Leaving the Educational Arena

It seems that our initial thoughts when entering undergrad or graduate school is to finish as quickly as possible...successfully of course. However, we fail to realize that there will be a major void in our lives once we complete our educational missions. I've experienced this void firsthand and so have many of my fellow graduates. We miss our fellow students and many of our professors. We experience feelings of emptiness, sadness, and inadequacy (at least I do!), and wonder what else we can do to challenge our intellect and give us a further sense of companionship and accomplishment. Unfortunately, for most of us, we have other responsibilities that must be met e.g., family, bills, employment obligations, etc. So, we must plod on in this void and relish with pride our memories of a prior existence in the educational arena.

Back On Track

Hi Ya'll!
I'm back and ready to make a bit of noise. Great seeing everyone again. This is a GREAT class! Hi Jeffrey, Hi Cat, Hi Ni, Hi Sameer...Hi everyone!!!

Richard

Take My Money!

Being a habitual donor to almost every charitable cause known to man has often left me questioning why many charities seem compelled to request more—even larger donations! This often causes me to feel guilty—as if I didn’t give enough? There are other times when I think that I must have gained a reputation as a “soft-touch” among the many charitable organizations that single me out on a daily basis, by telephone and through the mail. After reading about the consistent-commitment theory by Vaidyanathan & Aggarwal (2005), it has now become very clear to me. These very same charities that I have been donating small to moderate amounts to are using the ‘foot in the door’ technique (Snyder and Cunningham, 1975; Uranowitz, 1975; Seligman et al., 1976; Burger, 1999) on me and feel that they can get even larger donations if they continue to target me. Knowledge is power and I can see their specific marketing techniques much clearer now.
However, I do realize that a charity is a business and it must get donations to sustain the organization—and to continue in its efforts to help others. I personally feel that the vast majority of charitable organizations are honest and contribute immensely in their particular area of service to humanity. I will continue to donate to the charities of my choice. But, now I realize why I am a continued marketing target.

References

Vaidyanathan, R. & Aggarwal, P. (2005). Using Commitments to drive consistency: Enhancing the effectiveness of cause-related marketing communications. Journal of Marketing Communications, 11(14), 231-246. Retrieved on October 16, 2008,
doi: 10. 1080/0144619052000345600

Demotivation--The opposite of Motivation?

Upon reading Being a Motivated Manager-Part 4, by Shah & Shah (2007), I came across the word Demotivation. I could not find such a word in the dictionary. However, I do feel that this word is certainly connected to motivation--as bad is to good, negative to positive, and wrong to right. So with the indulgence of all who read this article, I will adobt this word into my blog.
Demotivation, relating to the traditional efforts of far too many managers in today's corporate arena, means to seriously decrease employee and staff motivation through the misuse of punishment and penalties. It should be foremost in everyone's mind that the job of the manager is to motivate people (Shah & Shah, 2007). Excessive threats, punishments, and penalties can cause resentment (if not downright hate!) among employees. This can have a serious boomerang effect, resulting in major employee discontent and, even problems for the company, itself. Managers must learn to use punishments and penalties only as a controlling technique (Shah & Shah, 2007).
Furthermore, managers must remember the ultimate goal: Derive as much productivity from the workforce as possible. A motivated employee will produce. A demotivated employee will do as little as possible. We, as future managers, must remember to keep the word demotivated in our vocabulary. Where would motivation be without its negative cousin?

References

Shah, K. & Shah, P. (n.d.) Motivation. Retrieved July 10, 2007, from

http://www.laynetworks.com/Motivation.html

Who's listening?

Ironically, in my previous position as an employment counselor/supervisor, my office manager was the root of most of the interpersonal problems in our office. No one was permitted to question his actions or directives, no matter how tyrannical or ineffective they would be. He was literally a tyrant and refused to listen to or to take advice from anyone. I realize now that there is little doubt that failure to listen is probably the cause of more problems than any other aspect of human behavior (Lu, 2005). Supervisors were afraid to voice opinion(s) and, when they dared to, no one would listen for fear of a managerial reprimand. We would often engage in non-verbal dialogue. No wonder our office eventually closed!

Today, fortunately, such tyrannical behavior would not be tolerated. Managers need to trust their employees for positive (or negative) feedback. McGarvey (1996) "suggests that trust is an important part of listening competency today. Managers can learn more about problems in the workplace by listening to their employees. The employees feel more valued when their supervisors listen to their opinions, and we trust people who listen to us" (McGarvey, 1996).

Effective managerial leaders should have "large ears, a big heart or both" (Lucia, 1997). Leaders must take the time to listen to their employees and stay in tune with their feelings. Lucia states that "caring and feeling--are very much intertwined. Effective leaders listen empathetically" (Lucia, 1997).

If our office manager would have listened to our problems and concerns, our office would probably still be open today. So, take heed: make sure that you listen!

References

Lu, J (2005). The listening style inventory (LSI) as an instrument for improving listening skill. Sino-US English Teaching, 2(5), 45-50.

McGarvey, R (1996). Now hear this: lend your employees an ear - and boost productivity. Entrepreneur, v.24, n. 6, p. 87 (3).

Lucia, A (1997). Leaders know how to listen. HR Focus, v. 74, n. 4, p. 25(1).

My Personal Leadership Goals/Beliefs

I am convinced that to be a productive manager, one must also be a good leader. However, not all managers are leaders and most leaders do not become managers. A leader should listen to ideas from different sources and attempt to direct the team or organization to perform at its best (Iwasaki, 2003, personal conversation). Being a prior successful team leader has taught me that I must develop a strong link of trust among fellow team members. Trust increases individual involvement in decision-making and improves the understanding of the issues involved by those who must carry out the decisions.
When making decisions in a group, I prefer to get consensus from each member before carrying out any decisions. I have found that people are more committed to following a course of action when they have actively participated in the decision-making process. Additionally, team members are less competitive and more collaborative when they are committed to common goals. Further, when decisions are made on a collective basis, as opposed to that of one person deciding for the team, the end result is usually a successful one. Finally, our goal should be to be a successful leader and not an autocratic failure. (Originally posted on 9/28/2008)