What would you do in this situation

* Employee's or the community's satisfaction about the decision that may lead to protests or strikes against the organization.

Question 6.

What do your answers tell you about your own values, cognitive style, attitude towards change and interpersonal style?

Own Value

* I value the business or the business profit more than people

Cognitive Style

* An Intuitive style of gathering information;

* Thinking strategy of information evaluation.

Attitude toward change

* Locus of control

The interpersonal styles;

* Need for inclusion;

* Need for openness.

Question 2 Essay

Evelyn's company that been battered by competition from New Zealand firms shows one of the common problems faced by managers in the everyday life of most businesses. The problem facing Evelyn is basically about overcoming the quality gap of her company's product that may creates competitive advantages against her competitors. However, this problem is becoming more complex when she found that the only way to lower costs and to improve the quality is to close one of the older plants, put off the employees and increase production in the newer plants. The community close to the plant depended on the plant for employment and she has also invested a great deal of money for highway repairs and street-light construction around the plant. It is a form of a decision dilemma that shows the way how managers can communicate effectively with their employees. This aroused the importance of self-awareness that should be valued by managers before making decisions. However, it truly does not only face Evelyn but also managers especially for large corporations that are striving to override their competitors and for making profits.

Such a situation is a very important business situation to be considered since it could result in the business success, or otherwise, failure if wrong decisions are made. However, one best choice that very important to consider is to close down the old plant and to act according to what had been planned i.e. putting off employees and increasing production in the newer plants. For doing that, employees should be informed about every details of the problem in the way that will make them understand the problem and accept the decision.

Closing the old plant is appropriate in this situation due basically to competition. The fact that the workforce is being made up of old people shows clearly one of the main factors that result in the failure of the business to compete with New Zealand firms. This is because old people are not as productive as younger people and are more inflexible to changes that might occur within the business environment for example, technological changes.

Due to the rapidly changing in technology, older people are most likely incapable to work with new technologies. Because of that, the old plant will most unlikely be able to facilitate the new technology equipment, adequately.

In addition, as the person who will be accountable to all this, it is my own responsibility as a manager to see that the company comes first. Therefore, my decisions will be in coordination with everything that is seen in the big picture that is for the company and the majority of the business workforce to survive and keep their jobs. It really a decision made in the best of confidence.

Because of the above decisions, the principles or basic values for decision making used were basically includes Instrumental values of respect, contemplation, confidence and a terminal value of confidence.

Instrumental values simply prescribe standards of conducts or methods for attaining an end. (James C, Graham A, and Humphrey A, 2005: pg 117) Therefore, for this instrumental value, respecting and allowing my own decision with confidence is important since it should be done or implemented for the organization's improvement. Terminal value then prescribes desirable ends or goals for the individual (James C, Graham A, and Humphrey A, 2005: pg 118). The terminal value of confidence is what valued the most since it is my own responsibility as a manager and therefore have to be confidence for it (the decision).

However, in order to be certain about my choice, there is more information needed to take into consideration before implementing the decision. These include the output of the old plants, the possibility in efficiently implementing the new technology equipment in the old plants, the size of the whole firm, and also taking the option of one plant is the necessary evil in the choice of two evils. This is in the sense of either loosing one plant or loosing the whole in the long term.

It is important to make sure that the output of the old plants falls or does not falls under sets target and thus contribute toward the business's failure. If the new technology equipment is also assumed not effectively implemented because employees are not capable to run the machine effectively, that should also support the view of dissolving the plants. Not only that, but if the size of the firm is also large compared to the necessary contribution needed from employees, the old plant is the right decision to be cancelled.

However, if necessary, the decision will be changed and this can simply due to several circumstances that are significantly can change the decision made for the old business. These depend on factors like natural disasters and other situations like employee's acceptance to the decision, and also other departmental managers' views about the decision.

It is important to change the decision if there is a natural disaster especially the serious disaster that may lead to the downfall or the destruction of the main branch. Such disasters may include floods, earthquake, or other destructive natural disasters like tsunami. These are rarely happen but once they happen, they are the factors that will be very influential, and will allow the canceling of the first decision and the creation of new decisions that are appropriate but also effective like changing the structure of the old plant to conform to nowadays organizational structures, and so on.

However, what is more important is about the implementation of the decision. This is because, if other departmental managers or even an employee doesn't accept the decision, such decisions will most unlikely effective and will show no other choices but to change it to other alternatives. This situation will be more serious if employees or other high ranking people in the organization or even the community raised question about or protest, demanding the change to this decision.

Above all, the decision made for the closing of the business for increasing production shows clearly that my own value as a manager is valuing the business more than people or employees. In other words, it is more important for me to get the business still running by getting profits no matter what other people in the organization might feel or think about the consequences of that decision.

An intuitive style of gathering information was also prominent while making that decision. This is because of the fact that I don't allow employees' participation or allow more alternative to be created, which shows that I jump to conclusions frequently, and patient with complicated situations. A thinking strategy for evaluating information was also used since the decision mostly relies on data which in this case, shows that the business is no longer competitive. This shows characteristics of unemotional and uninterested in people's feelings and that may hurt people's feelings without knowing it (Mayer, J.D. and Salovey, P, 1997: 20).

In addition, the attitude toward change according to what my decision shows lies on a scale as a locus of control rather than as on a scale for tolerance of ambiguity. This is because; the decision been made was based on the belief that it is my own responsibility as a manager and that will accountable for all the outcomes. That shows that controlling of my own destinies is very crucial for me and therefore should be confident for my own decision (Mayer, J.D. and Salovey, P, 1997: 21).

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The decision also shows that my interpersonal styles need to be improved. For this, employees should be allowed in the decision making, and their ideas should be included on whether they want to close or to keep the business running. Openness to every members of the business is also very significant in seeking help concerning the problem. (James C, Graham A, and Humphrey A, 2005: pg 136).

Consequently, to conclude the essay, it quite clear that such a form of decision dilemma facing Evelyn was really a hard one to implement. It really shows the importance of self-awareness among managers and their employees. As mentioned by Phillip Massinger in The Bondman "He that would govern others must first master himself" - it shows that self awareness is very important in helping individuals to develop understandings of the differences in others. Due to the fast changing business environment that always faced by mangers, pleasing everyone in the organization is becoming an issue for the success of the business. Therefore, every decisions made shall be agreed to by all employees, and that all possible alternatives are also considered. Since the plant should be closed so that it could be able to catch up with competition with other firms, employees should be told first, so that they may understand and agree to the proposed decision. Certain values, cognitive styles, attitude toward change and interpersonal styles displayed in the essay are important forms of decision characteristics that important for every manager to consider when facing with any forms of decision dilemmas throughout their careers, in order to please their employees and their organization as a whole.

Bibliography

James C, Graham A, and Humphrey A, Developing Management Skill, Pearson Education Australia, A division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd, 2005.

Mayer, J.D. and Salovey, P, 1997 What is emotional intelligence? In Salovey, P. and Sluyter, D.J. (Eds), Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence. New York, NY: Basic Books.

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