Ch. 8-13

Three additional perspectives on leadership deserve attention:

Leader-member exchange (LMX) theory - This theory differs considerably from the theories already discussed because it focuses on the quality of relationships between managers and subordinates, as opposed to their behaviors or traits. It does not assume that leader behavior is characterized by a stable or average leadership style. - Scientists call this sort of relationship a vertical dyad (which is something with two parts). The forming of these is said to be a naturally occurring process, resulting from the leaders attempt to delegate and assign at work roles. Two distinct types of LMX relationships are expected to evolve, in groups and out groups. - LMX relationships are based on a leaders attempt to delegate and assign work roles. This process results in two types of leader member dyads. (In Group exchange: creating trust and mutual obligation. Hi In Group exchanges, also called high LMX, are characterized by a partnership of reciprocal influence, mutual trust, respect and liking, and a sense of common fate. These relationships become more social overtime and Outgroup exchange: creating more formality in expectations and rewards. Outgroup exchanges, also known as low LMX relationships, tend to focus on the economic exchange between leaders and followers. They tend to be more formal and revolve around negotiating the relationship between performance and pay period they do not create a sense of mutual trust, respect, or common fate) - Whether in LMX is high or low influences many important outcomes in the organizing framework. For example, a high LMX is associated with individual level behavioral outcomes such as task performance, turnover, organizational citizenship, counterproductive behavior, and attitudinal outcomes such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction, and justice. An effective leader will treat employees fairly in terms of assigning projects that are both challenging and interesting to all group members in an effort to keep them on track to achieve success, both on an individual and group level. - Differential treatment of team members due to LMX is of different quality can be problematic. For example, a leader who plays favorites with employees she likes by continuously giving them the top projects while ignoring others in the group may discover she is not only fostering a negative and hostile work environment but her behavior may border on abusive supervision which could have severe consequences in terms of personal as well as organizational success. Recent research suggests that leaders perceived by subordinates to feel remorse about such low LMX or abusive treatment may actually improve relationships with their employees. - The quality of an LMX is influenced by three categories of variables: (follower characteristics= leaders tend to create higher LMX is with employees they perceive as possessing competence, positive personalities, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and extraversion), (leader characteristic= leaders who use transactional and transformational leadership tend to have higher LMX is . Not surprisingly, so do extroverted and agreeable leaders), and (interpersonal relationship variables= far too many interpersonal factors affect an LMX so we Note 3 that have the greatest impact on a leader member relationship. High LMXs tend to occur when the parties trust each other, like each other, and perceive themselves as similar in terms of interests , values, and attitudes) - Your dyadic relationship with your boss changes overtime period A team of researchers concluded this happens because the variables that affect LMX interact and accumulate overtime. - Three important managerial and personal implications of LMX theory: (expectations matter. Leaders are encouraged to establish high performance expectations for all their direct reports, because favoritism and differential treatment lead to negative outcomes. Leaders should also communicate their view of relationships with their team), (diversity still counts. Personality and demographic similarity between leaders and followers may be associated with higher LMX is but managers should avoid creating a homogeneous work environment just for the sake of having positive relationships with their direct reports. Diversity is many benefits are too powerful to be ignored), and (the initiative is yours. Positive actions can improve a poor LMX. Take the lead rather than waiting for your boss to change the relationship) The use of humility - Humility is a relatively stable trait grounded in the belief that something greater than the self exists. Although some think it is a sign of weakness or low self esteem, nothing could be farther from the truth. Humble leaders tend to display five key qualities valued by employees: high self awareness, openness to feedback, appreciation of others, low self focus, and appreciation of the greater good. - Although the scientific study of humility is relatively new, it has shown proven benefits for this trait. For example, a study of more than 146 employee teams in China, Portugal, and Singapore revealed that workers felt optimistic, resilient, and engaged when the boss was humble. Another study conducted in China demonstrated cascading positive effects of CEO humility across two organizational levels. CEO humility positively influenced employee engagement, commitment, and performance. - Conclusion: first, try to be more humble by changing the focus of your accomplishment from me to we. Share credit with others. Second, a humble style is better than an arrogant or complacent one period third, an organization's culture can promote humility. A follower perspective - All the theories discussed in this chapter have been leader centric. That is, they focused on understanding leadership effectiveness from the leaders POV. - The role of followers in the leadership process: to start, note how leaders and followers are closely linked. You cannot lead without having followers, and you cannot follow without having leaders. Each needs the other, and the quality of the relationship determines how we behave as followers. This is why both leaders and followers must focus on developing a mutually rewarding and beneficial relationship. - Followers vary in terms of the extent to which they commit to, comply with, or resist a leader's influence attempts. - Three types of followers: (Helpers= show deference to and comply with the leadership, Independents= distance themselves from the leadership and show less compliance, and Rebels= show divergence from the leader and are least compliant) - Leaders obviously want followers who are: Productive, Reliable, Honest, Cooperative, Proactive, and Flexible - Leaders do not benefit from followers who hide the truth, withhold information, fail to generate ideas, are unwilling to collaborate, provide inaccurate feedback, or are unwilling to take the lead on projects and initiatives. - Followers seek, admire, and respect leaders who foster three emotional responses in others: Significance, Community, and Excitement - That is, followers want organizational leaders who make them feel what they do at work is important and meaningful, who foster a sense of unity that encourages people to treat others with respect and dignity and to work together, and who make them feel engaged and energized at work.

And while harm can be perceived or actual, it is always real to those harmed. Apologies are effective to the extent and restore trust and positively affect your ability to influence the offended party in the future. To help ensure the effectiveness of your apologies, make sure they include the following four characteristics:

acknowledgment of wrongdoing acceptance of responsibility expression of regret promise the offense will not be repeated

There are four points to remember about behavioral theory:

behavior is more important than traits when it comes to leaders effectiveness. Our mantra for leaders is, every behavior matters leader behaviors can be systematically improved and developed. Organizations should continue to invest in leadership development programs there is no one best style of leadership. The effectiveness of a particular leadership style depends on the situation at hand abusive supervision takes its toll on employees, managers, and the overall organization. Leaders at all levels of the company must recognize abusive behavior and work together to eliminate it

Effective work teams enable employees to accomplish more than they could as individuals. They produce many desirable outcomes across levels of the organizing framework, such as innovation, safety, and saved lives, to name but a few. Current research and practice have identified the following eight attributes of high performance teams:

compelling team purpose and clear goals clear goals and responsibilities appropriate mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities effective incentives and motivation trust and communication power and empowerment early and effective conflict resolution norms for collaboration

People have preferences for communicating in different media. Research on individual differences identified the following trends:

improving the level of media richness reduces the cost of information search and increases the number of options consumers consider when making choices managers, not coworkers, can influence the media richness perception held by employees, particularly when it comes to email messages employees targeted by coworkers negative workplace gossip are less likely to demonstrate appropriate work behaviors

Intellectual stimulation

intellectual stimulation behavior encourages employees to question the status quo and to seek innovative and creative solutions to organizational problems. Effectively challenged, employees are more likely to view organizational problems as "my problems" and proactively attempt to overcome performance roadblocks.

Managers and companies that effectively utilized big data such as organizations in the healthcare industry, are expected to gain competitive advantage. Big data creates value in the following ways:

it can make information more transparent and usable it allows organizations to measure and collect all types of performance information, enabling them to implement initiatives to enhance productivity it enhances decision-making at all levels of the organization it can be used to develop new products or services

Psychopathy:

this type of person is toxic at work.

How can you and your employers foster a climate for psychological safety? Here are four fundamental and widely applicable practices:

Framework as a learning problem, not a performance problem. Practice inclusive leadership. Model curiosity and ask many questions. Celebrate and reinforce risk taking and differences.

Empowerment has been shown to favorably influence many outcomes in the organizing framework, such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, performance, turn over, and employees stress. In addition to these benefits, empowerment is becoming a necessity. Time management research done by two researchers at Harvard showed the CEOs and their studies spend nearly 25% of their time on email. This means no individual, executive or not, can accomplish all the necessary tasks alone. You must share the load. To help in this effort, research and practice related to empowerment have focused on two general forms:

Structural - Some popular ways to do this or via the job design and job characteristics forms of motivation. Managers and their employers can boost employee empowerment by changing policies, procedures, job responsibilities, and team designs. Any of these that increase the effectiveness of employee decision making are likely also to increase their performance, well being, and job related attitudes. - Effective empowerment does not include giving decision-making authority to just any employee in every situation. That would be both foolish and irresponsible, and it would not be empowerment. Instead of, decision-making authority and other broader responsibilities should be shared with only those who are competent to do what is necessary. There are two pitfalls to avoid: (Empowerment is not a 0 sum game in which one persons gain is another's loss period sharing power via empowerment as a means of increasing your own power. Think of it this way, you cannot be everywhere all the time and with all the answers. But if you allow competent others to act, then you have increased your reach and your influence. This means authoritarian managers who view employee empowerment as a threat to their own power are missing the point because of their win-lose thinking. and Empowerment is a matter of degree, not an either or proposition. Overriding goal is to increase productivity and competitiveness in organizations. Each step in this evolution increases the power of organizational contributors who traditionally were told what, when, and how to do things. - A common element of empowerment is pushing decision-making authority to lower levels. At the level of least empowerment, managers and leaders practice domination characterized as authoritarian power wherein they make all of the decisions and then handed them down to employees. Next is consultation which occurs when employees are asked for their input, but managers ultimately make the decisions themselves. Participation takes place when managers and employees jointly identify problems and solutions and power is shared more or less evenly. Finally, delegation occurs when managers turnover decision-making authority to employees and remove themselves from the process altogether. It is important to note that one level of empowerment is not necessarily better than the other. Like many other things related to OB, the degree of power sharing should match the needs of the situation and the capabilities of the individuals or teams involved. Psychological - This occurs when we feel a sense of: (Meaning= believe that your work values and goals align with those of your manager, team, or employer, Competence= personal evaluation of your ability to do the job, Self-determination= sense that you have control over your work and its outcomes, and Impact at work= feeling your efforts make a difference and affect the organization)

Individualized consideration

individualized consideration consists of behaviors that provide support, encouragement, empowerment, and coaching to employees period to enact these behaviors, leaders must pay special attention to the needs of their followers answered for ways to help them develop and grow.

Interviewers are trying to impress interviewees as well. Especially in tight labor markets, employers compete intensely for top talent. This means they must most candidates in order to attract and hire the best, representing the organization favorably with a broad range of tactics, including:

verbal. What they say and how they say it non verbal. Laughing, smiling, leaning in artificial. Dress, appearance of interview venue, visual and promotional items administrative. Timing of communication, confirmation that application was received, feedback, and follow up

Tuckman's five stage model of group development (forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning) has great practical appeal because it is easy to remember and apply. The five stages are not necessarily of the same duration or intensity. For instance, the storming stage may be practically nonexistent or painfully long, depending on the goal clarity, commitment, and maturity of the members.

Stage one: forming - During the icebreaking forming stage, group members tend to be uncertain and anxious about the unknowns such as their roles, the people in charge, and the group's goals. Mutual trust is low, and there is a good deal of holding back to see who takes charge and how. - Some researchers and research shows that conflict among group members is actually beneficial during this stage. For instance, early conflict in product development teams can boost creativity. However, the results can also be quite different. For example, in the life and death situations sometimes faced by surgical teams and airline cockpit crews, the uncertainty inherent in the early stages of development (forming and storming) can be dangerous. Stage 2: storming - The storming stage is a time of testing period individuals test the leaders policies and assumptions as they try to decide how they fit into the power structure. Subgroups may form and resist the current direction of a leader or another subgroup. In fact, some management experts say the reason many new CEO's do not survive is they never get beyond the storming stage. Yet still other executive changes are made because the board feels things need to be stirred up. Stage 3: Norming - Groups that make it through stage two generally do so because a respected member, other than the leader, challenges the group to resolve its power struggles so work can be accomplished. Questions about authority and power are best resolved through unemotional, matter of fact group discussion, and soft influence tactics. A feeling of team spirit is sometimes experienced during this stage because members believe they have found their proper roles. Group cohesiveness is the principle byproduct of stage three. Stage 4: Performing - Activity during this vital stage is focused on solving task problems, as contributors get their work done without hampering others. This stage is characterized by a climate of open communication, strong cooperation, and lots of helping behavior. Conflicts and job boundary disputes are handled constructively and efficiently. Cohesiveness and personal commitment to group goals help the group achieve more than could any one individual acting alone. Stage 5: Adjourning - The group's work is done; It is time to move on to other things. The return to independence can be eased by rituals such as parties or award ceremonies celebrating the end and new beginnings. During this stage, leaders must emphasize valuable lessons learned.

A team of researchers developed a model of decision making styles based on the idea that styles very UN belong to dimensions: value orientation and tolerance for ambiguity.

Value orientation is the extent to which an individual focuses on either task an technical concerns or people and social concerns when making decisions. Some people, for instance, are very task focused at work and do not pay much attention to people issues, whereas others are just the opposite. The second dimension pertains to a person's tolerance for ambiguity. This characteristic indicates the extent to which a person needs structure or control in his or her life. Some people desire a lot of structure. They have a low tolerance for ambiguity and find ambiguous situations stressful and psychologically uncomfortable. Others do not have a high need for structure and can thrive in uncertain situations; Their tolerance for ambiguity is high. When we combine the dimensions for value orientation and tolerance for ambiguity, they form 4 styles of decision making: - Directive= action oriented decision makers who focus on facts (people with a directive style have a low tolerance for ambiguity and are oriented towards task an technical concerns when making decisions. They are efficient, logical, practical, and systematic in their approach to solving problems. Directive decision makers are action oriented and decisive and like to focus on facts. In their pursuit of speed and results, they tend to be autocratic, exercise power and control, and focus on the short run. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos uses a directive style. Bezos is known to be decisive, make decisions quickly, and pivots at breakneck speed when a strategy or course of action needs to be revised. According to Bezos, every day at Amazon is day one, which means he expects Amazon employees to embrace the characteristics of a startup company, an organization that can shift his focus quickly to adjust to changing customer and market trends) - Analytical= careful and slow decision makers who like lots of information (people with the analytical style have a much higher tolerance for ambiguity and tend to over analyze the situation. Siddur more information and alternatives then do those with a directive style. Analytical individuals are careful decision makers who take longer to make decisions but also respond well to new or uncertain situations. They can often be autocratic) - Conceptual= intuitive decision makers who involve others in longer term thinking (people with a conceptual style have a high tolerance for ambiguity and tend to focus on the people or social aspects of a work situation. They take a broad perspective on problem solving and like to consider many options and future possibilities. Conceptual types that adopt A longer term view and rely on intuition and discussions with others to acquire information. They also are willing to take risks and are good at finding creative solutions to problems. On the downside, a conceptual style can foster an idealistic and indecisive approach to decision making) - Behavioral= highly people oriented decision makers (the behavioral style is the most people oriented of the four. People with this style work well with others and enjoy social interactions in which opinions are openly exchanged. Behavioral decision makers are supportive, or receptive to suggestions, show warmth, and prefer verbal to written information. Although they like to hold meetings, they prefer to avoid conflict and can't be too concerned about others. This can lead behavioral types to adopt A conflict avoidance approach to decision making and to have a hard time saying no)

People's perceptions of politics (POP) do matter, not just actual acts of politics. As perceptions, POPs are subjective evaluations of the extent to which the work environment is characterized by coworkers and supervisors who demonstrate such self serving behavior and these perceptions matter. POPS have been linked to many undesirable outcomes in the organizing framework, such as:

decreased job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and commitment increased stress, frustration, and turnover intentions

Narcissism

individuals with this trait have inflated views of themselves, fantasize about being in control of everything, and like to attract the admiration of others. It's thus not surprising that narcissists tend to emerge as leaders, even though they can promote counterproductive work behaviors from others.

Four key communication skills that affect your communication competence:

nonverbal communication active listening non defensive communication empathy

Expert power

one way the power of supervisors is enhanced stems from knowing about work assignments and pay raises before their employees do. Perhaps the most common source of expert power for employees more generally is that derived from past experience and performance.

Reward power

pay for performance plans and positive reinforcement practices rely on reward power. The relationship between Barnes and Noble and Starbucks is an example of reward power. Books and coffee are a wonderful combination for many people and this partnership enables one party to help combat the extinction of brick and mortar stores while at the same time providing books to customers without having to invest in inventory and manage the operation.

Good impressions

research conducted in the Contacts of job interviews shows that impressions are formed very quickly and often subtly. Interviewers gather information about job candidates based on their handshake, smile, and manner of dress. All this information is communicated before any questions have been asked or answered. These same factors were also related to ultimate job offers. You have undoubtedly heard the same, you have only one chance to make a good first impression. Some argue people judge you within one second of meeting you. Researchers tested this belief and found that after viewing only a microsecond of a video of a political candidate, subjects projected with 70% accuracy who would win an election.

Empowerment inputs

structural empowerment is an input to psychological empowerment. This makes sense because job characteristics, policies, and practices can either facilitate or impede feelings of empowerment for individuals and teams. Also helpful to enhancing empowerment is the extent to which employees have positive self evaluations, such as core self evaluations and positive psychological capital. Your knowledge of motivation also is helpful to understanding and fostering empowerment across levels of the organizing framework. Job characteristics for instance, that generate intrinsic motivational states such as a sense of meaningfulness and responsibility, clearly can help, along with empowering leadership. Finally, if teams have access to resources such as the people and ideas than other teams, then they too are more likely to be empowered.

How do employees waste time on social media:

50% are talking on a cell phone or texting 39% are surfing the Internet 38% are on social media 23% are sending personal emails

There are three practical considerations in decision making:

routine and frequency. If the decision occurs frequently and is of a routine nature, such as deciding on promotions or who qualifies for a loan, use groups because they tend to produce more consistent decisions than do individuals time constraints. Given time constraints, let the most competent individual, rather than a group, make the decision information and communication. In the face of environmental threats such as time pressure and potential serious effects of a decision, groups use less information and fewer communication channels. This increases the probability of a bad decision

Coercive power

the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against devry University, one of the largest for profit colleges in the United states. The FTC charged the company falsely claimed 90% of its graduates gained employment within six months of graduation and earned 15% higher salaries a year after graduation than graduates of all other colleges.

A few additional details are worth knowing:

the harasser's conduct must be unwelcome the victim does not have to be the target, but anyone who is affected by the conduct any form of harassment is equally illegal and uncivil

Understanding and exhibiting the competencies is an excellent start on becoming a team player period and while everyone has her or his own ideas of the characteristics that are most important, many people likely include the 3C's of team players:

- committed - collaborate - competent

Although researchers and practitioners support the logic of contingency leadership, its practical applications have not been clearly developed. A team of researchers proposed a general strategy managers can use across a variety of situations. It has five steps:

Step 1: identify important outcomes. Managers must first identify the goals they want to achieve Step 2: identify relevant leadership behaviors. Next managers need to identify the specific types of behaviors that may be appropriate for the situation at hand Step 3: identify situational conditions. Fiedler and House both identify a set of potential contingency factors to consider, but there may be other practical considerations Step 4: match leadership to the conditions at hand. There are too many possible situational conditions for us to provide specific advice. This means you should use your knowledge about organizational behavior to find the best match between your leadership styles and behaviors and the situation at hand step 5: decide how to make the match period managers can use guidelines from either contingency theory or path goal theory colon the person in the leadership role or change his or her behavior.

Machiavellianism

it is not surprising that individuals who believe everyone lies to get what they want and that it is necessary to cheat to get ahead or less likely to garner support from others.

A model of intuition:

people using holistic intuition may not be able to explain why they want to make a certain decision except that the choice just feels right. This reflects system one thinking, intuitive and largely unconscious Steve Jobs, arguably one of the most important entrepreneurs in the last 40 years, attributed his success to intuition, saying that intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect in my opinion. That had a big impact on my work period this is an example of automated experience

The causes of political behavior occur at all three levels of the organizing framework. For instance, negative emotions and a lack of trust are the strongest individual and group team level causes, and a perceived lack of justice is the strongest organizational level driver of political behavior. Underlying most of these causes a more fundamental or root cause, uncertainty. Uncertainty it drives a great deal of political behavior, and research outlines 5 common sources of uncertainty within organizations:

unclear objectives vague performance measures ill defined decision processes strong individual or group competition any type of change

Idealized influence

idealized influence is to instill pride, respect, and trust within employees. Managers do this by sacrificing for the good of the group, being a role model, and displaying high ethical standards.

Daniel Kahneman describe two kinds of thinking:

system 1: intuitive and largely unconscious thought - this is the automatic, instinctive, and emotional mode of decision-making. It is fast because it relies on mental shortcuts that create intuitive solutions to problems as they come up system 2: analytical and conscious thought - this is the slow, logical, deliberate mode of decision making. It helps us identify when our intuition is wrong or when our emotions are clouding our judgment. It requires more cognitive effort than system one and is used when contemplating a discrete task Both systems half pros and cons. For example, system one thinking forms first impressions and judgments, which may be automatic but may lead us to jump to conclusions that may or may not be accurate. It can also lead to poor follow through on plans because it focuses on immediate pay offs, which distract us from considering the long term implications are decisions. When a system one runs into difficulties, we can call on system two thinking for a more methodical approach to a specific situation or problem period system two thinking typically gets involved only when we encounter something unexpected that system one can not answer. In addition, system two thinking can be time-consuming, especially when we do not have the cognitive energy or attention required to think through a situation.

Fiedlers contingency model

the oldest contingency based theory was developed by Fred Fiedler. He labeled the model contingency theory because it is based on the promise that a leader's effectiveness is contingent on the extent to which the leader style matches characteristics of the situation at hand. To understand how this matching process works, we will consider the key leadership styles he identified and the situational variables that constitute what he labeled situational control. He believes leaders have one dominant or natural leadership style that is resistant to change, either task motivated or relationship motivated. Task motivated leaders focus on accomplishing goals, whereas relationship motivated leaders are more interested in developing positive relationships with followers. He developed the least preferred coworker scale or LPC, to measure the extent to which an individual takes a task or relationship based approach towards leadership. The scale asks you to evaluate a coworker you least enjoy working with on 16 pairs of opposite characteristics such as friendly or unfriendly and tense or relaxed. High scores on the survey or high on the LPC indicate that individual is relationship motivated and low scores or low LPC suggests a task motivated style. Situational control refers to the amount of control and influence the leader has in his or her immediate work environment. There are three dimensions of situational control: - leader member relations. This dimension is the most important component of situational control period good leader member relations suggest that the leader can depend on the group, thus ensuring members will try to meet the leaders goals and objectives - task structure. The leader has more control and influence over employees performing such tasks. This dimension is the second most important component of situational control - position power . The leaders formal power to reward, punish, or otherwise obtain compliance from employees The dimensions of situational control vary independently, forming 8 combinations in which control varies from high to low. High control implies that the leaders decisions will produce predictable results because the leader has the ability to influence work outcomes. Low control implies that the leaders decisions may not influence work outcomes because the leader has very little influence.

We often have to decide whether to make a decision alone or to consult with others. The following list of advantages and disadvantages can help you decide what to do:

Advantages= these five advantages are most likely to be found when the group has experienced with the issue at hand, and when it is diverse in terms of characteristics such as personalities, gender, attitudes, and experience. - Greater pool of knowledge. A group possesses more information and knowledge than one individual acting alone. - Different approaches to a problem. Individuals with different backgrounds and experiences bring varied perspectives to diagnosing and solving problems. - Greater commitment to a decision. Participation and a voice in decision-making are more likely to result in commitment to a decision. This in turn leads group members to accept and feel responsible for implementing a proposed solution. - Better understanding of decision rationale. Participating in a decision increases group members understanding but why the decision is being made and what must occur to implement it. This in turn reduces miscommunication among people. - More visible role modeling. Less experienced group members learn about group dynamics and how to solve problems. Disadvantages= the disadvantages of group aided decision-making relate to group dynamics and interpersonal interactions. - Social pressure. The desire to look good in front of others, particularly the boss, leads to conformity and stifles creativity. - If you dominant participants. The quality of a group's decision can be influenced by a few vocal people who dominate the discussion period this is particularly problematic when the vocal person is perceived as a powerful individual. - Goal displacement. When the group is evaluating alternatives, secondary considerations such as winning an argument, getting back at a rival, or trying to impress the boss can override the primary goal of solving a problem. - Groupthink

Decision making experts have developed a host of problem solving techniques to aid in problem solving. Three of them are:

Brainstorming= a tool for generating ideas - developed by advertising executive A. F. Osborn, brainstorming can apply in a variety of context. They include solving problems, developing creative ideas for new products, removing performance roadblocks, and developing action plans to achieve goals. Brainstorming sessions began by asking participants to silently generate ideas or solutions, which that are collected either in public or anonymously an summarized in some fashion such as on a white board or a flip chart. - At a second session, group members critique and evaluate the alternatives. Today, many brainstorming sessions are conducted electronically. Webinars and other virtual collaboration tools work well for this purpose. Managers are advised to follow the seven rules for brainstorming used by IDEO, a product design company - brainstorming is an effective technique for generating new ideas, and research reveals that people can be trained to improve their brainstorming skills the Delphi technique - The Delphi technique was originally developed by the RAND Corporation for technological forecasting. It now serves as a multi-purpose planning tool. This technique is useful when face to face discussions are impractical, when disagreements and conflict are likely to impair communication, when a certain individuals might severely dominate group discussion, and when groupthink is a probable outcome of the group process. decision support systems - The increased globalization of organizations, the existence of big data, and the advancement of information technology have led to the development of decision support systems. They also improve information processing and decision making within virtual teams.

Referent power

Christmas is commonly associated with reference power but you do not need to be the life of the party to possess such power. In Asian cultures, for instance, characteristics such as age, gender, or family name are sources of social status and referent power. One often overlooked and underestimated source of reference power is your network of relationships. Referent power drives the success of a number of marketing schemes. This companies and others use independent contractors to throw home parties to display and sell goods to friends and families. More generally, referral programs or examples of referent power. Reputation is another aspect of referent power. Many companies hire new CEO's in part to reap the benefits of the executives reputation. Reference power is also a major means for converting your social media connections and reputation and influence and money.

Preparation is critical to effective negotiations. The following tips can help you prepare emotionally for an upcoming negotiation:

Identify your ideal emotions. How do you want to feel going into the negotiation and why? Many people answer this question quickly and say, assertive but when probed further they reveal other, if not competing emotions. The challenge is to realize which emotions will best suit your objectives and be mindful of them while negotiating. Manage your emotions. What can you do in advance to put yourself in the ideal emotional state? Promote positive emotions. Choose appropriately , mediation to call me down or perhaps music that pumps you up. If you are ambushed or put on the spot, such as by an unexpected phone call or somebody stopping by your office, buy some time and say to you negotiating partner, I just need to wrap up what I'm doing and I'll call you back in 10 minutes. This will give you time to regain the appropriate emotional state. No you're hot buttons. What can throw you off balance? As some people seem eternally patient while others get frustrated easily answered negotiators try to push your hot buttons as a deliberate tactic. Know your own tendencies and be sure to manage them appropriately. Keep your balance. Everyone loses balance occasionally. How will you regain yours if lost? Taking a break is a good idea. Stepping out, going to the restroom, or simply calling a timeout can provide a break in the action and enable you to regroup. These same tactics can redirect a negotiation that has gone in the wrong direction. You may also want to redirect to higher level issues, especially if you are getting bogged down in details. Identify your takeaway emotions. How do you want to feel when you are finished? Many people say really if which signifies the stress many of us feel while negotiating. Others say satisfied which speaks more to performance. Whatever the case for you, set goals for emotions just as you do for outcomes in negotiations.

Although research tells us that ethical behavior is related to inputs such as personality, values, locus of control, and a culture and climate for ethics, there are few tools for helping individuals to navigate through ethical dilemmas or challenges. A decision tree shows the consequences of making various choices. You can follow Bagley's decision tree by asking the following questions about your decision:

Is the proposed action legal? This may seem like a common sense question, but some managers and companies failed to ask it. If "yes", does the proposed action maximize shareholder value? A decision maximizes shareholder value when it increases profits for an organization, because these profits are eventually distributed to shareholders. Regardless of shareholder value, the decision tree shows that managers still need to consider the ethical implications of each decision or action. 50 decision maximizes shareholder value, the decision maker then considers whether or not the action is ethical. Managers should answer this question by weighing the effect of the action on an organization's other key constituents such as customers, employees, the community, the environment, and suppliers, against the benefits of the shareholders. If the decision does not maximize shareholder value, then the decision maker should consider whether it would be ethical not to take the proposed action. If an action would not directly benefit shareholders, consider whether it would be ethical not to take it.

Researchers believe the four behaviors constituting creative performance behaviors unfold according to the following sequence:

Problem formulation and definition. Problem formulation is the familiar step one in our three step problem solving approach. The practice of accurately defining the problem will enhance your creativity and it requires system one thinking which is intuitive and mainly unconscious. Preparation and information gathering. This preparation stage reflects the notion that creativity starts from a base of knowledge. Experts suggest that creativity arises from the convergence of tacit and explicit knowledge. Preparation and information gathering consists of intentionally and actively searching for new information related to a problem: - idea generation. Generating ideas requires making new mental connections about the task or problem at hand. This behavior is emphasized and brainstorming and calls for system one thinking. - idea evaluation and validation. Selecting the most creative and promising idea from among multiple options relies on system two thinking which is analytical and mainly conscious. Person factors and situation factors go into producing the for creative performance behaviors and they are inputs in the organizing framework of OB. A summary of person factors and situation characteristics, identified through research, that drive creative performance behaviors: - person factors. Creativity starts with motivation and domain relevant knowledge. People need to be motivated to apply their knowledge and capabilities to create new ideas, new products, and solutions to all sorts of problems. Other drivers of creativity include the big 5 personality dimensions, self efficacy, national culture, willingness to tolerate ambiguity, and proactive personality. - situation factors. High commitment work systems promote creative behavior. We suspect that high performance work systems demonstrate a form of social support for employees, leading them to put more effort into creative behaviors. Other important situation factors include interpersonal diversity, time pressure, positive relationships with supervisors and coworkers, mutual accountability among group members, and spatial configuration of work settings.

Follow these steps to create your own influence plan.

Step 1: set a goal and get a clear idea of what you want to achieve. It helps if achieving clearly requires someone else's effort or agreement. Step 2: identify the person or persons who can help you achieve that goal. Step 3: decide what type of influence outcome - compliance or commitment - you want or need from the person (s) identified in step 2. Step 4: decide which bases of power and tactics are most appropriate for the influence outcome you desire (be realistic about which are available to you). Step 5: explicitly describe how you will apply the bases of power and tactics you chose.

A pair of OB experts developed a 4-step process for followers to use in managing the leader-follower relationship:

Understand your boss. Gain an appreciation for your manager's leadership style, interpersonal style, goals, expectations, pressures, and strengths and weaknesses. One way is to ask him or her these 7 questions: - How would you describe your leadership style? Does it change when you are under pressure? - When would you like me to approach you with questions or information? Are any situations off-limits (like social events)? - How do you want me to communicate with you? - Do you have any preferred or unique ways of working? - Are there behaviors or attitudes you won't tolerate? What are they? - What is your approach to giving feedback? - How can I help you? Understand your own style, needs, goals, expectations, and strengths and weaknesses. Conduct a gap analysis between the understanding you have about your boss and the understanding you have about yourself. Build on mutual strengths and adjust or accommodate you're your boss's divergent style, goals, expectations, and weaknesses.

House's path goal theory

a second popular contingency based theory, proposed by Robert house in the 1970s and revised in 1996, is path goal theory. This is when leader behaviors are effective when employees view them as a source of satisfaction or as paving the way for future satisfaction. Leaders are expected to do this by reducing roadblocks that interfere with goal accomplishment, providing the guidance and support employees need, and linking meaningful rewards to goal accomplishment.

Inspirational motivation

a vision is a realistic incredible, attractive future for your organization. According to Burt Nanus, a leadership expert, the right vision unleashes human potential because it serves as a beacon of hope and common purpose. It does this by attracting commitment, energizing workers, treating meaning an employees lives, establishing a standard of excellence, promoting high ideals, and bridging the gap between organizations present problems and its future goals and aspiration's.

Although most managers exhibit positive behavior towards their direct reports and others in the organization, there are some who demonstrate abusive behavior in the workplace. Examples of such behavior can include telling subordinates their ideas are stupid; criticizing them in front of colleagues and other managers; Reminding them of past errors and missteps; And giving them the silent treatment. Research suggests that abusive supervision affects more than 13% of US workers, although that percentage may be understated because of employees fear of retaliation if they speak up. Abusive supervision may also increase job dissatisfaction, manifest as retaliatory behavior on the part of the abused worker, decreased productivity and innovation, and actually encourage abused and police to act out or demonstrate the same bad behavior as their superiors to colleagues and others outside of work period in addition, costs of abusive supervision to organizations are estimated at nearly $24 billion annually. Research suggests the reasons for supervisors abusive behavior may vary. Regardless of the reasons, organizations can implement strategies to eliminate abusive behavior including:

an anonymous tip line that employees can call to report abuse have written company policies prohibiting abusive behavior acknowledgment by senior managers that there is no place for abusive behavior in the company's culture

Research and practice provides some useful lessons about the relative effectiveness of influence tactics. Rely on the core. Core influence tactics such as rational persuasion, consultation, collaboration, and inspirational appeals are most effective at building commitment. Do not rely on pressure and coalition tactics. In one study, managers who were not very effective at using downwards influence relied most heavily on inspiration , an effective tactic, ingratiation which is a moderately effective tactic, and pressure which is an ineffective tactic. More generally, you are well served to:

be believable and trustworthy. Credible people tend to be the most persuasive consult rather than legitimate. Some employees are more apt to accept change when managers rely on a consultative strategy and are more likely to resist change when managers use a legitimating tactic expect little from schmoozing. Ingratiation improved short term sales goal achievement but reduced it in the long term period schmoozing can help today sales but not tomorrow's be subtle. Hey and agreement with the other person's opinion which are forms of ingratiation, were shown to increase the likelihood executives would win it recommendations to sit on boards learn to influence. Research with corporate managers of a supermarket chain showed influence tactics can't be taught and learned. Managers who received 360 degree feedback on two occasions were trying their influence tactics showed an increased use of core influence tactics

Bullying also occurs at multiple levels in OB and is different from other forms of mistreatment or incivility in at least three ways:

bullying is usually evident to others. Bullies at work do not have to push you down or take your lunch money like they do in elementary school. Even when the bullying is less obvious and nonviolent, coworkers are commonly aware through either gossip or other forms of communication such as meetings, email, and social media, that someone is being bullied bullying affects even those who are not believe. Research shows that employees who are simply aware of bullying of colleagues but are not themselves a target or more likely to quit their jobs. This means bullying has costs that extended well beyond the harm to the person being bullied. Simply witnessing or being aware one of your colleagues is mistreated has negative effects on you bullying has group level implications. Because even those who are not targeted by bullies can be affected, bullying often negatively affects group dynamics and group satisfaction and performance, important processes and outcomes in the organizing framework

Organizational politics cannot be illuminated, but political behavior can and should be managed to keep it constructive. An individual's degree of political engagement is a matter of personal values, ethics, and temperament. People who are either strictly non political or highly political generally pay a price for their behavior. The former may experience slow promotions and feel left out, while the latter may run the risk of being called self serving and lose credibility. People are both ends may be considered poor team players. A moderate amount of prudent political behavior is generally considered a survival tool an organizational life. And it is worth noting that the reason politics has a bad name is due to politicians and their behavior. Politics is not inherently bad; The problem is the way politics is practiced.

create a simple one liner that captures your idea get your idea on the agenda. Describe how it addresses an important need or objective and look for ways to make it a priority score small wins early and broadcast them wisely. Results build momentum and make it easier for other people to commit form alliances with people who have the power to decide, fund, and implement persist and continue to build support. Persuading others is a process, not an event respond and adjust. Be flexible and accepting of other peoples input; The more name supporting your idea, the more likely you are to succeed lock it in. Anchor the idea to the organization through budgets, job descriptions, incentives, and other operating procedures secure and allocate credit period you don't want your idea to be hijacked, nor do you want to blow your own horn. You need others to sing your praises to ensure you get the credit you deserve

We can draw two more conclusions from the table above. First, when selecting leaders, it is more useful to consider personality than intelligence. Second, displaying the dark triad traits at work can lower your performance ratings and even get you demoted or fired. Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage yourself and your relationships in mature and constructive ways. Scientific evidence supports two conclusions about emotional intelligence and leadership:

emotional intelligence is an input to transformational leadership. In other words, emotional intelligence helps managers effectively enact the behaviors associated with transformational leadership. Emotional intelligence has a small, positive, an significant Association with leadership effectiveness. This suggests that emotional intelligence will help you lead more effectively, but it is not the secret elixir of leadership effectiveness.

Crucial conversations can and do occur in all arenas of your life, school, work, and socially. Examples of relevant occasions include:

ending a relationship talking to a coworker or classmate who behaves offensively giving the boss or a professor feedback critiquing a classmate or colleague's work asking a roommate to move out talking to a team member who isn't keeping commitments giving an unfavorable performance review

There are eight common symptoms of groupthink. The more that are present in a situation, the higher the probability that groupthink will occur:

invulnerability. An illusion that the group cannot make a mistake breeds excessive optimism and risk taking inherent morality. Assuming the group is highly moral encourages members to ignore ethical implications rationalization. Members protect their personal or pet ideas and assumptions stereotyped views of opposition. The group may underestimate components self censorship. Keeping ideas and questions to yourself stifles critical debate illusion of unanimity. Numbers silence can be interpreted to mean consent peer pressure. Be careful when the loyalty of dissenters is questioned mindguards. Self appointed protectors can shut out adverse information

On a positive note, both research and practice have revealed numerous forms of upward impression management techniques which can be put in three categories:

job focused. Tactics at present information about your job performance in a favorable light supervisor focused. Praise and favors for your supervisor Self focused. An image of yourself as a play and nice person

The three key takeaways from Fiedler's model and the LPC scale are:

leadership effectiveness goes beyond traits and behaviors. The fit between a leader style and the situational demands is influential. For example, a recent study found that companies with task oriented CEOs and she have greater financial performance or higher return on assets when the company had a relationship focused culture, whereas firms with relationship oriented CEOs had higher firm performance in task focused cultures organizations should attempt to hire or promote people whose leadership styles fit or match situational demands leaders need to modify their style to fit a situation. A recent study found that too much task oriented leader behavior was viewed negatively by employees, whereas excessive relationship leadership was not. Leaders need to experiment with finding the appropriate amount of leadership to exhibit in different situations.

Legitimating power

legitimate power is what most people think of as authority and is anchored to a formal position or job. Legitimate power it may be used positively or negatively. Positive legitimate power focuses constructively on job performance. Negative legitimate power in contrast, tends to be threatening and demeaning to those being influenced. Sometimes this is simply an exercise in building the power holders ego, such as the many U.S. politicians who have used their legislative position power to name various monuments after themselves. Recent ethics research found that powerful chief financial officers or CFO's, my compared to those who are less powerful, or more likely to negotiate short term compensation incentives and manage company earnings in order to increase their pay and receive the funds sooner, rather than investing over longer periods of time. For instance, they are more likely to arrange for cash and stock bonuses to be paid over three rather than five years. You would rather have your entire annual salary paid today instead of divvied up with some paid each month period the idea is you could invest that large sum aunt or an additional income over and above the value of your salary. CFO's certainly understand this and may tend to use their legitimate power for their personal benefit.

Empowerment outputs

like many of the topics covered, empowerment is valuable because it positively influences performance for individuals, teams, and organizations. But the benefits extend beyond performance an included citizenship behaviors, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and creativity. Empowerment also reduces stress for individuals and teams.

Experiments by Robert Cialdini and others have identified six principles for influencing people. They are based on the idea that people have fundamental responses, and if your efforts align with these responses your influence increases:

liking. People tend to like those who like them. Learning about another person's likes and dislikes through conversation builds relationship and friendship bonds. Sincere and timely praise, empathy, and recognition also help reciprocity. The societal norm that says good and bad deeds should be repaid in kind is virtually universal. Managers who act unethically and treat employees with disrespect should expect the same in return, and their employees are likely to treat each other and their customers unethically and with disrespect. Managers need to be positive and constructive role models and be fair minded to benefit from the principle of reciprocity social proof. People tend to follow the lead of those most like themselves, and role models and peer pressure are powerful cultural forces in social settings. Managers are advised to build support for workplace changes by first gaining the enthusiastic support of informal leaders will influence their peers consistency. People tend to do what they commit to, especially publicly or to others. A manager who can elicit a verbal commitment from an employee has taken an important step towards applying influence and persuasion authority. People tend to defer to and respect credible experts. Too many managers and professionals take their own expertise for granted, as did one hospitals physical therapy staff that grew frustrated by the lack of follow through by patients scarcity. People want items, information, and opportunities that have limited availability. Special opportunities and privileged information or influence builders for managers

The increase in the number of women in the workforce has generated much interest in understanding the similarities and differences between female and male leaders. Research reveals the following four conclusions:

men were observed to display more task leadership and women more relationship leadership. Women used a more Democratic or participate if style than men, and men used a more autocratic and directive style. Female leadership was associated with more cohesion, cooperative learning, and participated communication among team members. Peers, managers, direct reports, and judges or trained observers rated women executives as more effective than men. Men rated themselves as more effective than women evaluated themselves.

Perceptions do matter, according to implicit leadership theory. These police are summarized in a leadership prototype. A recent study identified a leadership prototype of physically imposing meant: that they possess leadership ability and thus are granted greater status. We tend to perceive someone as a leader who exhibits traits or behaviors consistent with our prototypes. We all need to be mindful that our prototypes can bias our evaluation of leaders. Jim Kouzes Posner developed a leadership model based on five common behaviors leaders exemplify that reflect honesty and integrity:

model the way, established principles about the way people should be treated inspire a shared vision, believe you can make a difference and envision what your organization can become challenge the process, look for ways to shake things up to improve the organization enable others to act, foster collaboration and build teams that engage others encourage the heart, recognize the contributions of others

Asserting power is a necessary and sometimes even a subconscious activity in our lives. However, we often overlook the potential outcomes. People tend to have three primary reactions to our attempts to manage and otherwise influence them:

resistance - you know what resistance is but have you ever thought of the many forms and degrees? People can simply be indifferent, be passive aggressive or actively resist. They can also purposefully undermine or even sabotage your efforts. The degree and form of resistance thus matters compliance - those who comply do only what is expected, nothing more. They exert no extra effort and provide no extra input commitment - those who are committed believe in the cause and often go above and beyond to ensure its success these outcomes are obviously different and the differences matter. One factor that certainly can affect others responses is how ethically or responsibly you utilize any form of power.

Reducing ambiguity emerged as a unique influence tactic in virtual teams. Virtual team members do three things to reduce ambiguity:

share information period of course we share information face to face as well, but in virtual teams sharing ensures members have the information necessary to complete their work or fulfill a request. This differs from rational persuasion since it is not meant to persuade someone to act, but instead it helps overcome the lack of nonverbal and other cues and face to face interactions that communicate useful information create accountability. Accountability is often more explicit in virtual interactions because a written record is created. Clarifying and confirming performance expectations, such as deliverables and timelines, are important examples of accountability provide examples. Attachments and screen sharing are common ways in which virtual team members share examples. Again, examples are not a form of rational persuasion intended to convince a team member of a particular position, instead are a means for clarifying intended messages and providing guidance

Support for transformational leadership underscores five important managerial implications:

the establishment of a positive vision of the future, inspirational motivation, should be considered a first step in applying transformational leadership. Why? Because the vision represents a long term goal and it is important for leaders to begin their influence attempts by gaining agreement and consensus about where the team or organization is headed. It also is critical to widely communicate the vision among the team or entire organization. People cannot get excited about something they don't know about or do not understand the best leaders are not just transformational. Effective leaders also rely on other task oriented and relationship oriented behaviors, and they avoid a laissez-faire or wait and see style. Use all types of leader behavior when appropriate transformational leadership affects outcomes at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Managers can use the four types of transformation a leadership transformational leadership works virtually. Have you lead geographically dispersed people, focus on how you can display the for transformation a leader behaviors in your emails, tweets, webinars, and conference calls transformational leaders can be ethical or unethical. While ethical transformational leaders enable employees to enhance their self concepts, unethical unselect or produce obedient, dependent, and compliant followers.

Task oriented leader behavior

the primary purpose of task oriented behaviors is to assist others in accomplishing their goals and those of the work unit. Although a host of behaviors fall under this category, such as planning, clarifying, monitoring, and problem solving, researchers have mainly studied 2: - initiating structure= you witness this behavior style when someone organizes a team meeting for a class project or seeks input from a knowledgeable source to help guide the team's work. This form of leadership has a moderately strong positive relationship with measures of leadership effectiveness - transactional leadership= transactional leadership includes the fundamental managerial activities of setting goals, monitoring progress towards goal achievement, and rewarding and punishing people for their level of goal accomplishment. You can see that transactional leadership is based on using rewards and punishment to drive motivation and performance. Research supports a positive Association between transactional leadership and leader effectiveness and group performance

Relationship oriented leader behavior

the purpose of relationship oriented leadership is to enhance employee skills and create positive work relationships among coworkers and between the leader and his or her employees. OB researchers have investigated the impact for relationship oriented behaviors: - consideration= consideration promotes social interactions and identification with the team and leader. Consider it leader behavior has a moderately strong positive relationship with measures of leadership effectiveness - empowerment= to explain the positive effects of empowering leadership, we need to define two terms: empowering leadership and psychological empowerment. Leaders increase their followers have psychological empowerment by engaging in behaviors that enhance perceptions of meaning, self determination or choice, competence, and impact. (Leading for meaningfulness. Managers lead for meaningfulness by inspiring their employees and modeling desired behaviors. One way to do this is by helping employees to identify their passions at work and creating an exciting organizational vision employees feel connected to, Leading for self determination or choice. Managers lead for choice by delegating meaningful assignments and tasks, Leading for competence. Leaning for competence means supporting and coaching employees. Managers first need to make sure employees have the knowledge needed to successfully perform their jobs. Deficiencies can be handled through training and mentoring. Managers can also combine positive feedback and sincere recognition with challenging tasks to feel employees intrinsic motivation, and Leading for progress. Managers lead for progress by monitoring and rewarding others) = Research supports the use of empowering leadership. It fosters psychological empowerment, which in turn improves outcomes such as intrinsic motivation, creativity, career self efficacy and satisfaction, performance, and team collaboration. - servant leadership= the term servant leadership was coined in 1970 by Robert greenleaf, who believed great leaders act as servants and make the needs of others, including employees, customers, and community, their first priority. Because the focus of servant leadership is on serving others, servant leaders are less likely to engage in self serving behaviors that hurt others. Embedding servant leadership into an organization's culture requires actions as well as words. Servant leadership is expected to promote leadership effectiveness because it focuses on providing support and growth opportunities to employees. - ethical leadership= OB scholars are interested in studying ethical leadership. This includes communicating ethical values to others, rewarding ethical behavior, and treating followers with care and concern. Ethical leadership is clearly driven by personal factors related to our beliefs and values. It also has a reciprocal relationship with an organization's culture and climate. In other words, an ethical climate and climate promote ethical leadership, and ethical leadership in turn promotes an ethical culture and climate. Although ethical leadership is a relatively new area of study in OB, research already shows that it is positively related to employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior, motivation, and task performance. It also is negatively associated with job stress, counter productive work behavior, and intentions to quit. It appears that ethical leadership has many positive benefits.

Two contingency factors, employee characteristics and environmental factors, can cause some leadership behaviors to be more effective than others. There are not enough direct tests of house's revised path goal theory to draw overall conclusions. Nonetheless, the theory offers us three key points:

use more than one style of leadership. Effective leaders use multiple types of leader behavior. Familiarize yourself with the eight types of leader behavior outlined in path goal theory and try new behaviors when the situation calls for them help employees achieve their goals. Clarify the paths to go accomplishment and remove any obstacles that may impair an employee's ability to achieve his or her goals modify your leadership style to fit various employee and environmental characteristics. Remember that a small set of employee characteristics such as ability, experience, and need for independence, as well as environmental factors such as task characteristics of autonomy, variety, and significance, are relevant contingency factors.

Trait theory offers us four conclusions:

we cannot ignore the implications of leadership traits. Traits play a central role in the way we perceive leaders and they ultimately do affect leadership effectiveness. More companies are using management development programs to build a pipeline of leadership talent. Total US spending by organizations for leadership training was $87.6 billion for 2018, a 6% decrease from the previous year the positive and dark triad traits shown in Table 13.1 suggest the qualities you should cultivate and avoid if you want to assume a leadership role in the future. Personality tests and other trait assessments can help evaluate your strengths and weaknesses on these traits organizations may want to include personality and trait assessments in their selection and promotion processes a global mindset is increasingly valued task oriented trait. As more companies expand their international operations and hire more culturally diverse people for domestic operations in the United states, they want to enhance their employees global mindset.

Some of the most common reasons people avoid conflict are:

we are social. Like other social animals, groups of humans such as organizations, functioning better without conflict. We therefore generally prefer not to cause or engage in tensions with others it's stressful period this too is a fact of life; Conflict often causes stress and avoiding conflict, at least in the immediate term, may reduce stress agreeableness is rewarded. When we go along, or at least do not disagree, with others we are generally rewarded. People like us, include us, and communications are smooth. Conflicts, however, is rarely rewarded and is often accompanied by undesirable consequences, even punishment such as termination backlash period last but not least is the fear of damaged relationships. Conflicts typically strained relationships, and if you have conflicts with a coworker with whom you work every day your work life can be miserable

You can improve your communication competence by understanding your typical listening style. There are four styles:

Active - I'm fully invested - Active listeners are all in. That is, they are motivated to listen and give full attention when others are talking. They focus on what is being communicated and expend energy by participating in the discussion period they also use positive body language, such as leaning in or making direct eye contact, to convey their interest. Involved - I'm partially invested - Involved listeners devote some but not all of their attention and energy to listening period they reflect on what is being said and halfheartedly participate in the discussion period the use of nonverbal cues tends to be inconsistent or intermittent, and they can show nonverbal signs of interest and non interest in the same conversation. Passive - It's not my responsibility to listen - Passive listeners are not equal partners in a speaking listening exchange. They assume the speaker is responsible for the quality of the interaction and believe their role is to passively take in information. Passive listeners will display attentiveness, but they can fake it at times period overall they do not expend much motivation or energy in receiving and decoding messages. Detached - I'm uninterested - Detached listeners tend to withdraw from the interaction. They appear inattentive, bored, distracted, and uninterested. They may start using mobile devices during the speaking listening exchange. Their body language will reflect lack of interest, such as slumping and avoiding direct eye contact.

What can you do to protect yourself and your personal brand or reputation? First consider the recommendations above and other things you have learned in this chapter. You may also be well served to keep the arenas of your life separate in cyberspace, at least to the extent possible. Establishing and maintaining multiple accounts, and using discretion about what you post, can't be quite a challenge. But think of the potential implications, your reputation and your job. If you do not know what your company's policy is, ask. Norms of acceptable social media behavior at work, school, and socially are evolving and it pays to be mindful of them.

Cell phones. Because they are like extensions of our hands, cell phones are with us everywhere, at dinner, at work, in class, in bed, and in the bathroom. But that does not mean it is OK to use them in every situation. Video conferencing. Skype, FaceTime, and other services are growing in popularity every year. They provide far richer communication than texts, emails, or even phone calls period from an employer's perspective they also save on travel costs. But effectively communicating on camera is quite different from doing so in other media. Video conferencing has its own code of conduct for participating in meetings, as well As for interviewing for a job.

Three particular forms of trust and the practical application for building trust is to act in ways that demonstrate each of the three types of trust:

Contractual trust. Trust of character. Do people do what they say they will do? Do managers and employees make clear what they expect of one another question mark keep track of your commitments, be realistic and do not over promise, and be sure to deliver quality work on time. Communication trust. Trust of disclosure. How well do people share information and tell the truth? Keep team members and employees informed by explaining policies and decisions and providing accurate feedback. Be candid about your challenges and limitations. And of course tell the truth. Competence trust. Trust of capability. How effectively do people meet or perform their responsibilities and acknowledge other people skills and abilities? Enhance your credibility by demonstrating good business sense, technical ability, and professionalism.

Five common conflict-handling styles

Integrating: interesting parties confront the issue and cooperatively identify it, generate and weigh alternatives, an select a solution. Obliging: tends to show low concern for yourself and a great concern for others. Such people tend to minimize differences and highlight similarities to please the other party. Dominating: high concern herself and low concern for others, often characterized by I win, you lose tactics. The other party's needs are largely ignored. This style is often called forcing because it relies on formal authority to force compliance. Avoiding: passive withdrawal from the problem and active suppression of the issue are common. We addressed the pitfalls of avoiding conflict earlier. Compromising: is a give and take approach with a moderate concern for both self and others. Compromise is appropriate when parties have opposite goals or possesses equal power.

After considering all of this, you are likely still left wondering, how do I determine what is ethical and what is not during negotiations? Sadly, the answer is not simple either, but research provides three criteria to consider:

Intent. If the deception is pro social such as benefits the target, it may be considered ethical, whereas if information is withheld for your personal benefit then you have likely crossed the lion. When or why might you do to see someone for their benefit? To build goodwill, show good faith, because you're generous, or because the other person may indeed benefit more than you. Content. Modifying your emotions to achieve a better outcome is viewed by many as more acceptable than it is to change, omit, or liable information. For instance, taking great disappointment with the process, offer, or outcome, or Alternatively pretending to like the person illustrate deceptive emotions. Information can be manipulated by providing false prices or dollar amounts, the most you'll pay or the least you'll accept, or actually fabricating false information or lying about facts. Put more simply, change your emotions but not the facts. Activity. Lies of omission occur when one fails to reveal relevant information, and lies of Commission are just that, lies, as we commonly understand them, offering false information.

Regardless of the negotiation approach, finding areas of common ground can be difficult. Successful negotiators weigh multiple issues and gather information about which are most important to the other parties and why. Research and practice provides some helpful hints:

Know who you are. Personality matters. Research shows people with high levels of agreeableness are best suited for integrative negotiations, whereas look those low in this personality characteristic are better at distributive negotiations. Manage outcome expectations. In most negotiations, each party has an expected outcome and compares it to the actual outcome. Skilled negotiators manage expectations in advance of actual negotiations. Consider the other persons outcome period of course you negotiate for your own benefit, but it also matters how the other party fares, is he or she satisfied? Adhere to standards of justice. Not only do the outcomes need to be perceived as fair such as distributive justice, but so to do the processes by which they were attained. No one likes to be taken advantage of, which can happen when they have incomplete information. Remember your reputation. You may win today only two for close opportunities in the future. But another way, winning at all costs often has significant costs.

Many organizations now claim they believe in the merits of employee involvement and feedback, even upward feedback. Note that translating these values interaction requires skill. The place to begin managing up is by assessing your manager's receptiveness. Regardless of your organization's policy or comments from senior leadership, if your manager is not receptive, you're wise to put your efforts elsewhere. You can't coach a boss who doesn't want t be coached. To gauge receptiveness, you can:

Learn your managers view of your coaching. What are his or her expectations? What are yours? Explain what's in it for him or her. Ask for permission to provide coaching or feedback. Find out how best to deliver criticism. Learn where, when, and how your manager wants to hear criticism - in the moment, in private, via e-mail, face-to-face, or another way. Ask for agreement and commitment. After the first two items in this list, confirm your boss is interested.

Researchers and consultants agree about one aspect of virtual teams, there is no substitute for face to face contact. Meeting in person is especially beneficial early in virtual team development, and team leaders are encouraged to me even more frequently with key members. Face to face interactions can be as simple as lunch, water cooler conversations, social events, or periodic meetings. Whatever the case is, these interactions enable people to become familiar with each other and build credibility, trust, and understanding. This reduces misunderstandings and makes subsequent virtual interactions more efficient and effective, and it also increases job performance and reduces conflict and intentions to quit. One of the most important aspects of teams is interdependence, or the extent to which members are dependent on each other to accomplish their own work. We discussed 2 common forms of interdependence, task and outcome. The degree of task interdependence is determined by the degree of interaction between members and the amount of coordination required among them. There are four basic types of task interdependence, ranked by how much team member interaction and coordination are required.

Pooled: many pharmaceutical and other sales teams illustrate pooled interdependence. Each member sells a given drug to his or her customers, which requires little or no interaction or coordination with other representatives. At the end of the month all reps sales are added together to arrive at a team sales total. Sequential: manufacturing or assembly processes are typically sequential. PC manufacturing teams for example, require that motherboards and hard drives be installed before the box can be closed and fastened. Reciprocal: hiring processes sometimes use reciprocal interdependence. Candidates are interviewed by members of HR and then separately interviewed by the hiring manager remembers of the Department. The two communicate and decide to whom an offer should be made. Comprehensive: product development teams often utilized comprehensive interdependence. On line games for instance, require significant back and forth among those who create the idea, write the code, test, and market the game period it is not just a linear for sequential process.

Intuition is represented by the two distinct processes above. One is automatic, involuntary, and mostly effortless. The second is quite the opposite and that it is controlled, voluntary, and effortful. These intuitive processes are influenced by two sources: expertise and feelings.

Pros and cons of using intuition: there are two benefits of using intuition to make decisions: it can speed up the decision-making process which is valuable when you are under time constraints, and it is useful when resources are limited. On the downside, intuition is subject to the same types of biases associated with rational decision making. In addition, the decision maker may have difficulty convincing others that the intuitive decision makes sense, so a good idea may be ignored. What is the bottom line on intuition? We believe intuition and rationality are complementary and that managers should attempt to use both when making decisions. We thus encourage you to use intuition when making decisions. Improving your Intuitive Awareness.

The acronym STATE will help you address even the most difficult conversations with a plan or path to follow.

Share your facts. Start with the least controversial, most persuasive elements that support what you want for yourself and for the relationship. Tell your story. Enhance what you want by describing what has happened, how you have arrived where you are, how you would like to see it change, and why. It may help to add what you do not want personally or for the relationship. Ask for others facts and stories. This is key to creating dialogue, which is essential if you are to have a productive crucial conversation. Do not talk at but instead talk with others. Approach all crucial conversations as two exchanges. Do not be accusatory, but instead of simply describe the situation, the way you feel, and what you would like to see happen. Use I instead of you. Talk tentatively. Keep in mind that you are telling a story, not stating facts. The effects come first, then you can add color or describe the impact on you via your story. In other words, do not pound the podium and talk like you're preaching facts. Encourage testing period make it safe for others to share their opposing views. Allow them to share or test their ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Do not interrupt, steamroll, or intimidate. It is critical to maintain mutual respect during crucial conversations. One way to do this is to explain and focus on mutual purpose, what you have both stand to gain. Be sure the other person respects you in order to avoid defensiveness and conflict period if it is appropriate, apologize to get back on track.

Some jobs require you to present regularly and others never. How well you present can greatly affect others perceptions of you and your professional opportunities. Improving your presentation skills is always valuable, given that relatively few people are truly at ease or actually enjoy speaking or presenting to a group. Do you give report or do you tell stories? You should probably start answering the question in the above heading. Reports are packed with the data and information and can be exhausting in their detail. Stories, in contrast, are short and all of these elements but are rich in emotion and help the presenter connect with the audience. The people who organized the TED (technology, education, and design) talks have a five step protocol they use to guide their presenters to deliver with impact:

Step one: frame your story - think of your presentation as a journey and decide where you want to start and end. Consider what your audience already knows about your subject, start there, and quickly explain why it matters to you or why it should matter to them. Include only the most relevant details or points and try to bring them to life with examples. - Do not try to do too much. Do not just skim over all possible points either, but instead pick the best and dive deeper into each of those. - Beware of jargon, boasting, and mind numbing details. Plant Andrew journey with a solution, or even with a question to spur the audience engagement and give them something to think about afterwards. Step 2: plan your delivery - There are three basic ways to deliver a talk: read it from my script, use bullet lists that outline what you will cover in each section, and memorize everything you wish to say and rehearse. - Reading generally is ineffective. You will almost certainly lose your connection with the audience, if you ever connected in the 1st place. TED Forbids presenters to read. Memorizing can work, if your audience is expected to simply sit and listen, but it takes a tremendous amount of time and practice period unless you have your presentation completely ingrained in your memory, your audience can easily realize you are not as prepared as you hoped. If you use the bullet list approach, be sure you know not only the content for each point but also how you want to transition from one to the next. Step 3: develop your stage presence - Getting your story or message right is more important than the way you stand or whether you appear nervous. Nevertheless, be aware of how much you move, not too much or too little. - If you are really nervous, pay attention particularly to your lower body to prevent rocking or shifting from one leg to the other period walking around is fine, if it is natural for you. But if it is not, then you may be well served to stand in particular spots for different lengths of time or when making certain points. The nonverbal communication pointers you learned are helpful too. - Your body aside, the most important element of stage presence is eye contact. Find a handful of friendly faces around the room and deliver your talk while looking them in the eyes. - As for nervousness, there are many ways to help overcome this and many of them you have learned in this book. For instance, when you learned about self efficacy it can be especially helpful, and preparation is a critical element in building your efficacy. Perhaps one of the most useful things you can do is overcome nervousness is to realize that people expect you to be nervous. Do not make too much of it. Step 4: plan your multimedia - Do not feel compelled to use the latest and greatest technology, or any technology at all. But whatever you choose, keep it simple and do not let it distract the audience. If photos or images are appropriate, use them. People respond differently to pictures and videos, which convey emotional content better than words. However, if you use video clips, try to keep them to 60 seconds or less to prevent losing people's attention. - PowerPoint continues to be widely used, although more sophisticated programs with scaling features such as zoomable user interfaces (ZUIs) are also gaining popularity. Regardless of what presentation program you use, be sure to limit the number of words per slide; Make sure the font is big enough for easy reading from the back of the room; and do not read these slides out loud for your audience. While they read the slides wording, provide some additional commentary or insight about the idea presented. Step 5: put it together - Be prepared far enough in advance; Think weeks if possible, not days, hours come up 4 minutes. If you practice in front of others, which is a good idea, be selected. Anybody in the practice audience role will feel compelled to give you feedback, but you need valuable feedback, not just any feedback. - Preparation aside, remember to focus on the framing and substance of your journey and do not get too wrapped up in the other steps and details. If you do not think you have a compelling story, go back to the drawing board and create one. - Lastly, be yourself. Use these steps as a guide and learn from them but do not try to copy somebody else.

Hopefully, these potential benefits will motivate you and others to invest the time and energy to work through conflict rather than avoiding it. Each of these beneficial factors is lacking in cases of dysfunctional conflict period a primary reason we study and manage conflict is because of the costs due to:

absenteeism. Conflict is a major driver of people not showing up. More conflict generates more stress, more stress results in more time off turnover. Lack of fairness, bullying, or other forms of disrespect and incivility caused people to quit altogether unionization. Again, a lack of fairness can be costly and motivate employees to organize to combat poor treatment and practices litigation. If conflict is not dealt with effectively internal to the organization, many employees will seek legal remedies which are often expensive not only in terms of money, but also time and reputations

Four key sources of non verbal messages:

body movements and gestures - body movements, such as leaning forward or backward, and gestures provide non verbal information that can either enhance or detract from the communication process. Open body positions such as leaning backwards or gesturing with palms facing up, communicate immediacy, a term used to represent openness, warmth, closeness, and availability for communication. Recent studies suggested that the use of gestures can help in the process of learning and comprehension in both adults and children. Defensiveness is communicated by gestures such as folding arms, crossing hands, crossing legs, or pointing at others. Touch - Touching is another powerful nonverbal cue. People tend to touch those they like. Research reveals that women do more touching during conversations than men. Touching conveys an impression of warmth and caring and can help create a personal bond between people. Be careful about using touch with people from diverse cultures however, because norms for touching vary significantly around the world. facial expressions - Facial expressions convey a wealth of information. Smiling for instance, typically represents warmth, happiness, or friendship, whereas frowning conveys dissatisfaction or anger. A summary of relevant research revealed that the Association between facial expressions and emotions varies across cultures. A smile for example does not convey the same emotion in different countries. Be careful when interpreting facial expressions among the diverse groups of employees. eye contact - Eye contact is a strong nonverbal cue that varies across cultures. Westerners are taught at an early age to look at their parents when spoken to. In contrast, Asians are taught to avoid eye contact with a parent or superior in order to show obedience and subservience. Once again you need to be sensitive to different orientations towards maintaining eye contact with diverse employees.

Tips for improving your nonverbal communication skills

caught body movements, gestures, and speech - lean forward to show the speaker you are interested - do not display slumped shoulders, downward head, flat tones, or inaudible voice, all of which convey indecisiveness or a lack of confidence - do not speak too fast or too slowly. Your tone of voice should match the tone of the message - use paraphrasing as a mechanism to check on communication accuracy facial expressions - Nod your head to show you are listening or that you agree - smile and show interest - do not close your eyes or tense facial muscles eye contact - maintain eye contact and do not look away from the speaker

It is best to view conflict management neither as a quest for agreement nor a quest for victory. Instead, frame and pursue it as an opportunity to produce positive outcomes, such as:

change. Conflict is rarely productively resolved if nothing changes. Therefore, identify positive elements in the various parties views and find a way forward - new, different, better goal alignment. Incongruent objectives are common sources of conflict for individuals, groups, and departments, and organizations. Confronting these is an opportunity to review and re aligned goals to serve the parties involved innovation. A cousin of change, innovation occurs when conflict generates new and more effective processes, projects, and mindsets

It is unwise to generalize any trends, preferences, or perceptions to all men, all woman, or all of members of a particular generation. Some men, for instance, are less likely to post about their achievements, while some women are less likely to share the credit. Some traditionalists embrace technology and new communication practices while not all millennials are technological whizzes. There are always exceptions to this rule. In recognition of that fact, here are some suggestions that can enhance your communication competence:

clarify communication expectations and norms. If your manager fails to discuss these, bring the topic up. It is better to understand expectations than to guess wrong. After all, you are the one who will lose if people form negative perceptions about your communication skills and patterns. Use a variety of communication tools. Regardless of your preferred mode of communication such as face to face for texting, employees from all generations should use a variety of media according to these circumstances. This avoids alienating any particular generation. Be aware of implicit bias. Do not assume, based on somebody's gender or age, that he or she only likes one mode of communication. If you find males interrupting, gently call them out. If someone is quiet in a meeting, ask for his or her opinion. Make sure people get credit for their ideas and not their gender. Sometimes a woman will propose an idea in a meeting and it is not acknowledged until a man offers the same suggestion later in the discussion period researchers recently confirmed this scenario when a study results revealed that a bump in status and leader recognition as a result of speaking up with ideas only happened for men, not women.

As interdependence increases, so too does the need for and value of collaboration. Today's business landscape, characterized by globalization , outsourcing, strategic partnering, and virtual teams, makes collaboration ever more important period that said, many things can interfere with collaboration, thus it is important to:

communicate expectations. Clarifying roles and responsibilities for each team member is essential. Identify and communicate both individual and team accountability set team goals. SMART goals for teams are a good place to start, but review goals regularly as a team, weekly, monthly, or quarterly, and be sure individual roles and responsibilities align with team and goals. encourage creativity. Create a safe environment where employees can take risks without fear of humiliation or career damage. Nurture a can do attitude within the team and foster it by asking why or why not instead of saying yes or no build workflow rhythm. Technology can be of great assistance. Project management software as well as other scheduling tools can help team members know exactly what they need to do and when. This may also assist in coordination efforts and help assure that enter dependent needs of team members are met leverage team member strengths. Set individuals up to win by identifying and utilizing their strengths. The key to realizing the benefits of the team is to appropriately utilized the strengths of its individual members

Social media privacy becomes even more elusive given that better than 60% of employees report they are connected to at least one coworker and over 40% with an immediate supervisor. Employees are especially concerned about employers having access to personal emails and attachments, voicemail, text and instant messages, lists of apps on their devices, information in their mobile apps, and their location. What can employers do? Here are some recommendations:

communicate what personal information from mobile devices is accessed by the employer be sure employees understand what is accessible depending on the operating system used on their device such as Apple or Android create and communicate clear and sensible policies regarding potential employer actions regarding information on employees mobile devices do all of this when employees are setting up their devices, which is when they are most likely thinking about and can do something about such matters tell employees that anything on the company's email server is saved for legal purposes use the available privacy controls

8 biases that commonly affect decision-making:

confirmation bias - This has two components. The decision maker subconsciously decides something even before investigating why it is the right decision and seeks information that supports or confirms the decision well discounting information that does not. This bias leads us to collect information that supports our beliefs or views. overconfidence bias - This bias grows in strength when people are asked moderate to extremely difficult questions rather than easy ones. Recent research suggests that individuals who believe they are "better-than-average" and in better social standing than others can fall prey to this bias. Our advice: don't assume that overconfident and assertive people have the best recommendations. availability bias - Because the information is recent, we overestimate its importance. The problem, of course, is that recent information is not necessarily the best or most accurate. The availability bias can be fueled by the news media, which emphasize negative or unusual events. representative bias - We use this heuristic when we estimate the probability of an event's occurrence based on our impressions about similar occurrences. anchoring bias - Initial information, impressions, data, feedback, or stereotypes anchor our subsequent judgments and decisions. hindsight bias - The danger of this bias is that in retrospect, we get overconfident about our foresight, which leads to bad decisions. framing bias - In general, people view choices more favorably when they are framed in terms of gains rather than losses. You would be more likely to invest in a product that had a 60% chance of success rather than a 40% chance of failure. Try framing your decision questions in alternate ways to avoid this bias. escalation of commitment bias - Researchers recommend the following actions to reduce the escalation of commitment: (set minimum targets for performance, and have decisionmakers compare their performance against these targets, regularly rotate managers and key positions throughout a project, and encourage decision makers to become less ego involved with a project make decisionmakers aware of the costs of persistence) knowledge about these biases or heuristics can help you avoid using them in the wrong situation or being blinded by not knowing you are in fact using them.

Because conflict is so pervasive, it is no surprise that researchers and managers have both devoted considerable attention to the topic. Key points about the conflict handling styles follow:

culture. Conflict-handling styles are not just an individual level phenomenon. Department's and entire organizations can develop the same styles, integrating, dominating, and avoiding. And leaders own styles have the greatest influence in determining which styles becomes embedded in the group or organization results. Cooperative styles such as integrating and obliging, improved new product development performance between buyers and suppliers across several industries in Hong Kong. In contrast, uncooperative styles such as dominating and avoiding, increased numerous types of conflicts and Hanford new product development. Compromising had no effect on performance in these same situations. New product development relationships are increasingly important in the global economy. Give careful consideration to the styles you use when working with such partners reduced turnover. Research with nurses showed that those with high levels of emotional intelligence were more inclined to use collaborative conflict handling styles and less likely to use accommodating styles. Given the intense shortage of nurses in many parts of the world, turnover is a critical and top of the mind issue for nursing managers and healthcare administrators alike. Therefore, reducing conflict such as bullying, is an important an effective means for reducing turnover you versus others. It is important to consider your style versus that of the other persons in the conflict period your styles might be at all its, but it might also be your personalities

The collaborative, interest based approach is explicitly based on problem solving and can be applied between two or more individuals, between an individual and a group, or between two or more groups. The following protocol is:

define and frame the issue in terms of parties interests explain the respective interests such as listen, learn, and share explore expanding the pie such as create value rather than claiming it generate options evaluate options in light of the interests described in step one choose the option that best meets the interests described develop and agree on a plan of implementation

Most fundamentally, we use groups and teams at work because the complexity and demands are simply too great to be managed by individuals. Groups and teams can be described using three characteristics:

dependence is the extent to which one member's tasks and responsibilities are linked to those of other members accountability involves who is responsible for the tasks and related outcomes time is the duration members spend together completing tasks and responsibilities

How to combat sexual and other forms of harassment? Experts recommend:

do not make definitions and policy's overly legal. Legal terminology is good for attorneys, but it is best to create and communicate policies in simple language and terms relevant to your workplace use relevant examples. Identify offensive behaviors most likely to occur in your particular workplace, whether technically illegal or not, and explained why not to do them and what employees are expected to do when they occur or are observed make it everyone's responsibility. This needs to be communicated and clear channels for reporting known, whom should you notify and how? Outside tip lines can help Enforce top to bottom. Despite the high profile cases associated with #MeToo, the fact remains that many perpetrators are people in power who are often protected. People need to believe every employee will be held accountable

Given that social loafing is so common and problematic, how can you guard against it:

limit group size. Fewer people means fewer places to shift work or hide accountability. Ensure members have clear roles and responsibilities, and that they need to deliver build in feedback. Create a way that team members receive feedback, ideally both during and at the end, of a project. This will help with accountability and discouraging loafing in the 1st place, and it will call them out if they slack off cultivate cohesion. Teams whose members are emotionally bonded are far less likely to loaf

The distinction between functional conflict and dysfunctional conflict pivots on whether the organization's interests are being served. In a search functional conflict situations, people often feel comfortable at disagreeing and presenting opposing views. Functional conflict can foster several desirable outcomes, such as:

open mindedness. When conflict is functional, people speak up, others listen, which in turn can increase engagement increased understanding and strengthened relationships. Feeling understood, even when views differ, cultivates respect and empathy. These of course facilitate productive problem solving innovation. Working through conflicts in a positive manner pushes people to consider different views than they would otherwise, which often results in new and better processes and outcomes accelerated growth. Functional conflict results in change, a break from the status quo, and improves performance across levels of OB

There are three benefits of trying to follow a rational process as closely as is realistically possible:

quality. The quality of decisions may be enhanced, in the sense that they follow more logically from all available knowledge and expertise transparency. Rationality makes the reasoning behind a decision transparent and available to scrutiny responsibility. The rational model discourages decision makers from acting on suspect considerations such as personal advancement or avoidance of bureaucratic embarrassment, and therefore encourages more responsible decisions

Four factors affect communication richness:

speed of feedback: faster feedback offers more richness channel: visual and audio characteristics of a video conference or richer than the limited visual aspects of a written report type: personal media such as phone calls and interpersonal speech are richer than impersonal media such as memos and group emails language source: the natural body language and speech in a face to face conversation provides a richer medium than the numbers in a financial report

Disputes between employees, between employees and their managers or employers, and between companies too often end up in lengthy and costly court battles. US businesses spend hundreds of billions of dollars per year on direct legal costs, but this number is puny when compared to indirect legal costs, such as opportunities not pursued due to litigation concerns, disclaimers, and extra testing. All such costs are ultimately passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. A more constructive, less expensive approach called alternative dispute resolution has grown rapidly in recent years. You may not realize it, but you already know a few forms of ADR, such as peer review, arbitration, and mediation. These techniques represent a progression of steps third parties can take to resolve conflicts, and they have the following benefits when compared to litigation:

speed. Mediation, for example, often takes only a few hours and has a 70 to 80% success rate. This track record is in stark contrast to the months or even years it can take for cases to get through litigation low cost. ADRs generally cost 90% less than litigation confidentiality. ADRs provide near complete control over what's disclosed and what's not, which contrasts with legal proceedings which are in the public record. Moreover, ADR decisions are rarely formalized like the outcomes of lawsuits, which means there is no record to be made public or to use as president in future conflicts winning solutions. Courts decide based on the law, and their decisions are almost always win or lose, with one party writing a check to the other. ADRs, in contrast, can reach win-win solutions arranged by the parties themselves.

The rational model of decision making:

stage one: identify the problem or opportunity , determining the actual versus the desirable - in addition to making decisions to solve problems, managers also have to make decisions without optimizing opportunities. Whether you face a problem or an opportunity, the goal is always the same: to make improvements that change conditions from their current state to a more desirable one period this requires you to diagnose the cause of the problem, or the nature of the opportunity stage 2: generate alternative solutions, both the obvious and the creative - for many people generating solutions is the exciting part of decision making, the step where you get to be creative, think outside the box, and share your ideas about how things should be done. Brainstorming for instance, is a common technique that both individuals and groups used to generate potential solutions. A research study of 400 strategic decisions revealed that managers struggled during brainstorming because of three key decision-making blenders: (rushing to judgment. Managers simply make decisions too quickly without considering all relevant information, selecting readily available ideas or solutions. Managers take the easy solution without rigorously considering alternatives. This can happen when emotions about the problem are running high, and making poor allocation of resources to study alternative solutions. Managers do not invest their resources to properly study the problem and the alternate courses of action) - Decision makers design courage to slow down and use system two thinking which is analytical and conscious, by making decisions. This should lead them to identify a broader set of alternatives and potential solutions Step 3: evaluate alternatives and select a solution, ethics, feasibility, and effectiveness - evaluate your alternatives on several criteria. Costs and quality are important, but you should also consider the following questions: is it ethical? If not, do not consider it is it feasible? If time is an issue, costs are high, resources are limited, new technology is needed, or customers are resistant, for instance, then the alternative is not feasible will it remove the causes and solve the problem? Step 4: implement and evaluate this solution chosen - after the solution has been implemented, stakeholders need to evaluate how effectively it solves the problem period if effective, it should eliminate or significantly reduce the difference between the problem state and the desired outcome. If not, either the problem was incorrectly identified or the solution was inappropriately conceived or executed. Management can return to the first step, problem identification. If the problem was correctly identified, management should consider implementing one of the untried solutions. This process can continue until all feasible solutions have been tried or the problem has changed. System two thinking is needed to effectively work through this stage.

When a conflict escalates, the exchanges intensify and conflicting parties commonly turned to destructive and negative attacks. When this happens those involved are often more about undermining or hurting the other party than advancing one's own interests. The involved parties also tend to take more extreme positions and becoming less flexible. Common warning signs of conflict escalation are:

tactics change. Parties move from light tactics, such as persuasive arguments, promises, and efforts to please the other side, too heavy tactics that include a threat, power plays, and even violence number of issues grows. More issues that bother each party are raised and included in the conflict issues move from specific to general. Small and specific concerns often become more vague or general and can evolve into a general dislike of or intolerance for the other party number of parties grows. More people and groups are drawn into the conflict goals change period parties change their focus from doing well or resolving conflict to winning and even hurting the other party

If these re energizing benefits of social media breaks are not convincing enough for you or your employer, consider other potential and undesirable results of the blocking policies:

they could alienate employees. Young, old, or in between, many people are accustomed to being plugged into social sites throughout the day. Blocking their access can be off putting. Moreover, organizations can block access on company devices, but most people have smartphones, tablets, and other devices of their own. As a result, many employees continue their typical use of social media but simply do so on their own devices, still on company time. You cannot have it only one way. If employers expect employees to be connected and responsive 24/7 to work related emails, such as those from managers, coworkers, clients, or suppliers, it seems only fair to also allow them to reasonably tend to their own business during work hours. This is especially true if employees work both within and outside prescribed hours such as at home in the evenings or on weekends. Blocking suggests a lack of trust. As one tech business Reporter put it, banning social media may send a message to your employees that you do not trust that. This can cause a sharp divide in the team atmosphere you want to create. It is difficult to manage and influence others without trust, and one of the basic ways of gaining trust from others is to trust them first.