This week has shown me a lot about power. Particularly the ways in which people keep and obtain power. A lot of power is through the institution. When you come into a position of power it really is because of your title. For example in high school when you have a substitute teacher you listen, or at least usually, to them as if they were your normal teacher; because they have assumed this position. The power is in the position rather than the individual. In the same way this can be applied to the workplace. When you have a manager you listen to him/her because of their title, not because of who the person is. And when that manager leaves and a new one comes in the power and authority is still there.
Another thing I have learned about power is power sticks together. Often times people who have power associate themselves with others in power. If a person has power they will wish to be associated with others who hold power and therefore this can in turn enhance their own power. Also because they can better identify with these people.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Presentations
I really enjoyed the Disney/Pixar merging presentation. I loved the pictures included on the slides of all the characters. It was interesting to me to learn about this merge because I had no idea as to the reasoning why the companies had come together. To be honest I thought they had always been associated but I guess that also goes along with my age. The information presented directly tied into course material which I also found interesting because it goes to show that what we learn has real world application.
The Toyota presentation also was interesting because I had no idea that that problem had occurred. That seems crazy dangerous that they were able to pass those cars through crash testing with that problem!
The Toyota presentation also was interesting because I had no idea that that problem had occurred. That seems crazy dangerous that they were able to pass those cars through crash testing with that problem!
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Intelligence as it leads to Power
Today in class we spoke about power, all of the different ways someone gains power, as well as all kinds of different types of power. However I found that every kind of power, as well as every means to gain power all linked back to one thing; intelligence. In order to have any kinds of skills that leaders possess one must be an intelligent being. For example in order to be a coercive leader a leader must be intelligent enough to outsmart the people he is wishing to coerce. Intelligence was defined as the ability to think things through in a way that others cannot, by definition alone it is a quality every leader must posses. Even the trait of being charismatic requires intelligence. A charismatic person is someone who can think about things in a different light than others, that is what gives them charisma and draws people to them, because they are unlike you, you are attracted. This parallels the very definition of intelligence. We also briefly spoke about practical versus analytic intelligence. While practical was defined as the ability to read social situations I think it is really what most people refer to as "street smarts". On the other side the analytic does well on S.A.T.S and carries a high G.P.A. I think both types of intelligence are important for a leader, because both outline different qualities mandatory to think through things in a way others cannot.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Stimulation
The stimulation debriefing in class raised a lot of questions and also brought about a lot of defensiveness. I tried to be a mediator in the entire situation and really was looking for everyone to get the most out of it. When we started to run out of time and everyone got flustered I admit I was a bad manager because I took a step back and just watched the rest unfold. I was trying to help both top management and my bottom group, but everyone else was looking out for their own interests above all else.
I thought it interesting that Dr.Goates proposed that students with higher G.P.A's are less likely to defy authority in this exercise. To me this makes complete sense. We discussed this in my accounting class. If you think about it, those with high G.P.A's have grown accustom to performing to a standard. This standard is set by the professor. For example if a professor comes into class the first day and says that attendance is 50% of your grade, any person with a high G.P.A, and wishing to maintain that, would not miss one class. Whereas if the professor came in and said that attendance counted as 0% of the grade then students would be more inclined to miss class. A better example is that if a professor says that there will be tests questions directly from the reading and text book assigned most students will make a point to do the readings; in the same way if the professor assigns readings that are not directly related to tests or other assignments students will be less inclined to read.
I thought it interesting that Dr.Goates proposed that students with higher G.P.A's are less likely to defy authority in this exercise. To me this makes complete sense. We discussed this in my accounting class. If you think about it, those with high G.P.A's have grown accustom to performing to a standard. This standard is set by the professor. For example if a professor comes into class the first day and says that attendance is 50% of your grade, any person with a high G.P.A, and wishing to maintain that, would not miss one class. Whereas if the professor came in and said that attendance counted as 0% of the grade then students would be more inclined to miss class. A better example is that if a professor says that there will be tests questions directly from the reading and text book assigned most students will make a point to do the readings; in the same way if the professor assigns readings that are not directly related to tests or other assignments students will be less inclined to read.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Book Report Segment #5
The final section of my book, Global Women, is about how countries around the world survive through globalization. Specifically services that are extracted from third world countries to fulfill needs in the first world. Especially through women's work in domestic ways. The trafficking of women has become a large way to provide income to these under developed countries. One story recounted is of a 15 year old girl from Thailand who was sold to a brothel by her parents. One morning upon waking she is reminded of the 15 men she had slept with the previous night from the soreness in her body. This particular brothel houses 25 women and one pimp. Because this 15 year old girl looks particularly young she can be sold at a higher price because she looks "new" due to her young appearance. When she first entered the brothel she tried to run away however now they have broken her spirit and she seems to accept this horrible fate. Any debt incurred by a Thai family often results in selling daughters into prostitution or servitude. With the country's transition into industrialization has increased the amount at which this has happened. Slavery and prostitution have increased as a result of these changes. Parent's feel the need to keep up with the changing economy and buy more consumer goods. The sale of a daughter can help provide the funds needed for these purchases. The brothels needs for these girls also increases because this economic boom has also increased the amount of money laborers and workers have earned, and they want to purchase prostitutes with this new cash flow.
Another way that women are used for economic gain is through mail order brides. More than 40 percent of women who enter the U.S are marriage migrants. Men often pick highly educated women who come from their own countries (once they are already citizens). This usually happens through the two parties parents. The grooms parents will contact the brides and set up the proposal and the marriage. After this happens the brides family receives a "gift" or money amount for their daughter. This also helps the man who will receive a wife who can contribute to his own income.
Globalization has produced a new need for labor and changed the economic process as a whole. The number of highly paid professionals in third world countries are growing and they in turn are maintained by a low-paid service workers. The demand for these workers, especially servants and prostitutes has increased in conjunction with the economy. Women have emerged as crucial economic actors. The connection between countries through migration enables local practices to become global. These dynamics produce a strong need for migrant workers, servants, prostitutes on a global scale.
The biggest connection that I have drawn between this book and class is through culture. The culture of third world countries has been globalized along with it's women. The women who migrant from all over the world to our country each bring with them different artifacts, values, and beliefs. The end of my book also connected directly with motivation. The motivation of the 15 year old prostitute from the book can be outlined by Maslov's Hierarchy of Needs Model. Her deficiency needs, once sold into the brothel, had been changed. Her physiological needs for food, air, sleep, etc are all met minimally by the pimp at the brothel. Her need for safety and security in her eyes was not being met until she they broke her spirit and after that point she prayed she would not extract HIV because she would be thrown out on the street to starve. Her safety and security needs change and are then met because she finds the brothel as her new security. Her need for loving and belonging also changed in a similar way . Intimate relationships with clients comes to fulfill her needs for loving and belonging. Similarly her esteem needs are met because she is seen as a prize. Because of her young appearance she is chosen first by most men and can be sold for a higher price. This helps her to gain the recognition and acceptance needed to fulfill her esteem needs. All of these things that come together to meet her deficiency needs meet her utmost priorities. Because all of these needs are met she is motivated to fulfill her growth needs of self actualization to make the most out of herself. She is able to do this through accepting that she is stuck in the brothel and realizing it is a better alternative to starving she becomes motivated to make the most out of her abilities and be the best prostitute she thinks that she can be.
Another way that women are used for economic gain is through mail order brides. More than 40 percent of women who enter the U.S are marriage migrants. Men often pick highly educated women who come from their own countries (once they are already citizens). This usually happens through the two parties parents. The grooms parents will contact the brides and set up the proposal and the marriage. After this happens the brides family receives a "gift" or money amount for their daughter. This also helps the man who will receive a wife who can contribute to his own income.
Globalization has produced a new need for labor and changed the economic process as a whole. The number of highly paid professionals in third world countries are growing and they in turn are maintained by a low-paid service workers. The demand for these workers, especially servants and prostitutes has increased in conjunction with the economy. Women have emerged as crucial economic actors. The connection between countries through migration enables local practices to become global. These dynamics produce a strong need for migrant workers, servants, prostitutes on a global scale.
The biggest connection that I have drawn between this book and class is through culture. The culture of third world countries has been globalized along with it's women. The women who migrant from all over the world to our country each bring with them different artifacts, values, and beliefs. The end of my book also connected directly with motivation. The motivation of the 15 year old prostitute from the book can be outlined by Maslov's Hierarchy of Needs Model. Her deficiency needs, once sold into the brothel, had been changed. Her physiological needs for food, air, sleep, etc are all met minimally by the pimp at the brothel. Her need for safety and security in her eyes was not being met until she they broke her spirit and after that point she prayed she would not extract HIV because she would be thrown out on the street to starve. Her safety and security needs change and are then met because she finds the brothel as her new security. Her need for loving and belonging also changed in a similar way . Intimate relationships with clients comes to fulfill her needs for loving and belonging. Similarly her esteem needs are met because she is seen as a prize. Because of her young appearance she is chosen first by most men and can be sold for a higher price. This helps her to gain the recognition and acceptance needed to fulfill her esteem needs. All of these things that come together to meet her deficiency needs meet her utmost priorities. Because all of these needs are met she is motivated to fulfill her growth needs of self actualization to make the most out of herself. She is able to do this through accepting that she is stuck in the brothel and realizing it is a better alternative to starving she becomes motivated to make the most out of her abilities and be the best prostitute she thinks that she can be.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Application of classroom material?
I usually think that what i'm learning in my classes is somewhat unrelated to the real world. However this week has shown me differently about the skills we've learned in this O.B class. I have used the negotiation skills, that I learned from the article required for class a few weeks back, in two of my other classes application projects.
In my labor relations class we were put into groups, both union and management and told to negotiate a new contract. Thanks to the skills I learned about negotation I felt I could actually compete and I was able to have some leverage. We used starting, resisting, and target points to ensure that our demands were met. We also used a starting point that was well above what we actually wanted in hopes of anchoring the management team.
In my accounting class today we were also asked to negotiatie. I used similar tactics as in the above exercise and my partner and I were succesful. We started at almost double our target point, and the other team was floored that we would ask for that. This made them reconsider their numbers and gave us the upper hand. Ultimately we decided not to make a deal because neither side could come to an agreement but because of what I learned in O.B we held our own and knew what to look out for in opponents. We bluffed them, as well as calling their bluffs to ultimately save ourselves from losing money.
In my labor relations class we were put into groups, both union and management and told to negotiate a new contract. Thanks to the skills I learned about negotation I felt I could actually compete and I was able to have some leverage. We used starting, resisting, and target points to ensure that our demands were met. We also used a starting point that was well above what we actually wanted in hopes of anchoring the management team.
In my accounting class today we were also asked to negotiatie. I used similar tactics as in the above exercise and my partner and I were succesful. We started at almost double our target point, and the other team was floored that we would ask for that. This made them reconsider their numbers and gave us the upper hand. Ultimately we decided not to make a deal because neither side could come to an agreement but because of what I learned in O.B we held our own and knew what to look out for in opponents. We bluffed them, as well as calling their bluffs to ultimately save ourselves from losing money.
Management
On Monday in class we did an activity that split us into groups. This activity gave management much of the power, or so they thought. Being in the middle level group for this activity made me aware of what was really happening. The top managers thought they had the upper hand with information, but when the company came down to speak with the bottom level employees they quickly lost their upperhand. The workers under me realized that they could sell their slogans directly to the company, and take the entire profit, rather than going through two levels of managment with their ideas and splitting the profits. I urged them to play fair but told them that the decision was ultimately theirs. Management was unorganized in their attempts to get the slogans in time so my workers took matters into their own hands and took the direct profit. They also split some of this with me. I am interested to see how we debrief this activity.
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