OB - Personal Reflection paper

University Degree Business and Administrative studies

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As my experience in graduate school at Ohio University turns the corner and heads for home, I find myself near the doorstep of my future. I will receive my master’s degree in Telecommunication Management with the plan to manage in the field, then pursue a doctorate in communications, and later instruct at the university level--but first things first. My initial desire is to go into the field. My choices, whether be radio, television, cable, or multimedia, grow as fast as the technology in this digital age we live in. To be a successful manager— and this is increasing in the telecommunications field—a proper understanding of how peoples’ attitudes and actions shape their behavior within the organization is a necessity. The following paper will highlight core aspects of organizational behavior, how they connect within the context of organizational behavior—touching on key matters—and how the information from the assessments might apply in my development toward a future career. Additionally, the paper will reflect and highlight the results of the Self-Assessment and how they connect with my experiences in daily life.

The paper will follow the order of the assessments in relation to the chapters they pertain to. All quotations from Essentials of Organizational Behavior by Stephen P. Robbins, 7th edition, 2003, will be indicated throughout this paper unless otherwise noted.

Many themes involve themselves with organizational behavior. In the context of this course, my view of the central issues encompasses several aspects. Diversity, improving quality and productivity, empowering people, decision making, teamwork and communication are just a small sample of these themes.

Increasingly, the workplace contains employees from many ethnicities and cultures. Workforce diversity “encompasses women, African Americans, Hispanic

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Americans, and Asian American. It also includes the physically disabled, gays and lesbians and the elderly” (p. 7-8). This aspect is highly important in the globalization of today’s industries in the digital age. This is especially the case when considering how technology is crossing boarders and in some cases eliminating them.

Improving quality and productivity will always be a core concern from the managerial perspective. The text notes quality management as involvements with an intense focus on the customer, concern for continual improvement, improvement in the quality of everything the organization does, accurate measurement, and the empowerment of employees. With these aspects in mind, the goal is to maintain a high level of quality which will lead to sound productivity. The outcome of this notion will possibly lead to economies of scale, where productivity increases and reaches a point where production becomes cost effective. More items produced leads to the spread of costs across it. An example of this relating to the communications sector is as follows. Say it costs $25,000 dollars to print a newspaper. If the producer sold just one copy or 25,000 copies the cost would still be $25,000 dollars (Picard, 2002, 54). The idea is to print as many copies and sell them for a price where the production becomes cost effective and possibly generate a profit.

Empowerment is another key theme. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, empowerment is a component of quality management and productivity, but how does a manager empower the employees? Several schools of thought emerge in this area; however, I feel the two most important factors are goals and the decision making process. First, employees need to be motivated. The range includes external and internal factors and everything from monetary considerations to promotional opportunities to self-

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achievement factors. In order to be motivated, goals need to be set. Goals should be specific, measurable, time specific, challenging, realistic and acceptable. This echoes some of the concepts in chapter four. Accomplishing goals will lead to a sense of empowerment because employees feel their contributions affect the organization.

Second, empowerment may include participation in the decision making process. The many theories and ranges of thought build upon this concept, but the underlying point is that participation leads to involvement and involvement leads to commitment. In an organizational setting, the commitment is to the company. Thus, if an employee is part of the decision making process they feel they have value. This value leads to a sense of power, because their participation in the decision making process is of value to them thus giving them a sense of empowerment. It is important to note that Robbins states the terms participation and involvement are not interchangeable (p. 62). This participation can be either at the individual level or as part of a group or team dynamic.

A brief mention of decision making styles is necessary too. Dozens of components factor into the process of making a decision. The styles or processes to arrive at a decision also greatly vary. Factors that weigh into the styles include: creativity, rationality, motivation and expertise. In order to make the proper decision one must be aware of the problem, the alternatives—the choice—consider the ethical and moral ramifications, cultural impact and other constraining factors such as time. One’s tolerance for ambiguity, ranging between high and low, and way of thinking, ranging from rational to intuitive, are two more pieces to the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

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conceptual (p. 78). My style happens to be conceptual. A further discussion of this topic will be included later in the paper.

Teamwork’s value in an organizational setting cannot be overlooked. Note: teams and groups are different unto themselves. Work groups primarily interact to “share information and make decisions to help one another perform within each member’s area of responsibility” while a work team “generates positive synergy through a coordinated effort” (p. 101).

In a team setting, accountability is both individual and shared mutually with other members of the team. The performance is collective and skills are often complementary, with positive synergy in flow. Implementing all of these elements will constitute a successful team. To create an effective team it helps eliminate role ambiguity, meaning proper distinction between tasks assigned and performed is who does what and when. Instilling the motivation and/or reward for accomplishing the task or common purpose is important. Ensuring the group is composed of individuals who possess a range of skills, and are of a somewhat diverse background—professionally and personally—is also essential. Another task is making sure the size of the group is adequate to allow for productivity and efficacy. Managing conflict and setting “specific, measurable, and realistic performance goals,” are all pieces of the team dynamic and effectiveness puzzle (p. 109). This is much easier said than done; however, with clear and cognizant communication this can be achieved.

Throughout my years as an undergrad and graduate student, I’ve been constantly bombarded with notions of communications’ theories, processes, models and etc., all revolving around the central issue of delivering a message to a receiver. Note: I’m fully

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aware of the vast depth and breadth of communications studies in this area. The focus on this portion of the paper will be use of it in an organizational setting.

As the text states, “communication must include both the transference and understanding of meaning” (p. 113). This cannot be said enough. A common analogy when giving lectures is that, “you tell them what you’re going to tell them, actually tell them, and finally tell them what you told them.” After all, no matter how simple the message is, if it isn’t conveyed in an understandable matter then the meaning will be lost. This is especially true within the context of organizations.

The functions of communication within an organization are vital to its success. Control of the communication is one initial stage in the process. This can flow upward, downward or laterally in the organizational setting. Motivation of communication relates to why/what the individual is seeking clarification for. It could be for receiving, assigning, or getting more details about a task. Very often emotion can be heard in communication. Certainly this may be the case with oral communication, yet often if properly conveyed this can be seen in written and nonverbal communications. A particular stress can be put on written communications as businesses increasingly rely on e-mail as a communication tool.

Other important factors to consider when communicating are culture, gender and language. All factor into clearly sending a message and can be barriers to communicating the message. When sending a message, the source must pay careful attention to tailoring the message “so it will be seen more favorably,” or filtering (p. 123). Information overload is another barrier to communication. A concise message stating only what needs to be done can effectively reduce this barrier.

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The proper understanding and balance of these themes makes a manager more likely to be successful within the context of an organization. The right mixture can often be tough to ascertain initially. One way to combat confusion is through the use of self-assessment tests. These tests increase awareness and give one insight to how they behave, what their attitudes may be and how those attitudes shape the eventual actions taken. The next portion of this paper will discuss the results and highlights of my self-assessment testing.

The first test completed entitled, “How Good Am I at Giving Feedback,” gave me interesting and unexpected results. My self-perceived strengths were significantly higher than my self-perceived weaknesses. This was surprising because due to the way I think people are, at times, confused by my initial reactions; it’s usually after a more in-depth explanation they fully understand the extent or meaning of my feedback. Perhaps as I’ve matured, I’ve been able to develop my weaknesses into strengths. Giving constructive feedback, whether in the form of praise or criticism, affects my short and long term goals. It will be important from a management perspective in the communications industry and will carry significant weight if I hope to become a college professor.

The next assessment deals with emotional intelligence. I received a score of 45, indicating that I have a relatively high emotional intelligence. Emotions figure predominantly into personality. As the text indicates, there are several ways to derive one’s personality type. After reading the test and completing the assessment, I would dub myself a classic example of a Type-A personality. In my previous job as a radio producer, I would constantly strive to multi-task, trying to do as much as possible in a short amount of time. I did so to the extent that figuring out the must efficient process

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took almost as much time as the job. Following Holland’s Typology of Personality, my type is investigative. The previous example helps indicate this point.

The management of emotions is often a game that must be played at many levels. Professionally, one must be careful not to let personal matters influence decisions and vice versa. When approaching a management career, I feel it’s just as important to manage the emotions of yourself and your employees.

Assessment #13, “What Motivates Me?” didn’t surprise me very much. According to the calculation, I’m very interested in a job/career that will allow me to grow my personal abilities within the framework of my job. In the short term this is true, because I feel in order to be a credible educator in communication, I should have experience in the different aspects of it to grow my skills. Turning to the long term personal application in my goal to be a college professor, the chance to take part in research and enrich myself while providing content for further research in the field, lends itself to the calculation I received.

The aforementioned Assessment # 17, “What is My Decision-Making Style,” is conceptual. A conceptual decision-making style looks at the big picture and focuses on the issues and alternatives that will help it to become clearer. Conceptual decision-makers also have the propensity to find creative solutions to problems. Harkening back to my radio experience, this was the case in numerous situations. I would often try to accomplish a variety of tasks from different studios at the individual level, depending on the degree of success each would allow and the time constraints I faced. I will also contend I tend to have a bit of the directive style too. One of my chief concerns is efficiency of accomplishments and in the communications industry the ability to make

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rapid decisions—a characteristic of the directive style—is invaluable. This is more the case at the individual level than the group level, but awareness of decision-making styles helps fit members into groups and hopefully allows them succeed.

In preparation for the management career path, finding creative solutions over the long-term, I feel, gives me the ability to impact the viability of a company. It is often said the most successful businesses stand the test of time. With this being the case, a large number of the originators of these business must have had, in part, a conceptual decision-making style.

To summarize Assessment # 24,”What’s My Face-to-Face Communication Style,” the outcome was as expected. The results reiterated the fact that I’m a vocally assertive, impression-leaving, social-interacting, generally-attentive, relaxed communicator. All have obvious implications for my future plans both in group and individual settings.

Teambuilding and leading, listening and trustworthiness were the subjects of Assessments #30, 25, 29 respectively. The following will highlight the results and how further development may effect my future in organizational life.

My score in team building and leading yielded an 89. According to the calculation, this meant I was in the second quartile. The assessment states that scores range between 18-108. The higher the score the more developed your skills are in this category. A score of 89 suggest that I still have some room to develop before entering the top quartile, which begins at a score of 95. My guess is that my answers in the “storming stage” could use attention. Personal Note: I’ve always felt the term brainstorming to be very unappealing. It has been my experience that both in professional and academic

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environments, when brainstorming is on the agenda, the storm isn’t very severe. Most often these sessions result in a waste of time. My suggestion is that people “brainstorm” before a session. Employees in a professional setting shouldn’t fear conformity, the idea that brainstorming is supposed to topple, they should feel their ideas are welcome and valid no matter how inane they may actually be. That being said, it is now clear that I can improve in this area.

For Assessment #25 relating to my listening skills, I scored a 47. The range was between 15-75, with a notation that few were higher than 60. I’ve always considered myself to be quite a capable listener and a score of 47 isn’t too bad, but it does show that I have room for improvement. After all listening IS a skill.

Assessment #29 yielded results indicating I am viewed as a trustworthy individual. Reliability and honesty are the two main aspects in this department. They relate to keeping your word and avoiding distortion of the truth to get the upper hand. To me, trust is to be earned not given and my score somewhat indicates that based on the questions of the assessment.

All of the three areas discussed above—teambuilding and leadership, listening and trusting— are core principles for me and how I further develop them will be an indication of my effectiveness as a manager in an organizational setting. The remainder of the paper will discuss the highlighted results from the assessments and a summary of thoughts.

Assessment #31 reveals that I’m a mid to low Mach in my power-orientation. I maintain emotional stability, generally avoid manipulative behavior and have a very Kantian approach to power and conflict skills (Christians, 2001, 15). With regards to

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conflict, my way of handling it falls to collaborating and compromising. According to the calculations those are at almost opposites of each other. A collaborating style is interested in seeking full satisfaction for those involved with the conflict while compromising style attempts to resolve a conflict where each party is willing to give up something for resolution. I would say that I tend to lean toward the compromising style more so than the collaborating. Individually, it’s logical to think that getting the full satisfaction is what should be sought, while in a group setting it is almost more beneficial to give each a partial solution to a problem rather than nothing at all.

The text mentions that “conflict is constructive when it improves the quality of decisions, stimulates creativity and innovation, encourages interest and curiosity among group members, provides the medium through which problems can be aired and tensions released, and fosters an environment of self-evaluation and improvement” (p. 170). Certainly all these variables carry different weight, but the effective compromise might lead to growth in the future. This sort of give and take approach is fairly commonplace in an organizational setting. Conflict negotiation falls into this category as does who gets the last slice of pizza. At any rate as long as no one walks away hungry, the conflict is solved. I believe this is the most effective way to handle a conflict. I will try to implement it when the situation warrants in my future career. Examples include time constraints of TV spots perhaps from a media management setting to grade discretion when evaluating student projects.

My delegation willingness shows that I still have room to improve. As I plan for my future in management, I should pay careful attention to this area. Managers have a level of authority, and at this level they must be able to delegate tasks or risk losing time

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and some leadership influence. Assessment #42 reveals that a “formal, mechanistic, rule-oriented, and structured culture” is the most suitable organizational culture for me. Large corporations and government agencies typically are the organizations that fit this description. This connection will directly apply to me if I go back into the field and then become a professor. Media companies are gigantic corporations that just get bigger all the time; a pertinent example is Comcast’s bid to purchase Disney. Universities may not be government agencies, but they are in some cases extensions of the government and are very large organizations where structure and rules are very formal.

In the constant evolution of today’s communications industries, employees must be able and willing to adapt to change for many reasons. That simply is the “nature of the workforce” (p. 249). A theme echoed throughout this paper is the rapid development and use of technology is quickly eliminating borders, increasing competition, diversity, and “social trends.” From these factors stem government regulation or deregulation and economic fluctuations. The organization of a media company must employ people who have a disposition to acceptance of change. According to assessment #47, I accept a new workplace fairly well and I am comfortable with change. The results are helpful to know and connect with many of my own assumptions. With the ability to welcome change and a new workplace I will face less resistance in transition to a job in a media organization.

I fall into the category of an, “equity sensitive” according to Assessment #16. Equity sensitives, as the term suggests, are interested in equality in differences. This characteristic is similar to my conflict-handling style of compromising. Parallels can be drawn relating the two and it shows consistency in my thoughts and action—something that is vital to success in an organizational setting.

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To conclude, the text and assessments have supported and exposed numerous elements relating to organizational behavior. Many of them also conjured up memories of instances that directly related to the topics at hand. As I reflect back on how I dealt with the situations, I now have a connection to why I reacted in the manner that I did. The information from the text and the assessments will also be a useful tool in my development both personally and professionally as my new daily life will consist of work in the media environment.