Discussion 1

e-Activity

Watch the first 1 min 15 sec of the video titled “The Firm (1/9) Movie CLIP – No Associate Has Ever Failed The Bar Exam (1993) HD” (1 min 46 s). Be prepared to discuss.

From the e-Activity, describe some of the stories, rites, rituals, and symbols that are representative of the organization’s culture of your current or previous employer. Examine how you have responded to these cultural elements. Determine if the ways you responded to the cultural elements did or did not help you to adjust.

Determine five characteristics of innovation teams that are linked to their success. Rank these characteristics in order of importance (one being the most important, and five being the least important). Select one of the characteristics of innovation teams that you believe you relate to. Support your position.

Discussion 2

Scenario

Imagine that you are the manager of your department and administrative cuts are needed.  Your boss has identified a certain percentage of these cuts will come from cutting jobs due to a poor economy.  You have the choice to lay off one of two employees.  Sarah is young, single, two years out of college, and a hard worker.  In fact, her performance rating exceeded many of her peers.  In addition, she always steps forward when volunteers are needed for evening work or travel.  Mary, another employee, is in her mid-40s, has two children, and her husband is a pediatrician.  Mary’s performance is good, always at or above average during perfromance reviews, but she has limited time available for evening work and out of town travel.  Be prepared to discuss.

“Ethics in Organizational Behavior” Please respond to the following:

From the scenario, determine who you would choose to lay off and explain why. Propose criteria that can be used to decide who gets laid off in organizations.

From the scenario, determine the level of emphasis that organizations should place on ensuring that layoff decisions are ethical and legal. Propose ways for organizations to achieve the goal of ethical and legal layoffs.

Week 9 Assignment 4 Submission

Assignment 4: Leadership Style: What Do People Do When They Are Leading?

Choose one (1) of the following CEOs for this assignment: Larry Page (Google), Tony Hsieh (Zappos), Gary Kelly (Southwest Airlines), Meg Whitman (Hewlett Packard), Ursula Burns (Xerox), Terri Kelly (W.L. Gore), Ellen Kullman (DuPont), or Bob McDonald (Procter & Gamble). Use the Internet to investigate the leadership style and effectiveness of the selected CEO.

Write a five to six (5-6) page paper in which you: 

-Provide a brief (one [1] paragraph) background of the CEO.

-Analyze the CEO’s leadership style and philosophy, and how the CEO’s leadership style aligns with the culture.

-Examine the CEO’s personal and organizational values.

-Evaluate how the values of the CEO are likely to influence ethical behavior within the organization.

-Determine the CEO’s three (3) greatest strengths and three (3) greatest weaknesses.

-Select the quality that you believe contributes most to this leader’s success. Support your reasoning.

-Assess how communication and collaboration, and power and politics influence group (i.e., the organization’s) dynamics.

-Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

-Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

-Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length. 

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

-Analyze the formation and dynamics of group behavior and work teams, including the application of power in groups.

-Outline various individual and group decision-making processes and key factors affecting these processes.

-Examine the primary conflict levels within organization and the process for negotiating resolutions.

-Examine how power and influence empower and affect office politics, political interpretations, and political behavior.

-Use technology and information resources to research issues in organizational behavior.

-Write clearly and concisely about organizational behavior using proper writing mechanics.