MLSD 520 Module 7- An Empowerment Example

My second year as a university student was probably one of the most stressful moment in my lifetime. After completing a year’s worth of classes, I decided to transfer to a different university located out-of-state. While it was a very exciting opportunity, it was also nerve-racking. It was my first time living on my own, and I was surrounded by strangers. The university itself was much more challenging than my last. The stress eventually reached its peak at the end of my first semester: where I received very poor grades in all of my classes (and failed two of them).

Receiving poor grades was a very shocking experience since I usually do well in class. Due to the poor grades, it also gave me the mentality that I would not be able to graduate from the university. When the semester ended, I decided to travel back home to see my family during the winter break. Although it was exciting to see them again, I was also expecting a stern talk about my grades. Instead, I received the complete opposite. My family in fact was very supportive and understood the situation I was going through. They often praised me, telling me that they were proud of my effort.

Despite my family’s support, I reverted back the way I was when coming back to campus. This time, I felt some embarrassment by the fact that I had to retake two of the classes I failed in the previous semester. When I came to the classes I failed, I was surprised to see a number of students from my previous class. What was interesting was they all told me to sit by them, and we shared our experiences from the previous class. Over time, the group and I got a long really well, and I felt less stressed and lonely. At the end of the second semester, I was able to successfully pass both courses, and received much higher grades: which helped me boost confidence about graduating from the university.

Whetten and Cameron identified a few dimensions and prescriptions for empowerment that were also present during my past experience. To regain my overall confidence, a few of my classmates invited me and formed a group. We exchanged information and shared our past experiences from the previous class. While working together helped boost our skills and knowledge, it was also a very social environment: which comforted me and made me feel less lonely. Socializing with the group also made me recall that I’m not the only student, and that many others go through similar situations as I do.

Although it’s rare to come across students in distress, I plan to empower students with emotional support and advisement from my student perspective. In the past, I’ve came across students dealing with similar situations I had when pursuing my bachelor’s degree. Just how the group treated me, I plan to share parts of my experience. This would be Whetten and Cameron’s modeling strategy, where we inspire someone from someone else’s success (2016).

References:

Whetten, D. A. & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills, 9th ed. Boston, MA: Pearson.

MSLD 520 Module 6- Conflict Resolution

Pursuing a bachelor’s degree was not only academically challenging, but also challenging in terms of maintaining social relationships. While many of my conflicts revolved around roommates, more complex disputes occurred during group assignments. Since my past university mainly focused on aviation and aerospace, one challenge I constantly faced were the “language” and information used in group projects. Unlike most students, I was in the minority group that studied general business administration. Whether I was in a simple math or management course, aviation and aerospace related terminology were often used, which caused a lot of confusion and conflicts.

I got into a very unfortunate situation one year where a course titled “Airport Management” was the only elective course available during my last two terms before graduation. The course was mainly designed for students studying aviation business administration: the other version of my field of study. Due to the aviation focus (and many students prefer this degree program), many of my classmates were familiar with their aviation-related terminologies. Some of the students were also pilots. 

During the last few weeks of class, my professor assigned us a group project where we analyzed a real-life airport's operations. The group that I was randomly assigned to were all pilots. As a result, I was often confused by their unfamiliar vocabulary and data. Due to my lack of knowledge, I constantly asked for clarification. Over time, my constant habit of asking annoyed my team members: causing them to ignore or refuse my ideas. The conflict got worse after I received an email from my professor: where someone in the group made a complaint on my work effort. After providing some clarifications and other information to the professor, I decided that it was time to talk directly to my team members.

Since my group members often ignored or halted me from talking, it was very complicated to start the negotiation process. Wanting to avoid making the situation worse, I approached them slowly and kindly asked if I can have a quick word with everyone. Surprisingly, my group members stopped and paid attention. After informing them that I was not a pilot or in the aviation business field, they were shocked and became very apologetic. In the end, the group and I were able to sort and work things out. 

For this conflict, it was clear that informational deficiency was the primary issue. None of my group members were aware that I was a pilot or in the aviation business administration program. As Whetten and Cameron stated, it is important to clarify the areas that are being misunderstood to resolve conflict (2016). In addition, I believe that I was able to resolve this conflict by approaching them calmly and having something in common. 

McDonald and Messinger states that people often responds back the way they were approached (n.d.). For this case, I didn't want any further anger, yelling, etc. to occur, so I knew that it was important to approach them with kindness. To do this, I maintained calm tone and expressions. Just like William Ury's ideas, I was likely able to resolve the conflict by finding a common ground. Despite having different fields of study, we all had something in common: finishing the project. By informing my care of the project, the group was able to realize that I was not trying to avoid doing my portion(s) of the project, and was willing to cooperate (some believed that I was making the group do my work). 

In summary, I was able to resolve conflict by informing my group about my situation. Due to the lack of information at the start of the project, my group ended up making assumptions that ultimately caused confusion to the group. If I were to face a similar in the future, I should have acted faster and identified the situation and inform my group before further complications occur.

References:

McDonald, N., & Messinger, D., (n.d.), The Development of Empathy: How, When, and Why. Retrieved from http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/c_c/rsrcs/rdgs/emot/McDonald-Messinger_Empathy%20Development.pdf

Ury, W. (2010). Willaim Ury: The walk from no to yes. TED. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/william_ury/transcript?language=en

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills. Boston: Pearson Education.

MSLD 520 Module 5- What Makes Us feel Good About Work?

Dan Ariely’s TED Talk, “What Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work?” examined two different experiments that focused on recognition and quantity of work. The results of both experiments showed that productivity increased when work was being recognized and had deeper, personal meaning. In addition, Ariely stated that being recognized and having meaning to work can also promote happiness (Ariely, 2013). After viewing the TED Talk, I was able to relate to Ariely’s ideas with my current job as an academic advisor. I enjoy my job because of the positive feedback I receive from my students.

 The many things I do for my students go way back when I was a student myself. While my professors, advisors, etc. helped me, they were often lacking details, or often rushed their advisement due to their busy schedule. Because of this, I often felt a little hurt: assuming that my academic success was unimportant to them. Fast-forwarding to when I received my job, I noticed that some of my students were facing similar issues I had in the past (lack of advice, communication, etc.). Now that I’m an advisor, I knew that I had the opportunity to make positive changes.

Since I started working, my campus went through a number of changes to ensure quality advisement. A lot of the changes were made based on complaints and suggestions made from students: including myself as a former student. Placing myself in “other people’s shoes” is critical since this help see and get a better understanding of what happens from other point-of-views (Folk, 2015). Over time, the hard work eventually paid off, and I started receiving multiple positive feedback from my students. In addition, my campus is also facing a small growth in student population. With more than half of the students working at the Boeing Company, many of them are referring and suggesting my campus to pursue higher education. 

As a naturally caring person, being able to help students succeed make me feel good emotionally. I was not only able to help students succeed, but it also tells me that I’ve achieved my personal goal to go far and beyond my past advisors. Unlike my past advisors, I take as much time as possible to get to know each of my students (work-life schedules and situations, their hobbies, etc.), and provided information from both the staff and student perspectives. In addition, feedback help establish a small growth to my campus. While this help the overall university image, improvements is also strengthening my work skills and experiences. I’m relatively new to the workforce and currently lack experience. By making improvements and receiving positive feedback, this motivates me to continue building skills and experience, which will help me with any career opportunities I may come across.

References:

Ariely, D. (2013). Dan Ariely: What makes us feel good about work? [Video file]. TED. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/dan_ariely_what_makes_us_feel_good_about_our_work

Folk, G. (2015). Put Yourself In Other People’s Shoes. People Leadership. Retrieved from http://peopleleadership.com/put-yourself-in-other-peoples-shoes/

MSLD 520 Module 4- Supportive Communication

                Whetten and Cameron defined supportive communication as the way to preserve or enhance positive relationships while addressing a problem, providing negative feedback, or while going through difficult situations. In addition to maintaining relationships, supportive communication is also used to deliver messages accurately (Whetten & Cameron, 2016). This is important in many organizations: as work environments, relationships, and employee health are all linked to the organization’s outcomes. In other words, treating employees poorly leads to low productivity and efficiency in an organization (Seppala & Cameron, 2015).

                The Cerner CEO email is one of many bad examples of communication, which can potentially lead to a domino effect of problems. To avoid these problems, leaders must follow the eight attributes of supportive communication (Whetten & Cameron):

1.   Congruent, Not Incongruent

Despite the possibility of dissatisfied people, it is always important to deliver honest messages with matching feelings. A real-life example is how the Johnson & Johnson company handled the 1982 Tylenol Crisis (Chicago Murders). They did not deny that the situation occurred at their business, and they expressed their concerns on the safety of their consumers. To regain consumer trust, the company announced and developed new packaging and design of their products to reduce tampering from occurring (Markel, 2014).

The Cerner CEO email shows the feelings of disappointment and anger towards the managers, however the message on the problem-solving process is unclear. With the lack of information, people can easily be misinformed, and can potentially hurt relationships (Nosich, 2012).

2.   Descriptive, Not Evaluative

The Cerner email is purely evaluative, as it does not provide any information about the problem-solving process. Although the CEO see multiple problems occurring in the organization, it is likely from his or her own perspectives.  Many organizations consist of many different departments, each having different roles and way of thinking. For effective problem-solving, it is important to pinpoint the problem by breaking down the problem all together and examine the details. This is also known as Systems of Thinking (Nosich, 2012).

3.   Problem-Oriented, Not Person-Oriented

The email used the word “you” repetitively, which clearly shows that the CEO is addressing the situation by person rather by problem. This is very risky, as this can easily misinform employees. Again, every department has their own way of doing and thinking things. If the managers of the company were working as described, this can easily create a negative and confusing work environment. To overcome this situation, the CEO must fully evaluate the situation and include details about the problem(s).

4.   Validating, Not Invalidating

The CEO’s email did not have any form of validating whatsoever. It is clear that the communication is one-way: as it demands the managers to fix the problem, or they will be replaced. Again, for effective decision making, it is important to have as much information, feedback, etc. from all departments relevant to the problem. They all have different views and tasks.

5.   Specific, Not Global

Again, with the lack of information provided, the CEO failed to provide specific information. For instance, the CEO provided a list of problems he or she sees without any reasonable explanation, and demands the managers to resolve the situation. This can only lead to managers going in all different directions, which can create further issues.

6.   Conjunctive, Not Disjunctive

The email provided some very rough ideas about what’s occurring in the organization, but fails to add on further information. Because of this, the email was more like a “for your information” rather than bringing up important points to the situation. 

7.   Owned, Not Disowned

As previously mentioned, the CEO uses the word “you” repetitively in the email: fulling putting the blame on the employees with no valid explanation. While each department has their own tasks, they need someone to point them to the right direction. For this case, the CEO failed to do so, which can cause misconceptions.

8.   Supportive Listening, Not One-Way Listening

Organizations are like a working machine: every department in an organization has a role and must work together to accomplish things effectively. For this example, the CEO is likely not gathering information from other departments and solely making decisions based on his or her own perspectives. Although organizations all follow the same main goal, every department have different tasks and views, and may not always align with people from other departments.

                For effective supportive communication, it is important to ensure that we are honest, clear, and provide as much information while maintaining positive relationships. As an academic advisor, maintaining relationships is critical, as I need my students’ full cooperation to make effective advisement. While it’s rare to come across difficult problems and unhappy students, I intend to place myself in my “students’ shoes” when appropriate. This allows me to not only gather additional information to my advisement, but it also help me “translate” my advisement to the students. By explaining situations as a student, this allows my messages to be delivered easier, and could potentially reduce any stress the student is currently in. As a past and current student, I’m also able to make personal connections with their situation, and can express my feelings towards the situation. By expressing appropriate emotions, tone, and body language, the student can also realize that I truly care about them, and is always available to help (McDonald & Messinger, n.d.).

References:

Markel, H. (2014). How the Tylenol murders of 1982 changed the way we consume medication. PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/tylenol-murders-1982/

McDonald, N., & Messinger, D., (n.d.), The Development of Empathy: How, When, and Why. Retrieved from http://www.psy.miami.edu/faculty/dmessinger/c_c/rsrcs/rdgs/emot/McDonald-Messinger_Empathy%20Development.pdf

Nosich, G.D. (2012). Learning To Think Things Through: A Guide to Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum. Boston: Pearson Education.

Seppala, E., & Cameron, K. (2015). Proof That Positive Work Cultures Are More Productive. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2015/12/proof-that-positive-work-cultures-are-more-productive

Whetten, D. A., & Cameron, K. S. (2016). Developing management skills. Boston: Pearson Education.