Month: October 2010

A large part of being a Sauder student is to become a leader. We often define a leader as a guiding individual who is first to initiate an idea or a movement.

This TED Talks video presents an alternate definition of leadership. In the video, a man begins to dance in front of a crowd. Before long, a second person joins in and sets off a chain reaction, with other people following suit. In many cases, we consider the first dancer as the leader because he initiates the movement. However, the speaker shines the spotlight on the second dancer, as he is the one who transforms the lone nut into a leader in the eyes of the audience.

Many of us are in a mad scramble to be the first, but we rarely pause to think if that is the right move to make as a leader. It is not always the chronological order of events that define a leader. Rather, it is the person’s effect on the crowd that transforms an individual into a leader.

Capital isn’t scarce, vision is. – Sam Walton

An efficient team is driven by a common vision. This does not imply that members must have identical values. Instead, a common vision is a shared objective that the team, as a collective whole, seeks to achieve.

The cartoon makes transparent a widespread problem in teams today – gaps in vision among managers and employees. Although the potential success of the team achieving its goals is not impossible, the efficiency of the team is not at a maximum.

The vision is the soul or the driving force of the people. When members are motivated by varying reasons, work may still be done, but their underlying intentions, be it intrinsic motivation or extrinsic rewards, will affect the quality of the work.

A manager bears the responsibility of informing employees about a common vision. Only when the team is driven by the same force will its aim be accomplished with desirable results.

In the ethnography, Where Have All The Homeless Gone, capitalism and the flourishing of business are associated as the origin of poverty. As individuals strive towards maximizing their profits and utility, the wealthy tend to get wealthier and the poor get poorer.

Over time, economy climbs to a new high, but often at the expense of the ones truly in need.

This provides an alternative to my perception of business. In Sauder, many of us are here to become an active player in the business world of the future, often neglecting the possible harmful effects of only striving for profits. This is not to say that Marcus’ association with capitalism and poverty is the absolute truth. Rather, it reveals the flip side of the coin.

Capitalism is necessary for the growth of an economy, but it is of importance that governments issue the laws needed to ensure that profits are not made at the expense of others.

“Great organizations aren’t built on yes men. And great schools don’t create them.“

The Sauder School of Business is advertised in The Globe and Mail. Written on a green background are the words, “We respectfully disagree.” Although it is simple, it gets to the point.

What makes a strong team is not conformity, but room for conflict. This is not to say that arguments are the foundation of success. Rather, cognitive conflict breeds creativity and learning. Efficient teamwork does not necessarily equate with instilling common concepts among individuals. Instead, teamwork is the process of bridging gaps between different ideas and perspectives.

In Organizational Behaviour, we learn that conflict, to a certain extent, increases performance. Conflicts that are aimed to improve the situation and better the team’s performance is beneficial to the growth of the team. This is a concept that all of us should take with us when we graduate. It is not the supply and demand laws that we learn from economics nor the equations that are taught in accounting that drive our motivation . Rather, it is these values that should be taken to heart.

The Social Network is a drama film about the founding of the omnipresent networking tool of Facebook.

“You don’t get to 500 million friends without making a few enemies.” The film revolves around the founding of Facebook and the enemies made by Mark Zuckerberg, the genius behind the computer screen, throughout his adventures of creating the social network.

While the film presents to us the limitless power of social media, it also draws our attention to the potential flaws in the system. When information travels through the numerous pathways of social media, privacy no longer exists to the players of the network. Once a spark is lit, the fire will spread. The catch to social media is that the fire spreads in every way possible, making it more difficult to be contained.

Businesses are now taking advantage of social media, such as Facebook, as a platform to reach every nook and corner. The consequences faced by Mark in the film offer insight into the risks of businesses by becoming an active participant in the social channel.  The Social Network provides the audience an alternative perspective to social media and its active role in our day to day lives.

Social media has become a popular platform to get messages delivered across the globe. With only a few clicks of the mouse, information can travel down the street, as well as halfway across the world. Businesses are adopting the use of social media to allow the general public to receive notifications of the company’s newest updates. This is undeniably efficient, as time is money in the business world, but is this the correct method to improving customer satisfaction and increasing sales?

A genuine interaction is key. As a consumer, I understand that we want our voices to be heard and that businesses are working towards catering to our expectations. With the use of social media, messages are being heard, but action is not merely “talking the talk.” We want a personal interaction ensuring that our opinions are truly considered. This is not to say that we do not value the second-to-second updates. Rather, a personal interaction is of greater value.

Social media is a platform, but should it not be a shortcut.