Christian Science Monitor Web site: http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1119/p02s01-usec.html; Auletta, K. (1998, November 19). The last sure thing. New Yorker; Lipin, S. (1996, August 22). In many merger deals, ego and pride play big roles in which way talks go. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition, p. C1; Wired News Report. (1999, May 11). PointCast fire sale. Wired. Retrieved November 14, 2008, from http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/1999/05/19618.

Sorkin, A. R., & Peters, J. W. (2006, October 9). Google to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion. The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/09/business/09cnd-deal.html 

What Is Tuckman’s Model of Group Development?

 What Is Tuckman’s Model of Group Development

An American organizational psychologist Bruce Tuckman presented a robust model in 1965, the four-stage map of group evolution, which is the forming, storming, norming, and performing model. After that, Tuckman replenishes the model by adding a fifth stage, the adjourning phase.

In the forming stage, the members come together for the first time and the reasons why they come together are a mixture. Group members are full of uncertainty. They are not sure what is going to happen next. Therefore, they tend to be polite, conflict-avoidant, and observant. In this stage, these members probably work together only for a common goal or for the same reason. I think some of the members tend to know each other and understand who they are working with while some of them tend to do jobs they are allocated to do. If this happens, it may result in many subgroups within the group. It will lower its performance and effectiveness of communication.

Once group members are adequately included, the next stage is the storming phase. During this phase, the members change their behaviors from guard up to relatively authentic and argumentative. They probably begin to explore their power and influence. Therefore, the differences in their background, culture, and value, are starting to mess up and causing disputes about how tasks should be done and who is assigned to them. The leadership here is also important since members may question and resist orders from the managers.

Next, move on to the norming stage, group members usually feel less stressed at this point, and they are much more committed to each other and the group’s goal. Moreover, they feel more confident since they already know how to handle the tough stuff that did not familiar with before. During this period of time, the order can be temporary if managers think their mission has competed and become lazy. When the rule is clear enough, more decisions are made by the team since they are able to take more responsibility. However, it does not absolutely come with openness and respect. Therefore, the leader should become more of a facilitator by stepping back and letting the group assume more responsibility for its goal at this point. A team-building event might be helpful but be sure to respect different cultures.

After we can even our own strategy of playing a game, the group is now ready to play with greater equipment. At the performing stage, participants are not only getting the work done, but they also pay greater attention to how they are doing it. From how to do it, to how to do better, the members now trying to operate procedures best support productivity and quality assurance. However, the leaders still have to stand as their coach to help the team grow even more. Tip, provide the incentives to stimulus creative ways to do their jobs better.

Eventually, we are now at the adjourning stage. Just like a life train, someone has to get off and someone has to get on. Many groups or teams formed in a business context are project-oriented and therefore are temporary in nature. Group leaders and members must be sensitive to handling these endings respectfully and compassionately. 

Reference

Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63, 384–399.

What Is Tuckman’s Model of Group Development

 What Is Tuckman’s Model of Group Development

An American organizational psychologist Bruce Tuckman presented a robust model in 1965, the four-stage map of group evolution, which is the forming, storming, norming, and performing model. After that, Tuckman replenishes the model by adding a fifth stage, the adjourning phase.

In the forming stage, the members come together for the first time and the reasons why they come together are a mixture. Group members are full of uncertainty. They are not sure what is going to happen next. Therefore, they tend to be polite, conflict-avoidant, and observant. In this stage, these members probably work together only for a common goal or for the same reason. I think some of the members tend to know each other and understand who they are working with while some of them tend to do jobs they are allocated to do. If this happens, it may result in many subgroups within the group. It will lower its performance and effectiveness of communication.

Once group members are adequately included, the next stage is the storming phase. During this phase, the members change their behaviors from guard up to relatively authentic and argumentative. They probably begin to explore their power and influence. Therefore, the differences in their background, culture, and value, are starting to mess up and causing disputes about how tasks should be done and who is assigned to them. The leadership here is also important since members may question and resist orders from the managers.

Next, move on to the norming stage, group members usually feel less stressed at this point, and they are much more committed to each other and the group’s goal. Moreover, they feel more confident since they already know how to handle the tough stuff that did not familiar with before. During this period of time, the order can be temporary if managers think their mission has competed and become lazy. When the rule is clear enough, more decisions are made by the team since they are able to take more responsibility. However, it does not absolutely come with openness and respect. Therefore, the leader should become more of a facilitator by stepping back and letting the group assume more responsibility for its goal at this point. A team-building event might be helpful but be sure to respect different cultures.

After we can even our own strategy of playing a game, the group is now ready to play with greater equipment. At the performing stage, participants are not only getting the work done, but they also pay greater attention to how they are doing it. From how to do it, to how to do better, the members now trying to operate procedures best support productivity and quality assurance. However, the leaders still have to stand as their coach to help the team grow even more. Tip, provide the incentives to stimulus creative ways to do their jobs better.

Eventually, we are now at the adjourning stage. Just like a life train, someone has to get off and someone has to get on. Many groups or teams formed in a business context are project-oriented and therefore are temporary in nature. Group leaders and members must be sensitive to handling these endings respectfully and compassionately. 

The Students in The Course To Be A Group

I believe that as we are reaching the midpoint of the term, we are in the performing stage. We understand the roles and are much more committed to each other and the group’s goal. We know how to handle tough assignments that did not familiar with before. Moreover, we are now trying to do our assignments and quizzes better.

Reference

Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63, 384–399.

Who Is Responsible for Dealing with Employee Stress? Is It The Employee or The Organization?

 Who Is Responsible for Dealing with Employee Stress? Is It The Employee or The Organization?

Modern workers feel stressed out on the job, and the stress is taking a toll on their sleep, health, relationships, productivity, and sense of well-being. Work-related stress is a growing problem around the world that affects not only the health and well-being of employees but also the productivity of organizations. It arises where work demands of various types and combinations exceed the person’s capacity and capability to cope. I think instead of discussing who is responsible for it, we should think it as a win-win strategy or opportunity. 

If a company you are working for is the union of you and other employees of it, the company will be bigger when each of its employees is also bigger. Therefore, rather than thinking about who is responsible for this, how to benefit each other is a more appropriate topic we should consider. Suppose that all employees believe that their employers are responsible for dealing with employee stress, it becomes an excuse for blaming someone else. The employees will become weaker when they find someone to release the stress that is actually caused by themselves. However, if all the stress must be dealt with all by the employees themselves, they are like a candle that burns at both ends. Consequently, they are more likely to quit their jobs, less willing to perform better, and lower their ability to be creative and innovative.  

Dealing with The Stress

Work-related stress can be caused by various events such as the demands of their job is greater than they can comfortably manage, conflict with coworkers or bosses, constant change, or potential redundancy. However, before you can cure any stress, you have to examine what causes it. Sometimes, identifying the question is harder than fixing it. Most of the time, organizations are doing things like increasing their immune system to fight all the potential threats. For instance, raising their paychecks, promotion, award, or other benefits are trying to ensure their employees are still by their side. But, it must be flexible to deal with unknown threats. It is good to be strong, and it is also important to be careful and in great status.

For An Individual to Deal with Their Own Stress

i. Exercise

Obviously, exercising regularly is one of the best ways to relax your body and mind, and also improve your mood. It's not a miss direction method. Rather, it is a scientific method. Research shows that exercise increases your overall health, and some of the benefits are quite direct. For instance, physical activity helps bump up the production of your brain's feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins, and also provides stress relief for your body while imitating the effects of stress.

ii. Keep Learning New Skills

The more you learn, the greater opportunity you will get. Therefore, you will have better chips on the table to win the game and also have the courage to leave the environment that you do not fit in.

iii. Keep A Positive Attitude and Accept That There Are Events That You Cannot Control

You cannot control what's the weather like, but you can control how you react to it. Sometimes rainy days are pretty inconvenient, but it is necessary for us to have water flow into our reservoirs. In a desert, water is more precious than gold.

iv. Grow Good Hobbies

The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success are understanding how habits work. Particularly, the keystone habits. Keystone habits are where positive change begins. They are habits that produce something of a ripple effect in which one little positive change has the potential to produce other positive changes in all different parts of someone's routine. For example, if you mind your diet and exercise regularly, you are less likely to smoke or do anything bad to your health.

For An Organization to Lower The Stress of Their Employees

Due to the pandemic of coronavirus, people are worried about job losses, getting sick, and feeling isolated while working remotely. Work has always been stressful for some, but since the Covid-19 pandemic changed many of the work environments and processes that people were used to, it's become stressful for most. Despite the increase in stress, work must go on. There are some effective ways for companies to help their employees to manage stress, no matter where they are or how they're working.

i. Humanize The Workplace With Empathy

Managers can help just by being human and humanizing the workplace by infusing empathy, compassion, and prioritizing mental health.

ii. Provide Tools And Platforms To Alleviate Tasks

Provide tools or platforms that alleviate simple, mundane tasks. In addition, invest in their upward growth. It will pay back in dividends.

iii. Provide Mental Wellness Programs

Interpersonal communications with a lot of empathy coupled with some mental wellness programs like meditation sessions or spend some time across casual chats with employees and bond at deeper levels to make them feel cared for.

Reference

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2020, August 18). Exercise and stress: Get moving to manage stress. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/exercise-and-stress/art-20044469 

Work-related stress. Work-related stress - Better Health Channel. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/work-related-stress 

Theories of Motivation and Job Design, Stock Options versus Profit Sharing

 During week four of the BUS 4402, job design and motivation are two major tops of what surprised me. In the past, many business owners in Taiwan focused on hiring good people and punishing them when they are lazy. However, we can not treat our employees this way like they are animals anymore. These theories of motivation and job design are aimed to increase performance by designing and creating a proper culture and environment. However, it is not as easy as we think. Sometimes identifying the problem is the hardest part, even much more difficult than solving it. For example, when an employee quits a job, identifying why he/she quit the job is harder than fixing the issue that makes he/she quit. If we know exactly where the bug is in the motivation system, we may have the opportunity to fix it. Unknow is a huge barrier that causes many problems within a company and skipping the chance to solve them.

Another useful topic of this week's study is that the effectiveness of methods such as job design, goal setting, performance appraisals, and the use of incentives is culturally determined which means if a business is very successful in one country does not mean it will also be so successful in another country when adopting the same strategy. We can live on earth does not mean we can also live on other planets. It is always a good idea to understand a new environment before you visit. Moreover, a big challenge will occur when designing a motivating work environment, ethics. Oftentimes, we design a reward or award system is intended to get higher performance in the future and maintain the exertion. However, it evolves into bad habits within a company and causes a company to go bankrupt. For instance, energy giant Enron went bankrupt due to its reckless use of derivatives and special purpose entities. By hedging its risks with special purpose entities which it owned, Enron retained the risks associated with the transactions. This arrangement had Enron implementing hedges with itself.

Stock Options versus Profit Sharing

I think many people feel confused about the differences between stock options programs and profit-sharing programs. They are not the same, even though they both involve sharing the profit in some way. Profit sharing programs involve sharing a percentage of company profits with all employees. A stock option program, on the other hand, gives an employee the right, but not the obligation, to purchase company stocks at a predetermined price. Both of the two programs have their inherent pros and cons. For example, profit sharing programs may not be very effective since employees will have their own limited roles in influencing the overall company profitability. Similarly, the purpose of stock options is to align company and employee interests by making employees owners. However, options are not very useful for this purpose, because employees tend to sell the stock instead of holding onto it, even though they may receive dividends each year.

Reference

Segal, T. (2022, February 8). Enron scandal: The fall of a wall street darling. Investopedia. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://www.investopedia.com/updates/enron-scandal-summary/ 

How would you rate yourself on the Big Five personality dimensions?

 Personality psychologists are interested in what differentiates one person from another and why we behave the way that we do. Personality research relies on quantifiable concrete data which can be used to examine what people are like. These five dimensions were derived by asking thousands of people hundreds of questions and then analyzing the data with a statistical procedure known as factor analysis. Now, the Big Five is widely accepted as the model of personality(The Big Five Project - Personality Test).

How would you rate yourself on the Big Five personality dimensions? 

According to the scores I got on The Big Five Project - Personality Test, I am relatively open to new experiences(percentile:72%), very well-organized and can be relied on(percentile:92%), and tend to be good-natured, sympathetic, forgiving, and courteous(percentile:66%). However, I am a generally anxious person that tends to worry about things and is neither particularly social nor reserved(percentile:50%).

Is your personality profile suitable for a managerial position? If you answer yes, describe why your personality profile makes you suited to a managerial position. 

Overall, I reckon the answer is relatively close to YES, depending on what kind of position, team, or industry I am in. I am open to new experiences means I am able to accept come out with new ideas quickly. When a physical store I am operating, is affected by negative events such as COVID-19, I will make new solutions to solve such an issue quickly, switch sales onto platforms such as DoorDash or Uber. The well-organized character also helps me to implement new strategies with higher efficiency. However, I am a generally anxious person that tends to worry about things. Therefore, I must transfer the power of fear and anxiety to the fuel of execution. I think "What you fear is what you create." To conquer fear, I must understand what I fear and prepare for it. In addition, I am neither particularly social nor reserved. So, I can learn to be a quiet leader or a vibrant leader. Quiet Leadership provides a brain-based approach that will help busy leaders, executives, and managers improve their own and their colleagues' performance. 

Reference

The Big Five Project - Personality Test. (n.d.). Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/