Traditions and norms are always changing, and it’s quite amazing how millennials have revolutionized everything- even the norms of organizational behaviour.

Focusing on changes in leadership, a lot of has changed over the years and this is to do with the changes of personality type throughout the generation. A quick summary of the generations with their personalities is as follows:

We have come a long way as humans and I’m pretty proud of how the world has developed and grown. Looking at the table above, you can see a shift towards an autonomy orientated style of living. Thinking outside of the box really matters and if you manage to do this as a leader it can have major payoffs.

Recently, world-renowned leader Mark Zuckerburg made a bold move by announcing a tour across 30 states in America, trying new things and expanding his horizon. The reason a creative move like this works in contemporary leadership lies in a growing trend among millennials in the workplace: While the online community is a powerful connector, it doesn’t fully replace in-person connections. In other words, millennials see the online community as a primary connection point, not the sole connection point. Hence, committing to something real and genuine as Mark Zuckerburg has done breaks that barrier.

Article about Mark Zuckerburg’s plans: https://www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.forbes.com/sites/wesgay/2017/03/30/zuckerberg-tour-america-millennials/amp/

References

Langton, Nancy et al. Organizational Behaviour. 7th ed. Print.

Robbins, Stephen P. Organizational Behaviour. 1st ed. Pearson Education Limited, 2017. Print.

“What Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘Tour Across America’ Says About The Modern Workplace”. Forbes. N.p., 2017. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.

I know the Chicken Nuggets and Big Mac’s are delicious but thinking about it seriously, how long are we going to allow huge chain restaurants cheat us for more money.

There have been a few too many scandals in the past for me to be happy eating McD’s. Personally, I believe that they need to hold a higher standard of values towards their customers by displaying greater amounts of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). For example, they could behave more ethically. Are you guys aware about the chicken nugget scandal in Hong Kong?  I’ve linked it here in case you haven’t heard about what happened: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1558230/mcdonalds-hong-kong-pulls-chicken-nuggets-over-supplies-rotten-food

I believe McDonalds’ strongly displayed a lack of morals by trying to cheat customers in this way by using old and rotten meat. It is extremely unethical and unfair to trick customers into eating something severely below regular health standards just to cut costs. It infuriates me to see how they can put money ahead of health and morals. My high school had a motto “Honestas Antes Honores” that translates to Honesty Before Glory, which I wish one day- is 100% followed in the business world.

The importance of money mixed with human’s greed and insatiate behaviour has made scandals like these common in the business world and I hope one day it changes. McDonalds’ and other big companies such as Apple have eschewed making rational and ethical judgement calls through the use of heuristics (judgement shortcuts). One common form of judgement shortcut is Framing, which is the error in judgment that arises from selective use of perspective that alters the way we view a situation in formulating a decision. If big companies like McDonalds changed their perspective when it comes to the importance of CSR the business world would be a lot better in terms of organizational behaviour- which would really benefit the world in a lot of senses.

Overall, I know it’s not realistic to hope for big companies to not cut corners because at the end of the day that is how to get ahead, but I do hope more small changes are made- that’s why I’m so glad that Corporate Social Responsibility has risen. If you want food for thought, read the following article regarding how businesses can improve ethical behaviour: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ways-prevent-unethical-behavior-workplace-21344.html

Even though the article is targetted for small businesses, if big companies legitimately followed it as well, the world would be a lot better ethically.

References

Brookins, Miranda. “Ways To Prevent Unethical Behavior In The Workplace”. Smallbusiness.chron.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

“Horsemeat Scandal | UK News | The Guardian”. the Guardian. N.p., 2017. Web. 20 Mar. 2017.

Mok, Danny. “Mcdonald’S Hong Kong Pulls Chicken Nuggets Over Supplies From Rotten Food Plant”. South China Morning Post. N.p., 2014. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Robbins, Stephen P. Organizational Behaviour. 1st ed. Pearson Education Limited, 2017. Print.

“Types Of Heuristics: Availability, Representativeness & Base-Rate – Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.Com”. Study.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Shamefully not having known too much about Apple and Steve Jobs, watching our group’s film ‘Jobs’ left me shocked- I had learnt so much…

The syllabus states that on the blog posts I should explore my personal views in the field of organizational behavior (OB). I guess watching and analyzing a film so directly related to OB gave me a lot to think and write about. First of all, I think it was an exceptional film and if you’re reading this and haven’t watched it- please make sure you will!

Moving beyond my recommendation, watching this film completely changed my perspective of Apple and Steve Jobs. I’m very fond of Apple and I had heard many times that Steve Jobs was flawed when it came to his leadership style but I always filtered this piece of information out due to my respect for him.

Where a company like Google have autonomy and some amounts of decentralization, Apple was very centralized and autocratic- Steve Jobs demanded that everything needed to be the way he wanted. Based off what I have learned from high school and so far in Comm 292, I know that autonomy and democracy allow staff to flourish in the workplace. Hence, I learned that employees in Apple may suffer from abuse, alienation, and a generally disconnected chemistry throughout the workforce.

Personally, this shocked me as I had always assumed Steve Jobs to be a perfect human being, including leadership. Little was I aware that he exhibited traits of psychopathy and narcissism. I had further assumed that because Apple is a technology company, they would be very similar to Google in terms of OB, hence it’s very important that I got a greater insight into the structure and operations of Apple.

At first, I was very confused as to why Steve Jobs behaved so stubbornly, hence my main takeaway regarding why he behaves the way he does can be explained through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This theory states a hierarchy of five needs, including physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization, arranged in an increasing order. Before motivating people, the leader should possess these needs. However, studies have shown that family support is essential towards the motivation at each particular level of need. Since Jobs was an adopted child, he demonstrated a lack of fulfilment regarding the different levels. Particularly, he was lacking self-esteem. His background of being an adopted child shape him to think the whole world is against him. His lack of esteem let him try to jump from social hierarchy stage to self-actualization stage.

References

Foster, J. D., & Trimm, R. F. (2008). On being eager and uninhibited: Narcissism and approach– avoidance motivation. Personality and Psychology Bulletin, 34(7), 1004-1017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167208316688

Taormina, R. J., & Gao, J. H. (2013). Maslow and the motivation hierarchy: Measuring satisfaction of the needs. The American Journal of Psychology, 126(2), 155-177. http://dx.doi.org/10.5406/amerjpsyc.126.2.0155

Jobs.: Danny Boyle, (2015.) DVD.

After reading one of my peer’s blog posts: https://blogs.ubc.ca/thaoatkinson/2017/02/05/109/, I was aware of Daniel Pink and I was inspired to give research more about him and his management style. The blog written by my peer was very good and interesting, giving me a lot to write about.

After conducting research, I found a very interesting theory crafted by Daniel Pink, a modern writer on business & management. His theory focuses more on complex jobs, admitting that for simple jobs money is the major motivator. Pink believes that people are no longer driven by the “stick” but respond more to the “carrot” when referring to the old carrot & stick metaphor which regards rewards and punishment as motivation. Pink believes that people are now motivated by autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

According to Pink, autonomy is the desire to direct our own lives. Pink argues that allowing employees autonomy runs counter to the traditional view of management which wants employees to “comply” with what is required of them. Pink describes mastery as the desire to continually improve at something that matters. Pink argues that humans love to “get better at stuff” – they enjoy the satisfaction from personal achievement and progress. Allowing employees to enjoy a sense of progress at work contributes to their inner drive. Pink describes purpose as the desire to do things in service of something larger than ourselves. Pink argues that people intrinsically want to do things that matter.

If the three main elements just described above were implemented into a workplace, success would be imminent as I believe that Pink’s theory knows how to bring out the best of people in order to get better at their jobs as well as being happy with their jobs.

I found Pink’s theory to be very interesting because it is not like the theories we have studied in class. I believe Pink’s approach is very contemporary and affective. It relates to the development of humans and how we now seek more than merely money. Pink’s theories are heavily based on research.

References

“6 Management Styles And When Best To Use Them – The Leaders Tool Kit – Leaders In Heels”. Leaders in Heels. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.

McQuarrie, Fiona. “Daniel Pink’S ‘Drive’: A Short Journey On A Tiny Piece Of Road”. All About Work. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.

“Quora”. Is there any proof behind Dan Pink’s assertion that “autonomy, mastery, and purpose” are better motivators than financial incentives?. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.

Sylvester, John. “Pink’S Theory Set To Drive Up Employee Motivation And Engagement | P&MM Motivation”. Staffmotivationmatters.co.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.

After reading my peer’s blog about Donald Trump: https://blogs.ubc.ca/meeranamir/2017/02/05/factors-influencing-trumps-leadership/, I had a lot to contemplate about and my reflections are as follows:

The world is constantly evolving, with the forward advances we experience, we value the values and attitudes of humans more and more. This is why we have experienced a shift from autocratic dictators towards democracy and laissez-faire in the business world and beyond. In the business world, this can be seen through more delegation and decentralization. Beyond, the greatness of freedom of individuality.

As with any leadership job, presidency can be closely linked to a management style. Where America is renowned for its famous democracy, this could all be in danger with a new leader who has his own ideas. Trump, cannot be identified as a good leader, he has ignored the country for his own wants through absurd actions. He resembles more closely autocracy and dictatorship than a democracy, ignoring the millions of protestors who don’t agree with his out of line perspective.

Focusing on just the leadership style regarding politics (eschewing orientating this blog towards a political rant), we have seen great presidents such as Obama, who really cared about the people and proved this by trying to provide as stable and cohesive a country as possible, definitely doing more good than harm. However, with Trump at the throne- this could all be derailed as the delicately build democracy by Obama is being disarmed by the corrupt desires of Donald Trump who has ideas of his own that hardly anybody agrees with.

Leadership style is evidently very important, companies such as Google have got to the top not just because of their innovative excellence, but also because of their approach towards management. It can only be hoped that a stop will be put to Trump’s out of line management of the economic superpower country of the world.

References

“6 Management Styles And When Best To Use Them – The Leaders Tool Kit – Leaders In Heels”. Leaders in Heels. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.

“Donald Trump’s ‘Disruptive’ Leadership Style Presents Huge Problems For Homeland Security”. Public Radio International. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.

“Trump’s Chaotic Management Style – Consortiumnews”. Consortiumnews.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 Feb. 2017.

Whether or not you buy from the clothing giants Zara, you must admit you’ve heard of them. The reputation and internationalism Zara have achieved are a very precise measure of success, as well as a staggering amount of revenue (15.9 billion USD). However, in the contemporary world, there is more to making profits and achieving recognition as part of measuring success for companies. After all, if it were all about profits, we wouldn’t be studying organizational behavior.

In recent years, the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has severely increased. What CSR essentially creates is the need for greater societal mindfulness through enforcing the norms of ethics. Hence, when regarding the workplace, we have now come to expect values, employees, and customers respected. Focusing mainly on the employees, their values, and diversity within the workplace demand respect as part of achieving a sense of CSR. This means high job satisfaction, which is now an increasingly important measure of success.

Despite the growing importance of job satisfaction, big companies always look to take shortcuts for their own perceived benefits. For example, just look at technology leaders Apple, and their whole Foxconn scandal years ago. Apple isn’t the only company who failed to respect human nature, looking behind the fashionable clothes Zara produce, there is sinister activity.

It has been indicated that employees have been discriminated against in the workplace, highlighting a lack of respect from Zara as a large firm. An ex-employee from Toronto complained publically that her bosses did not make life at work for her easier, discerning her based on her hairstyle- which is merely a sign of her individualism in a world where we have fallen for totalitarian regimes. This portrays a corrupt workplace, as employees aren’t valued as they are deserved, they aren’t treated as human beings- which is why we need to study organizational behavior and hopefully put a stop to prejudiced in the workplace. This proves to be a big issue as her hair is heavily linked to her race and religious affiliations.

References

“Corporate Social Responsibility (Csr) From Financial Times Lexicon”. Lexicon.ft.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 4 Feb. 2017.

“Importance of Job Satisfaction in the workplace”. Villanovau.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 4 Feb. 2017.

“Riots, Suicides, And Other Issues In Foxconn’s Iphone Factories”. CNET. N.p., 2017. Web. 4 Feb. 2017.

“Zara Employee Humiliated After Managers Try To ‘Fix’ Her Hair”. CBC News. N.p., 2017. Web. 4 Feb. 2017.

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