Jean Yves' Organizational Behavior/Management Blog

Chapter 15 Related Article

2010-05-20T17:27:00.001-07:00

Chapter 15: Organizational Change

This particular well written article focuses on the correct steps of going about change when leading a team, breaking down the concept of John P Kotter’s 8 steps to successful change. It also gives nice story line scenarios of how to give examples of the different kind of changes and hot to show case it.

http://www.businessballs.com/changemanagement.htm

Chapman, Alan. "Change Management Principles, Process, Tips and Change Theory and Models."Businessballs Free Online Learning for Careers, Work, Management, Business Training and Education: Find Materials, Articles, Ideas, People and Providers for Teaching, Career Training, Self-help, Ethical Business Education and Leadership; for Personal, Career and Organizational Development. A Fun Free Online College of Ethical Life and Work Education, for Self Help, Teaching, Career Development, Distance Learning, Organizational Development, with Team Building Games and Exercises, Free Self-help and Training Ideas, Free Management Theories, Free Diagrams, Templates, Samples, Examples, Materials and Tools, Free Child Development Activities and Adults Development Exercises Ideas. Web. 20 May 2010. .

Chapter 15-Organizational Change

2010-05-20T17:26:00.002-07:00

Force field analysis:

-all systems have driving and restraining forces

-restraining forces: are manifested as employee resistance to change

-resistance to change should be viewed as a resource not an inherent obstacle to change

-organizational change requires driving forces

-action research is highly participative

-appreciative inquiry: tries to break out of the problem-solving mentality of traditional change management practices by reframing relationships around the positive and the possible

-large group interventions are highly participative

-significant concern: organizational change theories developed with a Western cultural orientation potentially conflict with cultural values in some other countries

Chapter 14 Related Article

2010-05-20T17:26:00.001-07:00

Chapter 14: Organizational Culture
This article discusses a few of the different types of organizational cultures one could experience in the workplace. The one that resonated with me most was the “Baseball ball” culture where the employees are similar to that of free agents. He uses this metaphor because the employees are in high demand and can get jobs elsewhere and that’s quite particular in the tech industry.
http://managementhelp.org/org_thry/culture/culture.htm
McNamara, Carter. "Organizational Culture." Free Management Library (SM). Authenticity Consulting. Web. 10 May 2010. .

Chapter 14-Organizational Culture

2010-05-20T17:25:00.001-07:00

Organizational Culture:
-consists of the vales and assumptions shared within an organization
-shared assumptions are taken for granted and are nonconscious
-organizations differ from cultural content relative to ordering of values
Artifacts:
-the observable symbols and signs of an organizations culture
4 Broad Categories of Artifacts:
-organizational stories and legend
-rituals and ceremonies
-language
-physical structure and symbols
3 Main functions of Organizational Culture
-form of social control
-the “social glue” that bonds people together
-way to help employees make sense of the workplace
-organizational clashes occur when companies merge and I acquisitions
-problem can be minimized by bicultural audits
Attraction-selection-attrition theory:
-organizations have a natural tendency to attract, select, and retain people with values and personality characteristics that are consistent with the organization’s character resulting in a more homogeneous organization and stronger culture
3 Employee Socialization Stages
-pre-employment: learn about the organization and job also form employment relationship expectations
-encounter: test expectations against perceived realities
-role-management: strengthen work relationships practice new role behaviors and resolve work-nonwork conflicts

Chapter 13 Related Article

2010-05-20T17:24:00.001-07:00

Chapter 13: Organizational Structure

This article gives an in-depth description of all the different types of organizational structures, giving a nice and accurate explanation of it is and how it works exactly.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/type-of-organizational-structures.html

Irani, Khushnuma. "Type of Organizational Structures." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 2 May 2010. .

Chapter 13-Organizational Structure

2010-05-20T17:20:00.002-07:00

Organizational Structure:

-the division of labor as the patterns of coordination, communication, workflow, and formal power that direct organizational activities

4 Basic Elements of Organizational Structure

-span of control: number of people directly reporting to the next level in the hierarchy

-centralization: degree to which formal decision authority is held be a small group of people, typically those at the top of the organizational hierarchy

-formalization: degree to which organizations standardize behavior through rules, procedures, formal training, and related mechanisms

-departmentalization: organizational charts that specifies how employees and their activities are grouped together

-divisional structure groups employees around geographic areas, clients, or outputs

-accommodates growth and focuses employees attention on products or customers

-best organizational structure depends on the firm’s external environment, size, technology and strategy

Chapter 12 Related Article

2010-05-20T17:20:00.001-07:00

Chapter 12: Leadership in Organizational Settings

This article give a brief synopsis on leadership in organizations focusing on defining the style in which one wants to lead and the dynamics of picking the right leadership techinique as well as choosing the proper steps on making these changes in the leadership roll.

http://businessmanagement.suite101.com/article.cfm/effective_leadership_through_organizational_chan

Jenkins, Lucia. "Effective Leadership and Organizational Change." Suite101.com. 19 Sept. 2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. http://businessmanagement.suite101.com/article.cfm/effective_leadership_through_organizational_chan

Chapter 12-Leadership in Organizational Settings

2010-05-20T17:17:00.002-07:00

Leadership defined as the ability to influence, motivate and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members

Competency perspective:

-tries to identify the characteristics of effective leaders

-leaders have specific personality characteristics, positive self-concept, drive, integrity, leadership motivation, knowledge of the business cognitive and practical intelligence and are people-oriented and task-oriented

-leadership takes view of effective leaders as they diagnose the situation and adapt to their style

Situational leadership theory:

- commercially popular but poorly supported leadership model stating that effective leaders vary their style(telling, selling, participating, delegating), with the “readiness” of followers

Fiedler’s contingency theory:

-developed by Fred Feidler early contingency leadership model that suggests that leader effectiveness depends on whether the person’s natural leadership style is appropriately matched to the situation

Transformational leadership:

-leadership perspective that explains how leaders change teams or organizations by creating communicating and modeling a vision for the organization or work unit and inspiring employees to strive for that vision

Implicit leadership:

-people have leadership prototypes

-they evaluate the leader’s effectiveness to that prototype

-cultural values influence leader’s personal values

-women generally do not differ from men in the degree of people-oriented or task-oriented leadership

-women leaders more often adopt a participative style of leading

Chapter 11 Related Article

2010-05-20T17:17:00.001-07:00

Chapter 11: Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace

This article focuses on a few different ways one can try using conflict resolution and negotiating techniques between clashing parties within the work place. They cover many different techniques to give you a well rounded sense of how to attack just about any kind of conflicting problem within the workplace.

http://newsblaze.com/story/20060624232348nnnn.nb/topstory.html

Alan. "Ten Tips for Negotiating Workplace Conflicts." Daily News from the News Experts at NewsBlaze. 24 June 2006. Web. 16 Apr. 2010. .

Chapter 11-Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace

2010-05-20T17:14:00.002-07:00

Conflict: process in which on party perceives that his or her interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party

-Constructive conflict: type of conflict in which people focus their discussion on the issue while maintaining respect for people having other points of view

-Relationship conflict: type of conflict in which people focus on characteristics of other individuals, rather than on the issues, as the source of conflict

Conflict Process Model:

-incompatible goals: non agreeable goals one party wants one thing while the other wants something else

-differentiation (values and beliefs): differences among people, departments, and other entities regarding their training, values, beliefs, and experiences

-interdependence: exists when team members must share common inputs to their individual tasks, need to interact in the process of executing their work or receive outcomes that are partly determined by the performance of others

-scarce resources: when each person or unit requiring the same resource necessarily undermines others who also need that resource to fulfill their goals

-ambiguous rules: too general or lack of rules

-communication problems: conflict occurs when lack of opportunity, ability, or motivation to communicate effectively

-leads to one or more parties to conflict

Conflict-Handling Styles

-Problem solving: win-win orientation/ tries to find a mutually beneficial solution to a disagreement

-Forcing: win-lose orientation/tries to win the conflict at the other’s expense

-Avoiding: loose-loose orientation/tries to smooth over or avoid conflict situations altogether

-Yeilding: Loose-win orientation/giving in completely o the other side’s wishes or cooperating

with little to no attention to your own interests

-Compromising: draw orientation/involves looking for a position in which you make concessions to some extent

Structural approaches to conflict management

-emphasizing superordinate goals

-reducing differentiation

-improving communication and understanding

-reducing interdependence

-increasing resources

-clarifying rules and procedures

Negotiation: when two or more parties with conflicting views attempt to resolve their divergent goals by redefining the terms of their interdependence

Third-party Conflict Resolution: attempt by a relatively neutral person to help the parties resolve their differences

Chapter 10 Related Article

2010-05-20T17:14:00.001-07:00

Chapter 10: Power and Influence in the Workplace

This particular article discusses the abuse of power within the workplace. Not only does this article focus on the different elements on abuse of power it gives an in-depth way of resolving issues with a person who is abusive within the work place.

http://www.thefabricator.com/article/shopmanagement/abuse-of-power-in-the-workplace

Bell, Vikki. "Abuse of Power in the Workplace." TheFabricator. 10 Apr. 2007. Web. 11 Apr. 2010. .

2010-05-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

-Power is the capacity to influence others

4 Sources of Power:

-Legitimate power: an agreement among organizational members that people in certain roles can request certain behaviors of others

-Reward power: derived from the ability to control the allocation of rewards valued by others and to remove negative sanctions

-Coercive power: ability to apply punishment

-Expert power: is the capacity to influence others by possessing knowledge or skills that they value

4 Contingence

-individuals and work unit are powerful

-centrality: the number of people affected

-Discretion is the freedom to exercise judgment

-visibility: the idea that power increases to the extent that a person’s or work unit’s competencies are known to others

-social networking involves cultivating social relationships with others to accomplish goals

-influence alters someone’s attitudes and behavior

-“soft” influence tactics: friendly persuasion and subtle ingratiation

-“hard” influence tactics: upward appeal and assertiveness

-organizational politics: influence tactics that observes perceive to the self-serving behaviors at the expense of others

-organizational politics can be minimized by providing clear rules for resource allocation, establish a free flow of info, educate and involve people during organizational changes

Chapter 9 Related Article

2010-05-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

Chapter 9: Communicating in Teams & Organizations

This article showcases the different ways one can improve the communication as a manger to their team. Giving examples of different channels one could use to reach out to the team they also focus on the “How” and “Why” these are important to keep one’s team informed of the goings on of the group.

http://www.bnet.com/2410-13056_23-68775.html

Editorial, Bnet. "Improving Communication with Your Team | BNET." BNET Today | Management, Strategy, Work Life Skills & Advice for Professionals. Web. 6 Apr. 2010. .

Chapter 9-Communicating in Teams and Organizations

2010-05-20T17:06:00.001-07:00

-Communication: process by which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people

-supports work coordination/organizational learning/decision making/employee well being

Communication Process: forming, encoding, transmitting the intended message to a receiver, decoding message and provides feedback to sender

2 Types of Communication

-Verbal: Spoken communication

-Nonverbal: Body language, facial gestures, voice intonation, physical distance, & silence

-Email isn’t always the most appropriate form of communication it’s just an easy outlet

-most appropriate medium partly depends on social acceptance factors, including organization and team norms

-individuals preference for specific communication channels

-barriers create noise in the communication process

-people misinterpret messages due to perceptual biases

-People screen out messages due to information overload

-problems amplified in cross-cultural settings w/ language barriers and difference in nonverbal cues

-to get message across empathize with the receiver w/ what the information is being presented

-Management by walking around: communication practice in which executives get out of their offices and learn from others in the organization through face-to-face dialogue

-Grapevine: an unstructured informal network founded on social relationships rather than organizational charts or job descriptions

Team Dynamics Related Article

2010-05-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

Chapter 8: team Dynamics

This article takes a look at the understanding of team dynamics and shows how you can use it to your advantage within the work place. They specifically focus on problem solving as a key skill for you to focus on.

http://www.helium.com/items/114532-understanding-team-dynamics-in-the-workplace

Armstrong, Teresa. "Understanding Team Dynamics in the Workplace." Helium - Where Knowledge Rules. Web. 30 March 2010. .

Chapter 8-Team Dynamics

2010-05-20T17:00:00.000-07:00

Teams are groups of 2 or more people who interact and influence each other and are mutually accountable for achieving common goals associated with organizational objectives

Why do people join teams?

-4 Reasons

-People have an innate drive to bond

-group membership is an inherent ingredient in a person’s self-concept

-personal goals are accomplished better in groups

-individuals are comforted in stressful situations by the mere presence of other people

-Teams make better decisions in most scenarios

-Teams are not always effective if people don’t pull their weight in the process

Team effectiveness

-team’s ability to achieve its objectives

-fulfill the needs of its members

-maintain itself

3 Team Design Elements

-Task Characteristics: when teams can be divided into specialized roles according to the task at hand

-Team Size: Depending on work load and the amount of people in the group size will dictate how work can be accomplished

-Team Composition: to pick people that have knowledge of the subject matter so each individual in the group can bring something to the table

Stages of Team Development:

-Storming: competing for team roles/influence goals and means/establish norms

-Norming: discovering expectations/setting up the value of team members/establish roles/agree on objectives/develop cohesion

-performing: task oriented/committed/efficient coordination/high cooperation and trust

-adjourning:ending the meeting

Team identity:

-identifying yourselves and what you are aimed at accomplishing

Team competence:

- are the people in your group the right people do they understand the group and what they are about.

Team Cohesion:

-the degree of attraction people feel toward the team and their motivation to remain members

Self-directed Teams (SDTs):

-cross functional work groups that are organized around work processes, complete an entire piece of work requiring several interdependent tasks, and have substantial autonomy over the execution of those tasks

Decision Making Techniques-How to Make Good Decisions

2010-03-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

Decision Making Techniques

How to Make Good Decisions

Good decision making is an essential skill for career success generally, and effective leadership particularly. If you can learn to make timely and well-considered decisions, then you can often lead your team to spectacular and well-deserved success. However, if you make poor decisions, your team risks failure and your time as a leader will, most likely, be brutally short.

The techniques in this section help you to make the best decisions possible with the information you have available. These tools help you map out the likely consequences of decisions, work out the importance of individual factors and choose the best course of action to take.

These techniques build on the tools discussed in the section on Problem Solving Tools, in that Decision Making follows on from an understanding of the situation. The section on Creativity Tools will help you to explore what alternatives that are open to you.

Do remember, though, that the tools in this chapter exist only to assist your intelligence and common sense. These are your most important assets in good Decision Making.

	Decision Making Techniques - Start Here!
	Pareto Analysis - Choosing what to change
	Paired Comparison Analysis - Working out the relative importance of different options
	Grid Analysis - Making a choice taking into account many factors
	PMI - Weighing the pros and cons of a decision
	Force Field Analysis - Analyzing the pressures for and against change
	Six Thinking Hats - Looking at a decision from different perspectives
	Starbursting - Understanding options better by brainstorming questions
	Stepladder Technique - Making better group decisions
	Cost/Benefit Analysis - Seeing whether a decision makes financial sense
	Cash Flow Forecasting with Spreadsheets - Analyzing whether an idea is financially viable
	Decision Trees - Choosing by valuing different options

Career Excellence Club Member Tools: (How to become a member)

	Decision Making Under Uncertainty - Making the best choice with the information available
	Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) - Choosing the best strategic way forward
	The Vroom-Yetton-Jago Decision Model - Deciding how to decide
	What Are Your Values? - Deciding what's most important in life
	Monte Carlo Analysis - Bringing uncertainty and risk into forecasting
	Linear Programming - Optimizing your limited resources
	Critical Thinking - Develop the skills for successful thinking
	Impact Analysis - Identifying the "unexpected" consequences of a decision
	The Ladder of Inference - Avoiding "jumping to conclusions"
	Blindspot Analysis - Avoiding common 'fatal flaws' in decision making
	The Kepner-Tregoe Matrix - Making unbiased, risk assessed decisions
	Nominal Group Technique - Prioritizing issues and projects to achieve consensus
	The Delphi Technique - Achieving well thought through consensus among experts
	Avoiding Groupthink - Avoiding fatal flaws in group decision making
	Reactive Decision Making - Making good decisions under pressure
	Spiral Dynamics - Understanding how people's values may affect their decision making
	Are You a 'Cautious' or 'Courageous' Decision Maker? - Understand your risk profile and make better decisions
	Multi-Voting - Choosing fairly between many options Bibliography "Decision Making Techiniques-How to Make Good Decisions." Mindtools.com. Mind Tools-Essential Skills for an Excellent Career. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. .

Chapter 7-Decision Making and Creativity

2010-03-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

Decision Making: is a conscious process of making choices

(see image 1)

Problem Indentification Challenges

-stakeholder framing/filter

-block out bad news

-mental models: shape our reality

-decisive leadership: give a quick answer to look good

-solution: focused problems skips over the problem

Identifying Problems Effectively

-be aware of perceptual and diagnostic limitations

-fight against pressure to look decisive

-maintain “divine discontent”: avoid complacancy

(see image 2)

Biased Decision Methods: people have built-in decision methods that filter evaluation of alternatives

-anchoring and adjustment: people anchor early information and won’t move despite new data

-availablity method: we estimate probabilities by how easily we can recall the event

-represent/resemble method: we estimate probabilities by how much they represent something (e.g. stereotypes)

Paralyzed by Choice: presented with many decisions and can’t make decisions

Emotions & Making Choices: emotions form preferences before we consciously evaluate those choices/moods and emotions influence how well we follow

Intuitive Decision Making:

-ability to know when a problem or opportunity exists and select the best course of action

-intuition as emotional experience

Escalation of Commitment

-tendency to repeat a bad decision or allocate more resources to a failing course of action

-4 main causes of escalation:

1. self-justification: protect my rep

2. prospect theory: take more risks to avoid losses

3. perceptual blinders: just miss the danger

4. closing costs

Image 1

Image 2

Employee Reward and Recognition Systems

2010-03-16T11:37:00.000-07:00

In a competitive business climate, more business owners are looking at improvements in quality while reducing costs. Meanwhile, a strong economy has resulted in a tight job market. So while small businesses need to get more from their employees, their employees are looking for more out of them. Employee reward and recognition programs are one method of motivating employees to change work habits and key behaviors to benefit a small business.

REWARD VS. RECOGNITION

Although these terms are often used interchangeably, reward and recognition systems should be considered separately. Employee reward systems refer to programs set up by a company to reward performance and motivate employees on individual and/or group levels. They are normally considered separate from salary but may be monetary in nature or otherwise have a cost to the company. While previously considered the domain of large companies, small businesses have also begun employing them as a tool to lure top employees in a competitive job market as well as to increase employee performance.

As noted, although employee recognition programs are often combined with reward programs they retain a different purpose altogether. Recognition programs are generally not monetary in nature though they may have a cost to the company. Sue Glasscock and Kimberly Gram inProductivity Today differentiate the terms by noting that recognition elicits a psychological benefit whereas reward indicates a financial or physical benefit. Although many elements of designing and maintaining reward and recognition systems are the same, it is useful to keep this difference in mind, especially for small business owners interested in motivating staffs while keeping costs low.

DIFFERENTIATING REWARDS FROM MERIT PAY AND THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

In designing a reward program, a small business owner needs to separate the salary or merit pay system from the reward system. Financial rewards, especially those given on a regular basis such as bonuses, gainsharing, etc., should be tied to an employee's or a group's accomplishments and should be considered "pay at risk" in order to distance them from salary. By doing so, a manager can avoid a sense of entitlement on the part of the employee and ensure that the reward emphasizes excellence or achievement rather than basic competency.

Merit pay increases, then, are not part of an employee reward system. Normally, they are an increase for inflation with additional percentages separating employees by competency. They are not particularly motivating since the distinction that is usually made between a good employee and an average one is relatively small. In addition, they increase the fixed costs of a company as opposed to variable pay increases such as bonuses which have to be "reearned" each year. Finally, in many small businesses teamwork is a crucial element of a successful employee's job. Merit increases generally review an individual's job performance, without adequately taking into account the performance within the context of the group or business.

DESIGNING A REWARD PROGRAM

The keys to developing a reward program are as follows:

Identification of company or group goals that the reward program will support
Identification of the desired employee performance or behaviors that will reinforce the company's goals
Determination of key measurements of the performance or behavior, based on the individual or group's previous achievements
Determination of appropriate rewards
Communication of program to employees

In order to reap benefits such as increased productivity, the entrepreneur designing a reward program must identify company or group goals to be reached and the behaviors or performance that will contribute to this. While this may seem obvious, companies frequently make the mistake of rewarding behaviors or achievements that either fail to further business goals or actually sabotage them. If teamwork is a business goal, a bonus system rewarding individuals who improve their productivity by themselves or at the expense of another does not make sense. Likewise, if quality is an important issue for an entrepreneur, the reward system that he or she designs should not emphasize rewarding the quantity of work accomplished by a business unit.

Properly measuring performance ensures the program pays off in terms of business goals. Since rewards have a real cost in terms of time or money, small business owners need to confirm that performance has actually improved before rewarding it. Once again, the measures need to relate to a small business' goals. As Linda Thornburg noted in HR Magazine, "Performance measures in a rewards program have to be linked to an overall business strategy…. Mostreward programs use multiple measures which can include such variables as improved financial performance along with improved customer service, improved customer satisfaction, and reduced defects."

When developing a rewards program, an entrepreneur should consider matching rewards to the end result for the company. Perfect attendance might merit a different reward than saving the company $10,000 through improved contract negotiation. It is also important to consider rewarding both individual and group accomplishments in order to promote both individual initiative and group cooperation and performance.

Lastly, in order for a rewards program to be successful, the specifics need to be clearly spelled out for every employee. Motivation depends on the individual's ability to understand what is being asked of her. Once this has been done, reinforce the original communication with regular meetings or memos promoting the program. Keep your communications simple but frequent to ensure staff are kept abreast of changes to the system.

TYPES OF REWARD PROGRAMS

There are a number of different types of reward programs aimed at both individual and team performance.

VARIABLE PAY Variable pay or pay-for-performance is a compensation program in which a portion of a person's pay is considered "at risk." Variable pay can be tied to the performance of the company, the results of a business unit, an individual's accomplishments, or any combination of these. It can take many forms, including bonus programs, stock options, and one-time awards for significant accomplishments. Some companies choose to pay their employees less than competitors but attempt to motivate and reward employees using a variable pay program instead. According to Shawn Tully in Fortune, "The test of a good pay-for-performance plan is simple: It must motivate managers to produce earnings growth that far exceeds the extra cost of [the program]. Though employees should be made to stretch, the goals must be within reach."

BONUSES Bonus programs have been used in American business for some time. They usually reward individual accomplishment and are frequently used in sales organizations to encourage salespersons to generate additional business or higher profits. They can also be used, however, to recognize group accomplishments. Indeed, increasing numbers of businesses have switched from individual bonus programs to one which reward contributions to corporate performance at group, departmental, or company-wide levels.

According to some experts, small businesses interested in long-term benefits should probably consider another type of reward. Bonuses are generally short-term motivators. By rewarding an employee's performance for the previous year, say critics, they encourage a short-term perspective rather than future-oriented accomplishments. In addition, these programs need to be carefully structured to ensure they are rewarding accomplishments above and beyond an individual or group's basic functions. Otherwise, they run the risk of being perceived as entitlements or regular merit pay, rather than a reward for outstanding work. Proponents, however, contend that bonuses are a perfectly legitimate means of rewarding outstanding performance, and they argue that such compensation can actually be a powerful tool to encourage future top-level efforts.

PROFIT SHARING Profit-sharing refers to the strategy of creating a pool of monies to be disbursed to employees by taking a stated percentage of a company's profits. The amount given to an employee is usually equal to a percentage of the employee's salary and is disbursed after a business closes its books for the year. The benefits can be provided either in actual cash or via contributions to employee's 401(k) plans. A benefit for a company offering this type of reward is that it can keep fixed costs low.

The idea behind profit-sharing is to reward employees for their contributions to a company's achieved profit goal. It encourages employees to stay put because it is usually structured to reward employees who stay with the company; most profit-sharing programs require an employee to be vested in the program over a number of years before receiving any monies. Unfortunately, since it is awarded to all employees, it tends to dilute individual contributions. In addition, while profit is important, it is only one of many goals a company may have and is, according to Jack Stack in Inc., "an accumulation of everything that happens in the business over a given period of time" and is therefore difficult for most employees to connect their actions to. Stack argued that "[employees] have to be able to see the connection between their actions, decisions, and participation, and changes in [a company's goals]." Like bonuses, profit sharing can eventually be viewed as an entitlement program if the connection between an employee's actions and his or her reward becomes murky.

STOCK OPTIONS Previously the territory of upper management and large companies, stock options have become an increasingly popular method in recent years of rewarding middle management and other employees in both mature companies and start-ups. Employee stock-option programs give employees the right to buy a specified number of a company's shares at a fixed price for a specified period of time (usually around ten years). They are generally authorized by a company's board of directors and approved by its shareholders. The number of options a company can award to employees is usually equal to a certain percentage of the company's shares outstanding.

Like profit-sharing plans, stock options usually reward employees for sticking around, serving as a long-term motivator. Once an employee has been with a company for a certain period of time (usually around four years), he or she is fully vested in the program. If the employee leaves the company prior to being fully vested, those options are canceled. After an employee becomes fully vested in the program, he or she can purchase from the company an allotted number of shares at the strike price (or the fixed price originally agreed to). This purchase is known as "exercising" stock options. After purchasing the stock, the employee can either retain it or sell it on the open market with the difference in strike price and market price being the employee's gain in the value of the shares.

Offering additional stock in this manner presents risks for both the company and the employee. If the option's strike price is higher than the market price of the stock, the employee's option is worthless. When an employee exercises an option, the company is required to issue a new share of stock that can be publicly traded. The company's market capitalization grows by the market price of the share, rather than the strike price that the employee purchases the stock for. The possibility of reduction of company earnings (impacting both the company and shareholders) arises when the company has a greater number of shares outstanding. To keep ahead of this possibility, earnings must increase at a rate equal to the rate at which outstanding shares increase. Otherwise, the company must repurchase shares on the open market to reduce the number of outstanding shares.

One benefit to offering stock options is a company's ability to take a tax deduction for compensation expense when it issues shares to employees who are exercising their options. Another benefit to offering options is that while they could be considered a portion of compensation, current accounting methods do not require businesses to show options as an expense on their books. This tends to inflate the value of a company. Companies should think carefully about this as a benefit, however. If accounting rules were to become more conservative, corporate earnings could be impacted as a result.

GROUP-BASED REWARD SYSTEMS

As more small businesses use team structures to reach their goals, many entrepreneurs look for ways to reward cooperation between departments and individuals. Bonuses, profit sharing, and stock options can all be used to reward team and group accomplishments. An entrepreneur can choose to reward individual or group contributions or a combination of the two. Group-based reward systems are based on a measurement of team performance, with individual rewards received on the basis of this performance. While these systems encourage individual efforts toward common business goals, they also tend to reward underperforming employees along with average and above-average employees. A reward program which recognizes individual achievements in addition to team performance can provide extra incentive for employees.

RECOGNITION PROGRAMS

For small business owners and other managers, a recognition program may appear to be merely extra effort on their part with few tangible returns in terms of employee performance. While most employees certainly appreciate monetary awards for a job well done, many people merely seek recognition of their hard work. For an entrepreneur with more ingenuity than cash available, this presents an opportunity to motivate employees.

In order to develop an effective recognition program, a small business owner must be sure to separate it from the company's reward program. This ensures a focus on recognizing the efforts of employees. To this end, although the recognition may have a monetary value (such as a luncheon, gift certificates, or plaques), money itself is not given to recognize performance. Glasscock and Gram noted in National Productivity Review that effective recognition methods should be sincere; fair and consistent; timely and frequent; flexible; appropriate; and specific. They go on to explain that it is important that every action which supports a company's goals is recognized, whether through informal feedback or formal company-wide recognition. Likewise, every employee should have the same opportunity to receive recognition for their work. Recognition also needs to occur in a timely fashion and on a frequent basis so that an employee's action does not go overlooked and so that it is reinforced to spur additional high performance. Like rewards, the method of recognition needs to be appropriate for the achievement. This also ensures that those actions which go farthest in supporting corporate goals receive the most attention. However, an entrepreneur should remain flexible in the methods of recognition, as employees are motivated by different forms of recognition. Finally, employees need to clearly understand the behavior or action being recognized. A small business owner can ensure this by being specific in what actions will be recognized and then reinforcing this by communicating exactly what an employee did to be recognized.

Recognition can take a variety of forms. Structured programs can include regular recognition events such as banquets or breakfasts, employee of the month or year recognition, an annual report or yearbook which features the accomplishments of employees, and department or company recognition boards. Informal or spontaneous recognition can take the form of privileges such as working at home, starting late/leaving early, or long lunch breaks. A job well done can also be recognized by providing additional support or empowering the employee in ways such as greater choice of assignments, increased authority, or naming the employee as an internal consultant to other staff. Symbolic recognition such as plaques or coffee mugs with inscriptions can also be effective, provided they reflect sincere appreciation for hard work. These latter expressions of thanks, however, are far more likely to be received positively if the bestower is a small business owner with limited financial resources. Employees will look less kindly on owners of thriving businesses who use such inexpensive items as centerpieces of their reward programs.

Both reward and recognition programs have their place in small business. Small business owners should first determine desired employee behaviors, skills, and accomplishments that will support their business goals. By rewarding and recognizing outstanding performance, entrepreneurs will have an edge in a competitive corporate climate.

Chapter 6-Applied Performance Practices

2010-03-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

What is the meaning of Money in the workplace?

-Financial rewards are a fundamental part of employment

-pay has multiple meanings

-men value money more than women

-cultural values influence the meaning and value of money

4 Types of Rewards(see image 1)

-Membership and seniority based rewards

-Job Status-values given to toughest job, most responsibility, need most skill

-Competency-Based Rewards

-Task Performance: what did you do versus what do you know?

Improving Reward Effectiveness

-team rewards for interdependent jobs

-ensure rewards are valued-ASK!

-watch out for unintended consequences

Job Design-where/how does a successful employee start

-assign tasks to a job

-organization goals: to create jobs that can be performed efficiently yet employees are motivated and engaged

Job Specialization

-dividing work into separate but unique components

-Scientific management: concept of the original assembly line

Job Rotation: moving from one job to another minimizes repetitive strain

Job Enrichment: Given more responsibility for scheduling, coordinating, and planning one’s own work

1. Clustering tasks

Self-Leadership

-process of influencing oneself

Image 1

Managing Emotions in the Workplace: Do Positive and Negative Attitudes Drive Performance?

2010-03-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

Published: April 18, 2007 in Knowledge@Wharton

You know the type: coworkers who never have anything positive to say, whether at the weekly staff meeting or in the cafeteria line. They can suck the energy from a brainstorming session with a few choice comments. Their bad mood frequently puts others in one, too. Their negativity can contaminate even good news. "We engage in emotional contagion," says Sigal Barsade, a Wharton management professor who studies the influence of emotions on the workplace. "Emotions travel from person to person like a virus."

Barsade is the co-author of a new paper titled, "Why Does Affect Matter in Organizations?" ("Affect" is another word for "emotion" in organizational behavior studies.) The answer: Employees' moods, emotions, and overall dispositions have an impact on job performance, decision making, creativity, turnover, teamwork, negotiations and leadership.

"The state of the literature shows that affect matters because people are not isolated 'emotional islands.' Rather, they bring all of themselves to work, including their traits, moods and emotions, and their affective experiences and expressions influence others," according to the paper, co-authored by Donald Gibson of Fairfield University's Dolan School of Business.

An "affective revolution" has occurred over the last 30 years as academics and managers alike have come to realize that employees' emotions are integral to what happens in an organization, says Barsade, who has been doing research in the area of emotions and work dynamics for 15 years. "Everybody brings their emotions to work. You bring your brain to work. You bring your emotions to work. Feelings drive performance. They drive behavior and other feelings. Think of people as emotion conductors."

In the paper, Barsade and Gibson consider three different types of feelings:

Discrete, short-lived emotions, such as joy, anger, fear and disgust.

Moods, which are longer-lasting feelings and not necessarily tied to a particular cause. A person is in a cheerful mood, for instance, or feeling down.

Dispositional, or personality, traits, which define a person's overall approach to life. "She's always so cheerful," or "He's always looking at the negative."

All three types of feelings can be contagious, and emotions don't have to be grand and obvious to have an impact. Subtle displays of emotion, such as a quick frown, can have an effect as well, Barsade says. She offers this example: "Say your boss is generally in very good humor, but you see him one day at a meeting and his eyes flash at you. Even if they don't glare at you for the rest of the meeting, his eyes have enunciated some valuable information that is going to have you concerned and worried and off center for the rest of the meeting."

Barsade suggests that while some people are better than others at controlling their emotions, that doesn't mean their coworkers aren't picking up on their moods. "You may not think you are showing emotion, but there's a good chance you are in your facial expression or body language. Emotions we don't even realize we are feeling can influence our thoughts and behaviors."

The researchers' paper discusses a concept known as "emotional labor," in which employees regulate their public displays of emotion to comply with certain expectations. Part of this is "surface acting," in which, for instance, the tired and stressed airline customer service agent forces himself to smile and be friendly with angry customers who have lost their luggage. That compares to "deep acting," in which employees exhibit emotions they have worked on feeling. In that scenario, the stressed-out airline worker sympathizes with the customer and shows emotions that suggest empathy. The second approach may be healthier, Barsade says, because it causes less stress and burnout, particularly emotional exhaustion from having to regulate one's emotions and "play a role."

But is there a downside to being too authentic? If the company is losing money and experiencing the effects of downsizing, should the manager, feeling stressed and overwhelmed, convey his despair to his workers? Or should the manager try to appear cheerful and act as if nothing is wrong? Barsade says it's possible for the manager to convey emotions that are both authentic and positive, saying something like, "I know you're worried. Things aren't looking good, but you know, we have a way out of this and we can work [on it] together." The employees will appreciate the honesty and take comfort in the optimism, she says.

Emotions as Valuable Data

Emotional intelligence -- buzz words already familiar in psychology and education -- is now talked about in business circles as well, Barsade says. Business schools are teaching executives how to be emotionally intelligent, and how to manage the emotions of their employees.

"The idea behind emotional intelligence in the workplace is that it is a skill through which employees treat emotions as valuable data in navigating a situation," according to the authors. "Let's say a sales manager has come up with an amazing idea that will increase corporate revenues by up to 200%, but knows his boss tends to be irritable and short-tempered in the morning. Having emotional intelligence means that the manager will first recognize and consider this emotional fact about his boss. Despite the stunning nature of his idea -- and his own excitement -- he will regulate his own emotions, curb his enthusiasm and wait until the afternoon to approach his boss."

Barsade says research suggests that positive people tend to do better in the workplace, and it isn't just because people like them more than naysayers. "Positive people cognitively process more efficiently and more appropriately. If you're in a negative mood, a fair amount of processing is going to that mood. When you're in a positive mood, you're more open to taking in information and handling it effectively."

While you can't necessarily change your coworkers, people can take steps to avoid catching a negative mood, according to Barsade. They can tell themselves before attending a staff meeting that they are not going to be bothered by the person who shoots down everyone's ideas, or that they are not going to let that person become the focus of their attention at the meeting (reducing the possibility for contagion). Or they can change their office routine. Barsade gave the example of a manager who was dragged down at the start of every day when passing by the desk of an employee who either grunted or gave no acknowledgement. The manager took control and simply started following a different route through the office.

Barsade's research has taken her into a variety of workplaces, most recently long-term care facilities. Her research found that in facilities where the employees report having a positive workplace culture -- she calls it a "culture of love" -- the residents end up faring better than residents in facilities with a less compassionate and caring work culture. The residents reported experiencing less pain, made fewer trips to the emergency room, and were more likely to report being satisfied and in a positive mood.

Overconfidence Online

E-mail, instant messaging and video conferencing have introduced new challenges to the workplace, Barsade adds. E-mails and instant messages can be misunderstood because they are devoid of facial expressions, intonation and body language -- cues that help convey emotions. Some people, she says, work hard at making their emails neutral, with the downside of sometimes sounding curt. On the other hand, while some writers may add a smattering of exclamation points, question marks and capital letters in an attempt to convey more emotion, this can also be a dangerous route, particularly when attempting humor or sarcasm to drive home a point.

"How can emotions be best conveyed via these media?" the paper asks. "What is the effect of conveying emotionally charged messages via text, when these messages are more likely to be misconstrued? How must we re-think emotional contagion and other social processes in an organizational world in which many meetings take place online?"

The paper cites a study showing that people tend to be overconfident about their ability to convey the emotion they wish in an e-mail, particularly when they are trying to be funny or sarcastic. "Video conferencing, also increasing in its use, has more cues, but it is also not yet the same as interacting face to face, particularly in group situations. Given that these technologies continue to grow as a primary means of communication within the business world, it is crucial that we understand how the interpretation and communication of affect occurs in these contexts," the paper says.

Workplaces need to get smart about the best use of e-mail, Barsade states. Her advice is that "if something is important, and you know that the emotional context is going to be an issue, then pick up the phone; don't just rely on e-mails." And even the phone may not be good enough. "Sometimes, if it is really important, you just have to fly to where they are and meet them face-to-face to get the message across."

*Bibliography*

"Managing Emotions in the Workplace: Do Positive and Negative Attitudes Drive Performance?"Knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu. Knowledge@Wharton UPenn, 18 Apr. 2007. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. .

Chapter 4-Workplace Emotions, Attitudes, and Stess

2010-03-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

Emotions Defined

Attitudes are seen as logical judgements emotions are considered feelings

Attitudes: Judements about an attitude object; based mainly on rational logic,

Emotions: experiences related to be an object; based on innate

Emotions, Attitudes , and Behavior

-how emotions influence attitudes: feelings are shaped by cumulative episodes; we listen in on our emotions when determining our attitude toward something

-potential conflict between thinking and emotional processes

-emotions also directly affect behavior; e.g. facial expression

Cognitive Dissonance

-a state of anxiety that occurs when an individual’s beliefs, feelings and behaviors are inconsistent with one another. Causes stress..

-most common when behavior is: known to others, done voluntarily, can’t be undone

Emotional Labor Defined

-effort need to express organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal transactions

-emotional labor is higher when job requires

Emotional Intelligence Defined

-Ability to; perceive, regulate, express emotion in oneself and others

Job Satisfaction

Setting Expectations

2010-03-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

Setting Expectations

Setting performance expectations is the foundation and first step in performance management. By setting performance expectations early, the employee knows what is expected and the supervisor has specific performance criteria to measure quality and productivity.

Remember: Communication is the key!

Defining the Job Purpose

As a supervisor, defining an overall job purpose is the first step in setting performance expectations. The job purpose reflects the essential function of the job. On the Employee Appraisal form, this is the first item underKey Responsibilities. The job purpose is mutually agreed upon and understood by the supervisor and employee ensuring that both are clear on the overall job expectation. It also provides a fair basis for appraising performance.

To write a clear and meaningful job purpose, use the following formula:

"Job title" is the title of the job. This may be the classification job title or the agency-specific working job title.

"What" describes the main function of the job. It is not the place to list all job tasks.

"Why" explains why the job is done. This should be written very clearly to avoid confusion. When an employee understands the why of their job, they are more likely to be motivated and to understand their role in the organization.

Some examples of clearly written job purposes:

Defining the Job Purpose

Determining Key Responsibilities

The next step is to identify the key responsibilities that make up the job. Key responsibilities are the main components or key results of the job. Three to seven key responsibilities will ensure a list that represents a good overview of the job. These are listed under Key Responsibilities along with the job purpose on the Employee Appraisal form. These are used for developing standards in the section Additional Employee Performance Standards on the Employee Appraisal form. Note that these key responsibilities represent resultsfrom doing a job, not a listing of tasks that one performs.

Determining key responsibilities:

Defines for the employee what they are expected to achieve;
Provides an objective basis for the appraisal; and
Provides a framework for the job.

The formula for identifying key responsibilities looks like this:

"Job title" is the title of the job.

"Verb" describes the action the employee will take.

"What" describes the end product.

"How" describes how the work will be done. It provides techniques that measure quality, quantity, and time factors.

Examples of a clearly written key responsibility for each of the following positions are:

Remember: Most positions have three to seven key responsibilities!

Determining Key Responsibilities

Performance Standards

The Job Purpose Statement and Key Responsibilities deal with "the what" of an individual's performance. In this section, we look at performance standards which tell "how" or "how well" a job is done. "How" deals with quality. Idaho's Performance Management system has established qualitative core performance 'standards' that are consistent across all agencies. These standards are applied to each individual's performance and appear in the performance appraisal document. Additional standards may be developed by agencies and are applied to the entire agency or to all employees in a specific classification. Standards should align with the agency's values, mission, and goals.

State of Idaho Performance Standards
Following are the core performance standards for which all State of Idaho employees are evaluated. These standards represent critical work behaviors necessary for job success. There are two lists of standards, one for employees and one for supervisors and managers.

Employee Performance Standards
Standards	Definitions
Customer Service	Describes how well the employee works with internal and external customers to achieve desired results and maintain positive relationships
Interpersonal Skills	Describes how well the employee establishes and maintains effective work relationships. Demonstrates good communication and listening skills.
Dependability	Describes how well the employee completes assigned work in a timely manner. The employee meets attendance requirements.
Quality	Describes the employee's work in terms of consistency, thoroughness, and accuracy.
Productivity	Describes how the employee manages and completes workload expectations and demonstrates the knowledge and skills needed to do the job.
Adaptability/Flexibility	Describes how well the employee adapts to change and is open to different new ways of doing things.
Work Environment/Safety	Describes how well the employee promotes a respectful workplace and complies with general conditions of employment, EEO, security, and workplace safety policies.

Supervisor/Manager Performance Standards
Standards	Definitions
Managing Performance	Describes how well the manager provides employees with clear job expectations and feedback/coaching about performance. Deals firmly and appropriately with performance problems. Maintains timely employee performance evaluations.
Communication	Describes how effectively the manager shares information, builds relationships, and influences positive outcomes.
Decision Making/Problem Solving	Describes how well the manager makes timely and rational decisions based on analysis of relevant information/data. Accepts responsibility for decisions and takes proper action when necessary.
Results Focus	Describes how well the manager achieves expected outcomes that support organizational mission and goals.
Customer Focus	Describes how well the manager fosters and models a commitment to customer service.
Work Environment/Safety	Describes how well the manager promotes a respectful workplace and complies with general conditions of employment, EEO, security, and workplace safety policies.

Setting Job Objectives

Performance objectives are written to describe the measurable results an employee needs to achieve within each key responsibility area. Performance objectives should be tied to the strategic mission and goals of the agency. Goals and objectives are nearly synonymous and are often used interchangeably. To differentiate between the two remember this:

“The goal is where we want to be. The objectives are the steps needed to get there.”

Setting objectives creates employee motivation and should help the employee connect the job to the mission of the agency.
Objectives clarify the performance expectations within each key responsibility area and describe how they will be met and measured. Objectives provide guidance for the employee and help keep performance focused throughout the evaluation period. When objectives are discussed and written, the supervisor and the employee have a thorough understanding of what performance is expected.

Three components create a clear objective:

Performance – what the individual is to be able to do.
Criteria – the quality or level of performance that will be considered acceptable, often described in terms of speed, accuracy and/or quality.
Conditions – conditions under which the performance is expected to occur.

An example of a clearly written job objective incorporating these components could be written as follows:

The employee will write reports for the department at the end of each week
while the legislature is in session.

The first component, performance, helps in communicating what the employee is expected to perform. The performance is usually written using a verb that describes the action of the performance. Using the example from above, the performance of this objective is highlighted below.

The employee will write reports for the department at the end of each week
while the legislature is in session .

The second component, criteria, describes the standard by which the performance should be accomplished. The criteria of the example job objective is highlighted below.

The employee will write reports for the department at the end of each week
while the legislature is in session .

The preceding example described criteria in terms of timeliness. Another way to describe the criteria for a performance objective is to use accuracy measures. This can be expressed using a percentage. For example:

The employee will write reports for the department with zero grammatical errors
while the legislature is in session.

Quality of performance is another critical criterion. Sometimes quality, timeliness, and accuracy are important. All characteristics may be addressed in the objective.

The third component, condition, describes the situation and the environment in which the performance is to occur. The conditions of the example job objective is highlighted below.

TThe employee will write reports for the department at the end of each
week while the legislature is in session.

Objectives may be one or several sentences in length. Several sentences may be required to communicate the intent clearly.

To ensure success make the performance evaluation a living document. Take it out at least quarterly and review the job goals and objectives with the employee.

Prioritize goals and objectives.

Build flexibility into goals and objectives to ensure adaptability as changes occur in the job or agency.

Ask about obstacles and take action to eliminate them.

Create S.M.A.R.T. goals

Helpful Tip: When writing goals and objectives, use action verbs; they are much easier to measure!

Action Verbs	Passive Verbs
To write To recite To identify To sort To solve To construct To build To compare To contrast	To know To understand To really understand To appreciate To fully appreciate To grasp the significance of To enjoy To believe To have faith in

Sample objectives for Customer Service:

Reduce the average time for resolving customer service issues from (xx) minutes to (xx) minutes by the end of the calendar year.
Improve customer service satisfaction ratings by (xx)% by the end of the calendar year, as determined by customer satisfaction surveys.
Increase the number of people who visit our customer service web site to (xx) by the end of June.
Decrease employee turnover to (xx)% before the end of the calendar year by ensuring adequate breaks, flexible scheduling, and opportunities for growth and development.

*Bibliography*
"Setting Expectations." PTE.IDAHO.GOV. Professional-Technical Education. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. .

Setting Clearer Performance Expectations

2010-03-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

By Kevin Eikenberry

Summary: Too often managers spend much too much time and effort focusing on performance reviews once a year, rather than spending their time getting each employee "aimed" properly so the employee understands what s/he is to accomplish -- his or her goals and objectives. This article provides valuable suggestions about how to work with employees to set clear performance expectations, goals and objectives.

The annual performance review.

Stating this phrase guarantees some reaction for anyone who has ever had one, or had to give one as a supervisor or manager. In my experience in working with organizations, that reaction is seldom positive.

The concept behind the performance review or evaluation is a good one. It is a chance for someone to discuss their accomplishments, get feedback on their progress, and build a plan for continuous improvement. The idea makes sense, which is why every organization I’ve worked with has these meetings between a supervisor and an employee.

Unfortunately, while the idea is sound, far too often, in execution, these meetings are ineffective at best, and counter-productive at worst. While there are many reasons why this is true, one of those reasons is that supervisors don’t know how to do one of the most critical parts of this event effectively – setting clear performance expectations.

Without clear expectations from the previous year, the discussion becomes too subjective – one of the major (justified) reasons employees don’t find these reviews valuable. Without clear expectations set for the coming year, people don’t know what to work on throughout the year, beyond vague generalities or assumptions. This then sets them up for yet another largely subjective review next year.

Some Criteria

These expectations should be:

- Connected to the goals and objectives of the organization

- Clear and agreed upon

- Developed jointly

Applying these three criteria to the expectations you set during these meetings will improve the relevancy and clarity of the expectations. And by jointly developing them you improve the commitment of the employee to both the process and the expectations themselves.

Getting There

Setting employee goals and objectives is the bedrock of any performance appraisal system. Learn how.

Performance appraisals go much more smoothly when there are clear objectives and criteria for evaluation. Much less disagreement too. Learn to set employee goals and objectives and plan performance using thePerformance Planning For Managers Helpcard.

Free preview available. Click here for more information aboutPerformance Planning and Setting Employee Objectives

Once you know what successful expectations will look like with the criteria, the next question becomes, “how do we get there?” Here are some tips to help you identify, clarify and agree to performance expectations.

1. Start with organizational goals. Help the employee understand department and organizational goals. Discuss how their work can positively impact the achievement of those goals. Use that perspective to develop any performance expectations that directly link their work to those goals.

2. Ask questions. One of the biggest mistakes you can make during a performance review meeting is to do all of the talking. Get the employee to discuss their expectations and goals for the coming year. Start by asking questions – especially open ended ones. Perhaps you have some very specific things you want to include - you can add your items later in the conversation. Ask first and ask often.

3. Be quiet. If you are going to ask… you have to be quiet and listen. Be patient. They might not have an immediate thought – or they may be scared to say much if this is a different approach than they have experienced in these situations before. Ask the questions expectantly, rephrase them if needed, be patient and keep your mouth shut. If you are going to jointly create these expectations, you have to let them talk.

4. Acknowledge their feelings and perspective. You may not agree with everything they say. You may see their proposed expectations missing the mark slightly. Remember this is a conversation. Don’t judge too quickly. Even if you want to influence them to a different view, acknowledge how they feel, even if your feeling is different.

5. Challenge them to stretch. One of the best things we can do for people is encourage them to stretch their performance. Help people raise their expectations a little bit more. How do you know it is a stretch? When is feels like a challenge, but isn’t unbelievable. Setting expectations of improvement levels that people can’t visualize achieving is likely beyond a stretch. Set expectations that raise the bar a little – and that drive people towards their potential.

6. Be specific and descriptive. The expectations need to be descriptive and clear. If they are vague, they are open to interpretation and won’t be met to anyone’s satisfaction. Make them specific and write them down.

7. Restate and clarify. The meeting can’t end until you have agreement on the expectations, and you can’t get agreement unless they are clear. Review the notes that have been written down, and make sure that you both agree that they say want you want them to say, and that when you both read them in 2 days or 2 months, that they will still mean the same thing.

8. Gain agreement. Get people to commit to the expectations that have been created. Give space for them to share concerns or frustrations, but leave with a commitment to work towards these expectations. Your organization may want people to sign their performance reviews or plans. Beyond those requirements, having people sign their expectations and agreements is a powerful piece of people committing to achieve something. So consider having people sign, even if it isn’t a part of your organization’s process.

Taking these steps will help you create job expectations that will meet both the organization’s and the individual’s needs. It will also be a springboard to helping make those performance reviews more valuable – for everyone.

Final Note

Perhaps as you read this list you didn’t see anything earth-shattering or new. If so, my question to you is - are you doing all of these things, even though you know them?

Kevin Eikenberry is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on “Unleashing Your Potential” go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

*Bibliography*

Eikenberry, Kevin. "Setting Clear Performance Expectations." Performance-Appraisals.Org. Performance-Appraisals. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. .

Chapter 3-Perception and Learning in Organizations

2010-03-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

Perception Defined:

-the process of receiving information and making sense of the world around us

-deciding which info to notice

-how to categorize information

-how to interpret information within our existing knowledge framework

Selective Attention: see what you want vs. what is there (see Image 1 Below)

-objects characteristics

-size, intensity, motion, repetition, novelty

-perceiver characteristics

-emotional marker process

-your expectations

-self-concept and beliefs

-Confirmation bias

-screen out information contrary to our beliefs/values

Perceptual Organization/Interpretation

-categorical thinking-stored in long term memory-an unconscious process of organizing people/things

-grouping principles: based on similarity/proximity & perceiving trends

-interpreting incoming information: emotional markers automatically evaluate information

Mental models are frameworks for the intake of data:

-broad world views or theories-in-use

-help us to quickly make sense of situations: fill in missing pieces and help to predict events

-problem with mental models: may block recognition of new opportunities/perspectives

Stereotyping

-Assigning traits to people based only on their membership in a social category. Can be both positive/negative trait

-Occurs because: it is easy thinking/innate drive to understand and anticipate others’ behavior/enhances our self-concept

Rules of Attribution (see image 2 below)

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle (see image 3 below)

-effect is strongest at the beginning of the relationship

Possible Perceptual Errors

-halo effect: one trait forms a general impression (you went to my school, so you must be fantastic)

-primacy effect: first impressions

-recency effect: most recent information dominates perceptions (very dangerous in performance reviews)

-false-consensus effect: overestimate “everyone does it”

Strategies to Improve Perceptions:

1. Awareness of perceptual biases

2. Improving self-awareness: applying Johari Window

Johari Window(see image 4)

Developing a Learning Orientation

-value the generation of new knowledge

-reward experimentation

-recognize misstates as part of learning

-encourage employees to take reasonable risks

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

2010-02-16T08:42:00.000-08:00

Great benefits within a company can boost the moral and the production of the staff. One company in particular continuously ranks in the Top 10 of one of the best companies in the United States to work in year after year. The company, Google. What makes Google so great? Some say its the great atmosphere the open-mindedness of the staff others say its the working environment. The working environment is pretty nice, having spent some time there myself, but what really makes it worth while is there benefit package. I've attached a link directly too their benefits page on the Google Jobs website.

http://www.google.com/support/jobs/bin/static.py?page=benefits.html

Great Leadership Top 10 List & Worst Leadership Top 10 List

2010-02-16T08:38:00.000-08:00

Click on Fortune to get a look @ Fortune 500's top 10 List of the companies with the greatest leadership opposed to their Bottom 10 worst leadership list. As always Google is within the top 10.

Chapter 2-Individual Behavior, Personality, & Values

2010-02-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

Personality~Behaviors~Ethics

Success at Work:

MARS model

#1-Employee Motivation(internal push)

-internal forces that affect a person’s voluntary choice of behavior

-direction: you have choices

-intensity: how much effort

-persistence

#2-Employee Ability: Birth plus training

-natural aptitudes and learned capabilities required to successfully complete a task

-person: job matching-important

-selecting

-developing

-redesigning

#3-Role Perceptions: is the target clear?

-understanding what tasks to perform

-understanding relative importance of tasks

-understanding performed behaviors

#4-Situational Factors: Factors outside of the employee

-conditions beyond your immediate control that constrain or help behavior

-time

-people

-budget

-work facilities

-Defining Personality-who you are

-Relatively enduring pattern of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that characterize a person, along with the psychological processes behind those characters

-external traits_ observable behaviors

-internal states- thoughts, values, etc. inferred

Nature vs. Nurture of Personality

-influenced by Nature

-heredity explains about 50% of behavioral tendencies and 30% of temperament

-Influenced by Nurture

-Socialization, life experiences, learning affect personality

-personality

5-Factor Personality Model(CANOE)

-Conscientiousness: careful, dependable, self disciplined

-Agreeableness: courteous, caring

-Neuroticism: Anxious, hostile

-Openness to Experience: Sensitive, flexible, Creative

-Extroversion: Outgoing, talkative, assertive

Source of Theory-work of Carl Jung

Commonly measured by Myers-Briggs Type Indicator(MBTI)

-indentifies preferences for perceiving the environment and obtaining/processing information

-CSM offers Myers Briggs through Career Center

Values in the Workplace

-stable beliefs that guide our preferences

-define right or wrong, good or bad

-value system—hierarchy of values

-consider personal values vs. organizational values, vs. shared values(cultural)

Values Across Cultures: Geert Hofstede-Dutch(1928)

-1991 Cultures and Organizations- used in multinational businesses(IBM). Debated

4 Identifiable Areas:

-Individualism/Collectivism-behavior toward group

-Power Distance-acceptance of unequal power

-Uncertainly Avoidance-need for structure

-Masculine/Feminine-UK assertive tasks go to men, France values relationships, social links

Individualism: the degree to which people value personal freedom, self-sufficiency, control over themselves, being appreciated for unique qualities

-Collectivism: the degree to which people value their group membership and harmonious relationships within the group

Power Distance:

-High Power distance: value obedience to authority, a comfortable receiving commands from superiors, prefer formal rules and authority to resolve conflicts

-Low power distance: expect relatively equal power sharing, view relationship with boss as interdependence, not dependence

Uncertainty Avoidance

-High uncertainty avoidance

-feel threatened by ambiguity and uncertainty

-value

Achievement-Nurturing

-High achievement orientation

-assertiveness

-competitiveness

-materialism

-High nurturing orientation

-relationships

-others’ well-being

Ethics in Life or Work

-ethics are principles or values that determine whether actions are right or wrong and outcomes are good or bad

-social sectors may have different ethics(i.e. business ethics, medical ethics, etc.)

-ethics are different from legalities

Supporting Ethical Behavior at work

-code of conduct

-training

-hotlines

-ethical leadership and culture

Chapter 1-Introduction to the Feild of Organizational Behavior

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Chpt.1

Pixar Animation Studios

-OB practices helped Pixar become the world’s most successful animation studio by focus on:

-people-cenetered

-employee compentencies

Why Study Organizational behavior?

-statisfy the need to understand and guide

-influence behavior-get things done

*Improves an organization’s overall health-including financial

-OB is for everyone

Four Perspectives Organizational Effectiveness

-open systems perspective

-organizations are complex systems that depend upon the external environment

-effective organizations: maintain a close fit

-organizational learning perspective

-an organization’s capacity to acquire, share, use, and store valuable knowledge

-need to consider both stock(HardDrive) and flow of knowledge(inbox)

-knowledge acquisition(extracting info and ideas from its environment as well as through insight)----->knowledge sharing(distributing knowledge throughout the organization)----->knowledge use(applying knowledge to organizational processes in ways that improves the organization’s effectiveness

-organizational memory

-HPWPs(Best Practices): are internal systems and structures that are associated with successful companies

-value of employees increased through “best practices”

-recognized by peers/professional organizations.

-Stakeholder Perspective: any entity who affects or is affected by the firm’s objectives and action-employees, suppliers, community, interest groups, etc.

-challenges with stakeholder perspective:

-stakeholders have conflicting interests

-firms have limited resources

Corp. Social Responsibility

-stakeholder perspective includes this

-benefit society and environment beyond the firm’s immediate financial interests or legal obligations

3 Business Challenges

-Globalization

-economic, social, and cultural connectivity with people in other parts of the world

-effects of globalization on organizations

-new internal structures-languages/habits/values

-externally-increasing competitive pressures

-Workforce Diversity

-surface-level diversity:

-observable(e.g. race, ethnicity, gender, age)

-deep-level diversity:

-differences in psychological characteristics(e.g. personalities, beliefs, values, and attitudes)

-implications:

-advantage & challenges(e.g. teams, conflict)

-Employment Relationships

-Work/life balance:

-minimizing conflict between work and non-work demands number one indicator of career success

-Virtual work:

-using information technology to perform one’s job away from the traditional physical workplace

Are you an Introvert or Extrovert?

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Jean Yves' Organizational Behavior/Management Blog

Chapter 15 Related Article

Chapter 15-Organizational Change

Chapter 14 Related Article

Chapter 14-Organizational Culture

Chapter 13 Related Article

Chapter 13-Organizational Structure

Chapter 12 Related Article

Chapter 12-Leadership in Organizational Settings

Chapter 11 Related Article

Chapter 11-Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace

Chapter 10 Related Article

Chapter 9 Related Article

Chapter 9-Communicating in Teams and Organizations

Team Dynamics Related Article

Chapter 8-Team Dynamics

Decision Making Techniques-How to Make Good Decisions

Decision Making Techniques

How to Make Good Decisions

Chapter 7-Decision Making and Creativity

Employee Reward and Recognition Systems

REWARD VS. RECOGNITION

DIFFERENTIATING REWARDS FROM MERIT PAY AND THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

DESIGNING A REWARD PROGRAM

TYPES OF REWARD PROGRAMS

GROUP-BASED REWARD SYSTEMS

RECOGNITION PROGRAMS

FURTHER READING:

Chapter 6-Applied Performance Practices

Managing Emotions in the Workplace: Do Positive and Negative Attitudes Drive Performance?

Read More About...

Chapter 4-Workplace Emotions, Attitudes, and Stess

Setting Expectations

Setting Clearer Performance Expectations

By Kevin Eikenberry

Chapter 3-Perception and Learning in Organizations

Great Leadership Top 10 List & Worst Leadership Top 10 List

Chapter 2-Individual Behavior, Personality, & Values

Chapter 1-Introduction to the Feild of Organizational Behavior

Are you an Introvert or Extrovert?