What Can Business Leaders Do To Fight Climate Change Now?, Lynn Schenk and Danielle Kost, November 9, 2022This article talks about the planning processes that business leaders can take to reduce greenhouse emissions and advance renewal energy in light of the 370 billion dollar investment the US government made towards fighting climate change. The strategies include: a) setting reduction targets and pushing forward, b) evaluating investments based on long-term benefits and risks, c) getting involved at the city level, and d) turning pledges into reality.
I think it is so important that businesses make important world issues a part of their action plans for the future. Having an action plan with strategies on how to correctly implement them is a perfect way to execute the planning aspect of the four fundamentals of management. In the context of the issue of climate change, the strategy of “turning pledges into reality” really stood out to me. A lot of companies put in pledges in good faith, however, how many actually follow through? A big part of the planning process is actually implementing and executing that plan; without it, the entire basis of an “action plan” is useless. This is why it is just as important to keep the steps of a plan simple and achievable as much as it is to push toward new goals. I hope that business and business leaders take the issue of climate change more seriously and strive to reduce their carbon footprint and reduce greenhouse emissions by adding these goals to their action plans for the future and implementing these strategies to make a positive difference in our world.
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The Clock Is Ticking: 3 Ways to Manage Your Time Better, Kristen Senz, August 28, 2023This article takes into account how the workplace has changed after the COVID-19 pandemic, and uses the data of its impacts to come up with 3 ways to manage one’s time better in the office. These strategies include: a) taking into consideration where and when you work, b) reducing meetings to be happier at work, and c) taking breaks from work.
These organizational strategies obviously relate to the organization and leadership aspects of the management fundamentals. These strategies can be implemented by managers in the workplace to organize the workplace in a more efficient and employee-friendly manner and would be an excellent way to exercise their leadership. A strategy that stood out to me was reducing meetings to be happier at work. I think that this is one of the most impactful strategies, as well as the one that is easiest to implement. The article states that by wasting time at boring and long meetings, employees lose their joy in being at work, and by engaging in “surface acting” (faking emotions to be contextually appropriate) they can feel more emotionally exhausted during and after meetings. By making meetings shorter, or using other forms of communication, such as emails or memos, managers can allow their workers to be time-efficient and happier. The third concept of taking a break away from work to be more productive at work was also intriguing. There’s no doubt that breaks from one’s work life are extremely important, and it has been statistically proven that having a change of surroundings once in a while can positively impact both work and personal outcomes. Managers can further make their work environment positive by allowing their employees more break days, and more paid vacation time to ensure that they do not get burnt out and have sufficient time to themselves during their time with the company. This was an incredibly interesting article to read and I think it correlated very well with the topics discussed in class. Stop Ignoring Bad Behaviour: 6 Tips for Better Ethics At Work, Pamela Reynolds, November 15, 2022By opening with Purdue Pharma’s hand in fueling opioid and narcotics addictions amongst its customers, as well as highlighting the roles of the complicit parties involved, this article highlights how people overlook wrongdoings even in incredibly serious situations. The author then highlights Max Bazerman’s strategies to help people do moral and ethical things in difficult situations like this.
To me, I really appreciated how the entire “system” of complicity and unethical behaviour, and how to avoid it, was laid out and made so simple to understand for the reader. In enabling unethical behaviour, there are “two groups of explicit complicitors”: the “true partners,” who are aware of the wrongdoing and share in those unethical values, and the “collaborators,” who do not share in these unethical values, but participate to gain something. In this case, complicity is intentional, however, this is not always the case: it can sometimes be unintentional, or implicit. Max Bazerman’s strategies for avoiding intentionally or unintentionally being complicit are then discussed. The first strategy is to “acknowledge blind spots,” or acknowledge the system of bad behaviour and essentially look at the grander picture. Another strategy is to make it less risky for people to speak up against this unethical behaviour, and take away the risk of being fired or treated poorly in the workplace. While making decisions, if there are more people involved, actions tend to be more ethical and avoid the risk of a tunnel-vision perspective, which aids one group only to put another at a disadvantage. Increasing diversity can also increase the amount of perspectives and decrease complicity overall. I believe that if this article and the overall point of discussion were made more prevalent, business owners and CEOs would benefit by knowing how to structure their office in such a way that it eliminates unethical behaviour and the resulting complicity in the workplace, and employees would know the right course of action to speak up against and report any such unethical behaviours. Have We Lost Sight of Integrity?, Bill George, January 27, 2024This article calls out famous business and political leaders for their fraudulent and deceitful behaviours in an attempt to con the public. It also attempts to define what integrity truly means in a workplace and the negative impacts of allowing these unprincipled mindsets to lead our economy.
Something that stood out to me in this entire article is the author’s view on integrity and his response, as a CEO himself, to his employees making mistakes at work. Many of the incidents the author highlighted talking about bad behaviour from important leaders stem from a lack of accountability for their actions and weak attempts to cover their mistakes up. For example, when congressman George Santos violated his campaign finance laws and lied during his campaign. When asked about his definition of integrity, Santos defined it as “telling the truth.” The author combats this perspective by saying that “integrity is not the absence of lying. To solve problems, we need all the information, no matter how painful.” He followed up by stating that he makes it clear to his employees that they will not be fired for making mistakes, but rather for trying to cover up their mistakes. I think that this is the most important takeaway from this article. If more CEOs took the pressure off their workers by not penalizing them for their mistakes, and providing resources for employees to make their workplace experience more positive, it would lead to a more productive, ethical, and accountable workplace. Moreover, if CEOs themselves learned to take accountability and work to improve upon their problems, rather than cover them up, the fates of their companies would certainly be all the better for it. "Do We Underestimate the Importance of Generosity in Leadership?," James Heskett, November 14, 2023This article discusses the importance of generosity in leadership and the concept of “boundaryless behaviour” (the “sharing of talent, ideas, and other resources— in organizations” (Heskett, 2023)). Heskett brings up the lack of research on the impact of generosity on the long-term benefit of a company and its correlations with happiness as a leader.
The concept of generosity is not one that I have found myself concerned with when it comes to leadership. The role of an executive seems a lot more dependent on experience, knowledge, strong interpersonal and communication skills, and more. Generosity, kindness, and “boundaryless behaviour” seem to take a backseat when it comes to being a leader. This is why it was very interesting to see this question being brought up in this article. I never knew that generosity has a direct correlation with the happiness that a person feels, and never thought about the fact that “happiness” is something that a leader should feel while in the workplace. I think that this sort of thinking that has been embedded into our thought processes is very indicative of why several people find themselves unhappy with their work lives. The increased importance on competition, monetary gains, and short-term profit has pushed collaborativeness, happiness, social bonding, and long-term benefits out of the way a little. I would be very interested in seeing research being developed on how more generous traits in leaders impact the way that their company runs. Overall, it was a very interesting and thought-provoking article that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. What is one thing you learned from reading the articles on the previous slide that you did not already know, realize, or understand before? Explain.
In the article: "What are Interpersonal Skills? Master Them for Better Relationships" by Jennifer R. Farmer, there was a paragraph about the important of introspection in interpersonal skills and, ultimately, managerial positions. It had never occurred to me that managers, who must lead and guide other people as a majority of their professional responsibility, must also learn to reflect, control, and hone their own skills to become better managers. Learning to manage your own faults and knowing your own strengths and weaknesses just as well as you know your team's strengths and weaknesses is a perfect way to improve and streamline the efficiency of a team. The article concludes with recommending "mindful meditation" to reflect on barriers towards developing interpersonal skills and relationships. In the fast paced and stressful environment of a business, meditation and reflection would intuitively be the opposite of what managers should be doing to improve the workplace. However, when the article explains the importance of such introspection and self-observation, the idea of "mindful meditation" becomes a lot more clear. I also feel that this method of developing interpersonal skills is not only useful for managers, but also employees, students, and people of all professions. Learning to identify and deal with your own weaknesses is an important and often overlooked skill that could be very beneficial to anyones professional or day-to-day lives. This article made me think differently about how one should conduct oneself when struggling to form long lasting and strong relationships and also the importance and benefit of mindfulness and self-awareness. Digital citizenship is defined as the responsible use of technology. It is incredibly important in the 21st century, where technology, social media, and online interactions are becoming more and more prevalent. To further define digital citizenship, it entails responsible and ethical behaviours, attitudes, and skills that people should exhibit while navigating social media platforms.
Digital citizenship is incredibly important as it promotes responsible behaviour (such as respecting the privacy of others online, mitigating the risks of cyberbullying, and positively contributing to the digital community). It also encourages individuals to not only think critically about the content they are posting online, but also to think critically about the content they are consuming, and to evaluate information and develop strong media literacy skills. Digital citizenship also allows users to be more mindful of their own online safety, as well as the safety of others, and fosters unique and global interactions by encouraging individuals to engage positively with the entire world that is at their fingertips. Being active on social media can have many positive impacts; such as connecting with friends and family easily, sharing important knowledge and information efficiently, networking, and practicing creative expression. However, it can also have some potential downsides. Some of these include: dealing with cyberbullying and other disturbing and negative behaviours, risking privacy and the misuse and unwanted access of personal information, being a target of misinformation and rumours, and having a long-lasting digital footprint with have long-lasting consequences. In conclusion, digital citizenship is a key part of being a part of social media and the digital world. It is important to utilize the several positive opportunities that social media offers, while also being cautious and aware of the negatives, while contributing and accessing the digital community. |
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