Tag: comm292

Incorporating individuals from diverse cultures, different genders and various ethnicities within a corporation is valuable to any leader. While corporations appear to be utilizing this perspective to enhance their production and commitment to social responsibility, age, or more specifically, generation is an aspect of diversity that I feel is neglected. This negligence is especially pronounced in regards to the new generation entering the workforce, the millennials.

In general, millennials matured during relatively wealthy times and were the first generation to take technology for granted as an expectation over a novel convenience. Although they tend to be questioning, electronically networked and entrepreneurially driven, business executives are having a difficult time incorporating this generation into the workplace. Perhaps this is because employers are concerned with catering towards the myths of millennials rather than fostering them in an environment where everyone feels valued. According to the article derived from Forbes.com, it is clear millennials are much different than other generations, as they present with a sense of entitlement, have a hard time focusing and are eager to make an impact. Although I find these opinions valid, I agree with the author of article when he states that “executives should encourage transparency and openness, so everyone feels comfortable voicing opinions and learns how to take feedback.” This may be interpreted as a backhanded compliment however, as between the lines, he is suggesting that millennials are opinionated and with time, can utilize criticism to benefit the self and subsequently, the business.

Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of this generation, business executives should take advantage of the positive aspects. Millennials are known to set high expectations and are known to be entrepreneurs. These can be extremely desirable traits in a corporation where hard work and competition often lead to success and vitality. In incorporating millennials, companies will have to ensure that they embrace these qualities without jeopardizing collegial and teamwork environments.

Millennials require more assistance developing soft skills such as listening, conflict resolution and communication. Executives appear to be aware of these needs should therefore shift their focus from designing jobs to fit millennials needs to ongoing training to ensure a strong foundation of skills.

Word Count: 364

Works Cited:

Haugh, L. (2017, January 30). Millennials Don’t Need Special Treatment At Work. Retrieved March 28, 2017, from http://fortune.com/2017/01/30/how-to-manage-millennials-at-work/?iid=sr-link1

Langton, N., Robbins, S., Judge, T., & Robbins, S. (2013). Organizational behaviour (7th ed.). Toronto: Pearson Canada.

What drives students to universities?

Do students go to universities purely because of their passion towards higher-level education, or is it because their passion towards an easier route to a satisfied and potentially wealthy future?

In Exploring Ethan Tam’s blog post “What is a student’s motivation?” I started questioning the reasoning behind the pursuit of many students to attend UBC, even from the opposite side of the world, and what motivates them to be so dedicated to school work and be involved in clubs.

Ethan discussed that the primary motivation for students for joining clubs is their will to “feel sense of belongings,” as opposed to receiving recognition, as peers typically do not care enough about others’ participation to make it status symbol on campus. Although I agree with his argument, I want to expand on the reasoning behind participation further through applying Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory and how it applies to students’ will to fulfill these needs.

It is suggested that the titles of club positions will assist student resumes as an experience which will eventually reward them as making them more compatible in a competitive job market. Furthermore, getting better grades will get students into better programs, schools, and eventually careers, thus studying hard will reward students in the future as well.

The reward for joining clubs and being active on campus may not be monetary and likely will not present itself to students immediately, but the majority understand, or have been informed that their hard work will eventually pay off in the future through a variety of ways. For instance, it will bring them secure and well-paid jobs which are satisfying lower-order needs and even expand their opportunity to reach up to higher-order needs, such as social, esteem, and self-actualization.  Therefore, I believe that many students’ desire to fulfill such needs in their future motivates them to be more involved in school.

Wordcount: 316

Works Cited:

Langton, N., Robbins, S., Judge, T., & Robbins, S. (2013). Organizational Behaviour (7th ed.). Toronto: Pearson Canada.

Sleeping at work, where is the border between work and home?

In William Huang’s blog post ‘Sleep at Work?’ he discusses employees purposefully sleeping at work in Japan and its distinctive work environment when compared to Canada. In fact, the trend has a specific term in Japanese, ‘inemuri’, which literally means ‘to be asleep while at work.’

Yes, it seems bizarre as William mentioned, since Canada tends to have a stricter border between work and rest. However, in many Asian countries including Japan, this boundary barely exists for many salarymen.  I believe this could be in part due to frequent unpaid working overtime at night and random emergency calls to cover other employees; this behavior is common and often justified in Asian countries. Since the technological developments allow people to be connected 24/7 with each other, it is very hard to avoid such situations where some employees who always want to get a chance to show off their work ethic in pursuit of a promotion. In other words, they do not want to leave a negative impression on thheir boss by rejecting such calls.

I believe sleeping at work is not only unhealthy for employees, it is also unhealthy for the company since their workers’ productivity cannot be maximized. I have seen news articles about how many companies in South Korea are getting sleeping rooms in the company building for the workers who need rest. This may seem like the company cares about their workers’ rest, however, in fact, it can also mean that the company assign extensive workload so the employees cannot get good enough rest at their home. I believe employee satisfaction and productivity would be maximized in a workplace that encourages a balanced lifestyle, in terms of work and rest.

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Do you know that cliché scene in a romantic comedy where the interested male invites over a female he is infatuated to watch him prepare a meal for two? Ever recognized that dinner doesn’t last very long, and before you know it, they’re exploring something more affectionate?

“Ikea Effect” is a psychological phenomenon that “describes the notion that there really is love in people’s own labour [because] when [people] put effort into building their own things, they attach greater value to it” (Norton, 2011). In those romantic scenes, the labour of love that pours into the meal for the character is what makes the dinner appealing, and often results in a return on the male’s investment.

The term “Ikea Effect” originated from the feeling people experience as they bond to Ikea furniture because of the effort and time they put into the product (Rega, 2016). The labour they invested evoked a sense of attachment and pride in oneself and the product they pieced together, which makes the product more precious than something that arrived completely finished.

I believe that the concept of “Ikea Effect” can be broadly integrated into many workplace environments to arouse intrinsic motivators by achieving their higher-order needs such as “social belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization” (Langton, 2016). For instance, Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University noted that “we could get people to feel that something is theirs in a unique way,” by getting them to sign something or put their name afterwards which will create a connection with work.

The “Ikea Effect” can also translate to manufacturers themselves. For example, technology businesses tend to exhibit bonds to their original innovations, making it difficult for them to adapt to new technologies that fall outside their realm of comfort. Instead of utilizing new materials and plans, they tend to make minor adjustments and changes that mitigate drastic change to their original product. For example, Blackberry refused to abandon their once loved keyboard despite the reveal and subsequent success of touchscreen smartphones. Blackberry went from a leading telecommunications company to the proud owner of 0.8% of the smartphone industry. Why? The labour of love was hard to abandon.

I believe that the “Ikea Effect” is an interesting phenomenon that could add valuable meaning to goods or products, but we need to be aware of finding a balance between the love of labour and the love of a good resulting product. If companies assume that buyers are more attracted to the internal rewards of exerting effort more than the result of it, it may jeopardize practical decision making in the business world.

References

Langton, N., Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2016). Organizational Behaviour Concepts, Controversies, Applications. Toronto: Pearson. p174

Norton, M. I. (2011). The “IKEA Effect”: When Labor Leads to Love. Cambridge: Harvard Business School.

Rega, S. (2016, December 1). A psychologist explains how the ‘IKEA effect’ can motivate people to work harder. Retrieved from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/dan-ariely-motivation-ikea-effect-ideas-2016-11

Image:

Ikea Logo [Digital image]. (2016, February 25). Retrieved February 5, 2017, from https://www.iconeye.com/opinion/rethink/item/12394-ikea-logo