In many cases, generally speaking, people feel that the perception of power and political situations at the workplace are unfair and/or unethical. For instance, if an employee receives promotions, favors, and "special treatment" from a manager or a group, other workers may look upon this behavior as unjust or plain discriminatory. However, at Questex Media Inc., these images and notions are inapplicable as upper-management, mid-level managers, and team leaders treat every employee fairly and equally. This is a fine demonstration of how the omission of “power games” and “office politics” creates a positive atmosphere.
The increasingly politicized environment of schools are examined in the context of the board of education’s legal powers and the politics of education. Historically, the superintendent of schools has dominated policy making, through schools boards influence has been noted in areas such as finance and physical facilities. A national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation, CHEA is an association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities and recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations (Council For Higher Education Accreditation, 2008). Beckfield is a strong member of CHEA and believes in everything it does for higher education. It is evident that power and “political agendas” in this environment are not misused to advance a group, but implemented properly to help other groups and organizations excel.
As upper management usually considers the power and politics of an organization, there are some businesses that allow for mid to lower managers to form political power groups, or "cliques" within a relatively small department. These group leaders usually seek out employees that will "fit in" and take direction inside the congregation. Once the group is structured, they are considered, to some people, as the "in group," as they usually are informed first about upcoming changes and are somewhat favored by upper management. Managerial power in the workplace is the act of persuading coworkers and employees to think or behave as the manager would like. The perception is, “if one can manipulate employees, that one can control production, progress, and the path to which the company will take.” At Penton Media, people generally fall into one of three groups: (1) the so called “in group” – those having all the political pull with upper management and other employees, (2) the “out group” – those who defiant, yet principled, and don’t use power or politics to benefit their careers or advancement, and (3) the “neutral group” – those who don’t understand or care to be associated with either group. The use political power in this situation is considered negative and perhaps even manipulative as the control is governed by one or two groups – if you are not in the circle, you are an outsider and not to be trusted.
An organization’s strength and power is the ability of those persons, with given power, to bring out the desired results for the entire group -- not just for one's self. Power in an organization is also the basis needed to initiate and sustain action with the ability to convert intention into reality continuously. Politics in an organization is the reality for the individual to receive what they want, when they want it, and how they want it (Kotter, 2008). In the aforementioned examples, most companies use their internal politics and power for good use – to promote the organization and challenge staff members into achieving personal and profession goals. Nevertheless, there are some companies that misuse, abuse, and refuse to utilize these tools for the betterment of the business.
Strategies For Managing Stress
Stress at work has become a serious health and economic burden in the U.S. Today’s workers are concerned about losing their job to downsizing, layoffs, mergers, and bankruptcies that have become common in the U.S. in recent years. Workers now have to work harder and are doing unfamiliar tasks. Adding to the pressures are new bosses, changing technology, electric surveillance equipment and a changing work force. Organizational managers are interested in maintaining a lower level of job stress for good reasons: high levels of stress can result in low productivity, increased absenteeism, and turnover. Balancing a heavy workload with family responsibilities often results in high stress levels, poor coping, and insufficient time and energy for interacting with the important people in our lives.
Causes of stress in the work place come in many forms. Excessive workload demands, conflicting expectations, the people you work with, and poor working conditions are some of the reasons for increased stress. Many of today’s workers are given additional responsibilities, added work, and increased production quotas as companies continue to downsize and lay off workers. The new slogan that is heard all across America is DO MORE WITH LESS.
Organizational change is the direct way of identifying and resolving stress in the work place. Stress management training should be provided to help workers cope with difficult work situations. Organizations should provide their employees with stress management training and Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). EAPs are designed to help workers with personal problems that may affect their job performance. These confidential services include counseling, health assessments and referrals, workshops, and legal and financial assistance.
Communicating information with employees regarding jobs and futures reduces uncertainty and clearly define employees’ roles and responsibilities with clearly written job descriptions and continually redefining. Management should be easy to talk to; communication is one method of reducing stress in the workplace. Where jobs have inherent stresses, employers need to ensure that employees are in the right positions. When talking with applicants, the employer should provide clear details about job expectations and the requirements to meet those expectations. Implementing flexible work schedules is another way employers are easing the pressure off of workers. It allows the employee to work around personal and family goals Employees are given the opportunity to participate in decisions that affect their jobs, schedules, and work rules. Management is very careful about assigning a workload that is too heavy, complicated, or that has unrealistic deadlines. Management should verbally and monetarily praise good work performance, provide opportunities for career development, and promote an “entrepreneurial” work environment that gives employees more control over their work.
It is in the hand of management to avoid ineffective supervision, office politics, and all types of conflicts that may be experienced with fellow employees. There should be a survey every quarter regarding the environment they work in so that if they are not happy it can be analyzed by the management this will built in confidence among the employees and boast their morale and they will become more loyal to the organization and will reduce stress. Companies can reduce employee stress by ensuring that safety and noise risks are considered and met with appropriate circumstances as both of these events can lead to increased levels of stress for employees.
Perhaps one of the most important things to realize is that, while we may have little or no control over certain events in our lives, such as the scheduling of an assignment, we do have control over how we evaluate that stress or and how we choose to respond to it. We need to become aware of what we are saying, how this in turn affects our emotions and then learn to rephrase the statements in more helpful ways. For example, a statement, "I don't have enough time to get everything done" may be accurate, but engenders emotions of fear, hopelessness, and panic that get in the way of actually accomplishing the task. It would be much more helpful to say, "Since I don't have enough time to do it all, what are the most important things I need to cover," etc. This helps us regain control, and makes it more likely we will deal effectively with the challenge. Stress can affect people in different ways like if one person may react aggressively to stress the other may isolate himself from others. You should have a clearer picture of your personality type to manage stress.
Some people never feel that they can be under stress this is sought of being ignorant. Awareness is the key to manage stress. A study shows that people in close contact with you can easily tell you that you are under stress. Like for e.g. somebody in the family can easily notice that you are under stress by the mood swing or you getting anxious on small things etc. There could be some areas within a person's life that needs to be examined little closer so that he/she can know whether they are under stress or no.
We tense our muscles in response to stress, so taking a little time to check in with our bodies and relax tight areas can be very helpful. Evidence suggests that regular exercise can help to reduce the physical symptoms of stress such as hypertension, obesity, and heart disease. You can also practice meditation at regular intervals to disconnect form all external forces periodically throughout the day like Yoga etc. Physical activity, particularly aerobic exercise, is a great stress reducer, so get involved! Just as we monitor our thoughts, it helps to monitor and reduce the tension levels in our bodies.
There really is a limit to how much can be crammed into a day, a week or a term. To maintain balance, we need to learn to say "No" to some activities, do others less often, and concentrate on what is more important. As a student, classes and schoolwork have to become a priority and planning is essential for an effective schedule. Use a weekly planner, listing priorities first and including reasonable social and recreational activities. Be specific. Break down assignments into manageable small steps, and block these into the schedule. Also build in some flexibility to allow for the unexpected - a too tight schedule can create more stress than it relieves. Then, put your schedule where you can see it.
Life is rarely perfect, but we need to recognize the positives, the things we like and do well, in order to balance the stressful aspects of our lives. We also need to take care of ourselves on a day-to-day basis. We should achieve a better balance between the spiritual, mental, and physical aspects of my life. We should take time out from a stressful life and pamper ourselves after all we just get one life.
Evaluate Business and Ethical Considerations of Operating Organizations on a Globe Scale
It doesn’t matter that the four companies we are discussing come from different states, and it doesn’t even matter that these four companies are completely different in there line of work. But what does matter is that the one strongest thing they have in common is the way they view “business ethics.” There is no denying that one can often do well by doing good. An ethical company is more likely to build a good reputation, which is more likely to bring financial rewards over the long term. Whether a company acts ethically is a significant factor in the average American’s willingness to work for an employer. All four companies believe that it is “critical” or “important” that the company they work for is ethical. Ethics is such an important consideration, in fact, the faculty at Beckfield College feels that they would prefer to be paid less and work for a company with ethical business practices than receive higher pay at a company with questionable ethics. Three out of the four companies have employees that have left a job for ethical reasons and feel much better now under the roof of a very compliant firm. Questex Media Group is firmly committed to complying with its legal and ethical obligations under all state and federal laws. At Penton Media, they conduct annual ethics training seminars for all employees. Their meeting focuses on topics covered by their code of business conduct and sexual harassment manual. Carollo Engineers, P.C. feels strongly that ethics involve such characteristics as honesty and accountability. Along with Beckfield College all four companies have a foundation that work ethics, such as honesty (not lying, cheating, and stealing), doing a job well, valuing what one does, having a sense of purpose and feeling/being a part of a greater vision or plan is vital. Philosophically, if one does not have proper work ethics, a person’s conscience may be bothered. People for the most part have good work ethic(s); we should not only want to do, but desire to do the proper thing in a given situation.
Business ethics in the global market is just as serious if not more important than ever. The demands on the business world are presently growing at a rapid rate. The booming population, the explosive developments in technology, and the commonality of corporate globalization have made the business world quite competitive. In order to remain competitive, businesses have begun to evaluate the effectiveness of their current procedures in delivering their goods and/or services without increasing prices exponentially or deceasing the work force necessary to produce the goods and sacrificing profitability.
Each of the four companies has different responsibilities in the global market ranging from very little to dealing with it on an everyday basis. Beckfield College has a strong “International Program,” and staying compliant and making sure all dealings with the different countries are handled in an ethical way. There are so many different forms an “international student” must have and so many hoops to go through that if it is not done staying within the compliance policy it could turn out to be a disaster for the student and the county they are coming from. Even though international expansion remains a new and mostly untapped area for most career colleges, the demand for quality education services abroad only will increase in coming years. Carollo Engineers believes that the global markets offer greater opportunity for people to tap into more and larger markets around the world. It means that they can have access to more capital flows, technology, cheaper imports, and larger export markets. And none of that could happen if they weren’t a company that has a reputation of standing on a strong and ethical work belief. It doesn’t matter if Questex Media Group is dealing with a client from domestic or global parts their “code of ethics” (that is not only taught to every new employee but reconfirmed throughout the year in additional training) is applied to all of their clients. They also hold all employees responsible for carrying out and monitoring compliance with this commitment. They would not have the global business they do if their reputation was not one that follows the “code of ethics.” According to Penton Media, their training on “business ethics” reinforces their core values and their commitment to full compliance with applicable laws and regulations not only on a local level but at an international level as well.
Business and ethical considerations of operating with domestic or international clients beliefs in all four companies is the same. All four believe that ethics involves a lot more than compliance with company policies, laws and financial regulations. These are major concerns with high visibility. It makes headlines when these are not obeyed. For those reasons, most organizations do not have problems with these issues. And through strong training and having the right people in the right position makes all the difference in the world.
Evolutionary Trends In Organizational Behavior
Organizations undergo a variety of behavioral trends. These trends influence the attitude of the organization as a whole. Two key forces, which affect any organization, are decisions made by management and the vast improvement of technology. Management implements policies and procedures and make decisions that affect the entire organization. All entrust that any decisions made should be ethical standpoints that align with the company goals. If an individual makes poor decisions, the outcome of those decisions can have a major impact on the perception of that individual in the end. Over time, technology has affected each employee in both positive and negative aspects. Enhanced communication through technology can be a double-edged sword.
With all the corporate scandals reported in the news and rumors of self serving, greedy CEO's running amuck, the question of ethics in the workplace is sure to arise. Based on the corrupt society we live in one can easily see why someone would question the moral conduct of people in positions of power. The age of information technology is upon us and due to the advances in this field; life has become more stressful for people at work. The reasons behind higher stress levels at work range from lack of resources to being accused of not being a team player by co- workers.
Organizations have a responsibility to their employees to set the standards for ethical business practices. Each company needs to have a written business code of conduct for acceptable and non acceptable standards. To insure company policy adherence each employee must be familiar with the exact guidelines for expected behavior as a representative of that organization. When specific guidelines are issued and communicated, making the correct decision is easier to be facilitated. If an organization is consistent in requiring workers to follow its policies, the company has a greater chance of being viewed as respectable.
The actions displayed by employees even outside of work hours are a reflection on the organization at all times. Therefore, personnel should be mindful of their actions and the image projected to outsiders as an officer of their organization. Most people do not want to work for an employer with an unsavory reputation. The association with a scandalous organization causes others to question the morality of those willing to work for that company. Businesses with unacceptable ethical standards are also less likely to attract consumers to their goods or services. On the other hand, businesses that have high moral standards readily attract both consumers and employees by reputation alone. People want to work for managers and supervisors with high principles that deserve employee respect.
With technological advances managers are expecting more out of each employee in a shorter time frame, thus producing a heavier workload. With this increased workload, employees are expected to have higher productivity level by using new technologic advancement devices. Workers must also deal with having limited or unusable resources to effectively, such as being understaffed and unable to use the technological resources supplied. Employees are becoming more family centered than career centered. This causes feelings of stress when they are required to work longer hours keeping them away from their family responsibilities and quality time. Both increased workload and trespassing on free time of employees contributes to higher stress levels resulting in a negative impact on employees' physical health and well- being.
One of the functions of public relations professionals is to assist the organization with developing strategic plans and goals. Public relations provides advice to management on what to do based upon feedback and interaction with the community. The public relations staff can be used to assist with identifying and responding to issues deemed important by the community that may have an impact on the success of the organization.
Conclusion
In this paper a variation of discussion topics regarding each member of Team B and their particular business organizations was provided. The team had discussed the perception of politics and power in each member’s individual work place. The team had discussed the similarities and differences between the perceptions of each member’s organization.
Stress in the workplace has and will continue to be a problem in the workplace. When it comes to financial issues caused by stress in the workplace managers usually understand and often attempt to find ways to curb the problem. There are a couple of methods for coping with stress that many organizations are considering; stress management programs for employees and organizational changes that might help improve working conditions. According to Ellen Jaffe roughly half of the large corporations provide their employees with stress management training or therapy. Employee Assistance Programs or EAP’s are in place to help employees with personal issues and stress that may be negatively affecting their jobs. These EAP’s are confidential so one does not need to worry about other employees finding out about their discussions. Team B compiled a list of strategies that could assist with the management of stress.
After evaluating the business and ethical considerations of operating organizations on a global scale Team B discussed some of the different challenges, obstacles and solutions to some of these issues. Organizations operate differently in different countries; so, many issues can arise in foreign business operations.
Lastly the team assessed and discussed the evolutionary trends in organizational behavior and how those trends might impact different organizations. Evolutionary trends or changes are the changes that happen over long periods of time such as the meaning of evolution in the scientific manner. Evolutionary trends can be narrowly focused trends such as sociotechnical or total quality management. According to George and Jones sociotechnical systems are ideas about how organizations should choose specific kinds of control systems that match the technical nature of the particular workplace whereas total quality management is an ongoing and constant effort by all of an organization’s functions to find new ways to improve the quality of the organizations goods and services. We hope that you found this paper both educational as well as interesting and we believe that with a better understanding of these important aspects of organizational behavior the natural evolution of business will continue to thrive and create a healthy and robust future.
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