What is an Organization?
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An organization is a consciously coordinated social entity,
with a relatively identifiable boundary, the functions on a
relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or
set of goals.
Organization‘s structure has having three components: 1)
complexity, 2) formalization, and 3) centralization.
ë Organizations tend to be centralized or tend to be decentralized.
ë Organization design is concerned with constructing and changing
an organization’s structure to achieve the organization’s goals.
ë Organization theory it is the discipline that studies the structure and
design of organizations.
ë In contrast, organization theory takes a macro perspective. OT is
concerned not only with employee performance and attitudes but
with the e overall organization’s ability to adapt and achieve its
goals.
What is a System
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A system is a set of interrelated and inter-dependent parts
arranged in a manner that produces a unified whole.
ë Every system is characterized by two diverse forces: 1) differentiation
and 2) integration.
ë Systems are classified typically as either closed or open.
ñ A perfect closed system would be one that receives no energy from an
outside source and from which no energy released to its surroundings.
ñ The open system recognizes the dynamic interaction of the system with
its environment.
ñ Open systems, however, have some additional characteristics:
ò A system can reach the same final state form differing initial conditions and by a variety
of paths.
1) Environment awareness
2) Feedback
3) Cyclical character
4) Negative entropy
5) Steady state
6) Movement toward growth and
expansion
7) Balance of maintenance and adaptive
activities. Maintenance activities ensure that
the various subsystems are in balance and
that the total system is in accord with its
environment. Adaptive activities are
necessary so that the system can adjust
over time to variations in internal and
external demands.
8) Equifinality
System growth (Organizational Life Cycle)
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All organizations are born, live, and die.
ë They evolve through a standardized sequence of transitions as they
develop over time. Transitions for one stage to another are
predictable rather than random occurrences.
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Five-stage model :
ë 1) Entrepreneurial stage. infancy
ë 2) collectivity stage. mission is clarified
ë 3) Formalization-and-control stage. efficiency and stability are
emphasized. Departure of members causes no severe threat to the
organization.
ë 4) Elaboration-of-structure stage. Diversifies its product or service
markets.
ë 5) Decline stage.
Organizational Life Cycle
Formalization &
control stage
Formalization of
rules
Stable structure
Emphasis on
efficiency
Formation
Entrepreneurial stage
Ambiguous goals
High creativity
Collectivity Stage
Informal communication and
structure
High commitment
Elaboration of
structure stage
More complex
structure
Decentralization
Diversified markets
Decline stage
High employee
turnover
Increased conflict
Centralization
Organizational Question
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Almost every issue within an organization can be cataloged
as an answer to one of five questions:
1) How do we know if an organization is successful?
2) What are the components of an organization?
3) What determines the structure of an organization?
4) What options do managers have for designing their
organization and when should each be used?
5) How do you apply a knowledge of organization theory to
the resolution of current management problems?
Org. Theory Development (Mgt. History)
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Prior to about 1960, organization theory tended to be dominated by a closed-system perspective.
Beginning around 1960, however, organization theory began to take on a distinctly open-system
perspective.
The rational perspective argues that the structure of an organization is conceived as a vehicle to
effectively achieve specified objectives. The social perspective emphasizes that structure is primarily
the result of the conflicting forces by the organization’s constituents who seek power and control.
Type 1 theorists, also known as the classical school.
In 1911 of Frederick Winslow Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management.
He argued)R(1) the placement of rule-of-thumb methods for determining each element of a worker’s
job with scientific determination; (2) the scientific selection and training of workers; (3) the cooperation
of management and labor to accomplish work objectives, in accordance with the scientific method;
and (4) a more equal division of responsibility between managers and workers, with the former doing
the planning and supervision, and the latter doing the execution.
Henri Fayol was consolidating this principles of organization.
Fayol proposed fourteen principles.
Esprit de corps.
“ideal-type” organization structure proposed by the German sociologist, Max Weber?
Bureaucracy.
Ralph C. Davis. Primary objective of a business firm is economic service.
Mgt. History (2)
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Type 2 The human-relations school.
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These theorists operated under closed-system assumptions but emphasized the informal relations
and noneconomic motives operating in organizations.
Hawthorne studies.
Social norms of the group, therefore, were concluded to be the key determinants of individual work
behavior.
An organization is a cooperative system is generally credited to Chester Barnard.
Douglas McGregor’s.
McGregor’s Theory X and Theory
Warren Bennis argued the other extreme-conditions now pointed to flexible adhocracies as the ideal
organizational form in fifty years.
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Type 3
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The need for organizations to adapt to a changing environment if they are to survive.
Daniel Katz and Robert Kahn’s book The Social Psychology of Organizations, Was a major impetus
toward promoting the
Type 3 theorists include theorists include those who advocate organization size as an important factor
influencing structure such as the Aston Group.
Technology as an influencing factor was also considered by Woodward & Perrow.
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Type 4
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March and Simon challenged the classical notion of rational or optimum decisions. They argued that
most decision makers selected satisfactory alternatives-alternatives that were good enough.
Pfeffer proposes that control in organizations becomes an end rather than merely a means to rational
goals such as efficient production of output. An organization’s design represents the result of the
power struggles by these diverse coalitions.
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Mgt. History Summary
Date:
1900-1930
1930-1960
1960-1975
1975-
Systems Perspective: Closed
Closed
Open
Open
Ends Perspective:
Rational
Social
Rational
Social
Central Theme:
Mechanical
efficiency
People &
human
relations
Contingency
designs
Power &
politics
Classification:
Type 1
Type 2
Type 3
Type 4
Key People:
Fredrick Taylor
Henri Fayol
Max Weber
Ralph Davis
Elton Mayo
(Hawthorne
studies)
Chester Barnard
Douglas McGregor
(Theory X & Y)
Warren Bennis
Katz & Kahn
Woodward &
Perrow
Aston Group
March & Simon
Pfeffer
Organizational Effectiveness (OE)
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This belief that OE defies definition has been widely
accepted.
The goal-attainment approach states that an organization’s
effectiveness must be appraised in terms of the
accomplishment of ends rather than means.
ë Assumes that organizations are deliberate, rational, goal-seeking
entities.
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Management by objectives ( MBO ).
ë The fact that organizations have multiple goals also creates
difficulties.
ë In some cases, official goals may merely be rationalizations to
explain past actions rather than guides to future actions.
OE (2)
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A systems approach to OE
ë Implies that organizations are made up of interrelated subparts. If
any one of these subparts performs poorly, it will negatively affect
the performance of the whole system.
ë Focuses on the means necessary to assure the organization’s
continued survival.
ñ Output/input (O/I), transformations/input (T/I), transformations/output
(T/O), changes in input/input (I/I).
ë The problem is that its focus is on the means necessary to achieve
effectiveness rather than on organizational effectiveness itself.
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The strategic-constituencies approach
ë Proposes that an effective organization is one that satisfies the
demands of those constituencies in its environment from whom it
requires support for its continued.
ë The task of separating the strategic constituencies from the larger
environment is easy to say but difficult to do in practice.
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Different Aspects of OE
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Flexibility versus control.
Well-being and development of the people.
Well-being and development of the organization.
Means versus ends.
Summary of the Four OE Approaches
Goal attainment
Systems
Strategic constituencies
Competing values
OE (3)
Complexity, Formalization & Centralization
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Complexity. formalization, and centralization are the three
core dimensions of organizational structure.
Complexity:
ë Horizontal differentiation.
ë Vertical differentiation
ë Spatial differentiation
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The most visible evidence in organizations of horizontal
differentiation is specialization and departmentation.
Vertical differentiation refers to the depth in the structure.
Vertical differentiation is a response to an increase in
horizontal differentiation.
Leads to
Span of Control
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The span of control defines the number of subordinates
that a manager can direct effectively.
Narrow or wide spans.
Spatial differentiation: organization’s offices, plants, and
personnel are dispersed geographically.
The paradox of organizations.
ë The more complex an organization, the greater the need for
effective communication, coordination, and control devices. This
creates pressures to add managerial personnel to facilitate control,
coordination, and conflict reduction. So the economies that
complexity creates may be counterbalanced by the increased
burden of keeping the organization together.
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Formalization
Formalization can be explicit or implicit.
ë Employees required to “clock in ”at their work station by 8 A.M. or
be docked a half-hour’s pay and, once at that work station, are
required to follow a set of precise procedures dictated by
management.
ë Standardizing behavior reduces variability. McDonald’s, for
example, can be confident that a Big Mac will look and taste the
same whether it is made at an outlet in Portland, Maine; Biloxi,
Mississippi; Fairbanks, Alaska; or Amsterdam.
ë The greater the formalization, the less discretion required from a
job incumbent. Sound judgment is a scarce quality and cost more
to buy. Organizations have to formalize jobs wherever possible so
as to get the most effective performance from employees at the
lowest cost.
ë The greater the professionalization of a job, the less likely it is to be
highly formalized.
ë Employees higher in the organization are increasingly involved in
activities that are less repetitive and require unique solutions.
Externalized & Internalized
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Externalized: unskilled.
ë Externalized behavior. The formalization is external to the
employee; that is, the rules, procedures, and regulations governing
the individual’s work activity are specifically defined, codified, and
enforced through direct management supervision. This
characterizes the formalization of unskilled employees.
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Internalized: professionalization preprogrammed
behaviors.
Internalized behavior through social specialization.
Socialization refers to an adaptation process.
ë For example, one of the main tasks of a business school is to
socialize students to the attitudes and behaviors that business firms
want.
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As the level of professionalization increases in an
organization, the level of formalization decreases.
Selection
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Choosing New Employees
ë A “good” employee is defined as one who will perform his or her job
in a satisfactory manner and also whose personality, work habits,
and attitudes align with what the organization desires. If the
selection process does anything, it tries to prevent the employment
of misfits; that is, individuals who do not accept the norms of the
organization.
ë Selection should be recognized as one of the most widely used
techniques by which organizations control employee discretion.
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Role Requirements
ë Role expectations may be explicit and defined narrowly.
ë By loosening or tightening role expectations, organizations are
actually loosening or tightening the degree of formalization.
Org. Strategy
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Goals refer to ends. Strategy refers to both means and
ends. This includes all the employees in the org.
Strategy can be defined as the determination of the basic
long-term goals and objectives of an enterprise, and the
adoption of courses of action and the allocation of
resources necessary for carrying out these goals.
Strategy is not necessarily a well-thought-out and
systematic plan. It evolves over time as a pattern in a
stream of significant decisions.
Environmental
Factors &
Org.
Capabilities
Strategy
Org. Structure
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Corporate-level strategy.
Types of Strategy
ë This strategy seeks to answer the question, In what set of businesses
should we be?
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Business-level strategy.
ë Seeks to answer the question, How should we compete in each of out
businesses?
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Alfred Chandler published in the early 1960s.
ë Organizations typically begin with a single product or line.
ë Because the organization‘s strategy is narrowly focused, the structure
to execute it can be low in both complexity and formalization.
ë From the single-product line, companies typically expand activities
within their same industry. Vertical integration.
ë Finally, if growth proceeds further, into product diversification, again
structure must be adjusted if efficiency is to be achieved.
Time
Product
Diverivication
Strategy
Structure
t
t+1
Low
Simple
t+2
High
Functional
Divisional
Miles & Snow
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Defenders
ë seek stability by producing only a limited set of products directed at
a narrow segment of the total potential market.
ë The result is a structure made up of high horizontal differentiation,
centralized control, and an elaborate formal hierarchy for
communications.
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Prospectors
ë The opposite of defenders. Finding and exploiting new-product and
market opportunities. Innovation may be more important than high
profitability. 3M.
ë The structure is flexible. It will rely on multiple technologies that
have a low degree of routinization and mechanization. There will be
numerous decentralized units. The structure will be low in
formalization, have decentralized control, with lateral as well as
vertical communications.
ë The prospector cannot maximize profitability because of its inherent
inefficiency.
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Miles & Snow (2)
Analyzers
ë Capitalize on the best of both the preceding types. They seek to
minimize risk and maximize opportunity for profit. Their strategy is
to move into new products or new markets only after viability has
been proved by prospectors. Analyzers live by imitation.
ë Analyzers will tend to have smaller profit margins in the products
and services that they sell than will prospectors, but they are more
efficient.
ë But in this compromise there can be costs. If situations change
rapidly, demanding that organizations move fully in either direction,
their ability to take such action is severely limited.
Little Change
and Uncertainty
Rapid Change
and High Uncertainty
Prospector
Analyzer
Reactor
Defender
Michael Porter
ë No firm can successfully perform at an above-average level by trying
to be all things to all people. Management must select a strategy that
will give its organization a competitive advantage.
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Cost -leadership strategy.
ë Efficiency of operations, economies of scale, technological
innovation, low-cost labor, etc.
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Differentiation strategy.
ë The key is that the attribute chosen must be different from those
offered by rivals and significant enough to justify a price premium that
exceeds the cost of differentiation.
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Focus strategy.
ë Aims at a cost advantage (cost focus) or differentiation advantage
(differentiation focus) in a narrow segment.
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Stuck in the middle.
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Organizations that are unable to gain a competitive advantage by
one of the previous strategies.
Power & Control (Contingency Perspective )
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John Child in the early 1970s.
ë 1) Decision makers have more autonomy than that defined only by
the environment.
ë 2) Organizational effectiveness should be construed as a range
instead of a point. The satisfice concept.
ñ The range between maximizing and ”good enough ” creates an area in
which managers can utilize their discretion.
ë 3) Organizations occasionally have the power to manipulate and
control their environments.
ë 4) Perceptions and evaluations of events are an important
intervening link between environments and the actions of
organizations.
ë Restricted by two facts: (1) Commitments often lock an organization
into a limited domain and (2) there are barriers to entry in many
markets.
ë The contingency perspective is committed to rationality.
Power & Control (Dominant coalition)
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In contingency perspective, the dominant coalition and top
management are assumed to be one and the same.
ë First, individual decision makers aren’t able to be totally rational.
Second, even if individuals could be rational, organizations can’t!
ë Realistically, decision makers recognize only a limited number of
decision criteria.
ë The choice of alternatives and assessment of those alternatives,
will reflect their self-interests.
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Rather than considering all alternatives and listing them,
once a minimum level is attained, the search stops and the
choice is made.
Decision
Maker’s
Interests
Organization’s
Interests
Power & Control (Coalitions)
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While organizations are made up of individuals, they are
also made up of coalitions of interests.
ë Few situations are so congruent, or the facts so clear-cut that
judgment and compromise are not involved.
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Coalitions form to protect and improve their vested
interests.
ë Probably the most visible coalitions form along departmental lines.
ë Any coalition that can control critical information, expertise, or any
other resource can acquire power and become a dominant
coalition.
Power & Control (Authority & Power)
Authority is part of power but, power
does not require authority.
ë When we use the term power we mean an
individual’s capacity to influence decisions.
As such, authority is actually part of he
larger concept of power; that is , the ability
to influence based on an individual’s
legitimate position can affect decisions, but
one does not require authority to have such
influence.
ë Secretaries of high-ranking executives
typically have a great deal of power but very
little authority ? As gate-keepers for their
bosses.
ë Those with formal authority may have the
clout but, then again, that others in the
organization may have created strong power
bases that allow them to have even greater
influence over decisions.
Power Core
Authority Level
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Power & Control (How to Get Power)
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Power is, first and foremost, a structural phenomenon.
The evidence indicates that there are three roads to the
acquisition of power: (1) hierarchical authority, (2) control of
resources, and (3) network centrality.
ë Formal authority is a source of power. Those occupying senior
management slots, can influence through formal decree.
ë If you have something that others want, you can have power over
them. The resource must be both scarce and important.
ë If resource scarcity increases the power of the resource holder,
then the proximity of relevant substitutes for the resource should
also be considered.
International Organizational Structure
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Subsidiaries in Early Stages of Internationalization
ë A subsidiary is opened because an on-site presence is required
from the start
Chief
Executive
Officer
Production
Marketing
Finance
Personnel
France
Japan
Australia
Taiwan
Production
Marketing
Finance
Personnel
Asian Vs Western Management
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Some Basic Features of the Two Management Styles
Basic Values
Westerns
Organization
Westerns
Form al
Fragmented
Hierarc hial
Com petitive
Individual
Legal
Confrontation
Analytic
Asian
Group
Trust
Com promise
Fluid
Asian
Informal
Generalist
Integrated
Co-operative
Westerns
Short Term
Control
Asian
Conflict
One Produc t/
Service
Long term
focused
Hum an Resource
Collaborative
Custom er
focused
Management Style
Westerns
Rationality
Struc tured
Direc tive
Doint
Asian
Relationships
Flexible
Adaptive
Understanding
Organizational Characteristics of MNCs
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Specialization
ë U.S. plants tend to have more horizontal specialization while
Japanese plants tend to have more vertical specialization
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Centralization
ë Japanese firms tend to have higher centralization while U.S. firms
have more delegation and involvement at lower levels
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Characteristics
ë MNCs tend to keep the structures of the home-based headquarters
even when established overseas for many years (p18)
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Growth Stage
Organizational Structure Design
ë Org. structure changes over the growth of the firm
ë Young firms tend to be centered around one or few people who are the
founders or entrepreneurs
ë As staffing and product lines grow, more formal structures are required
to maintain efficiency
ë Reorganization (or re-engineering) is required when market conditions
change and the firm must change
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Organizational Configurations
ë There are at least 243 distinctly different org. structure types
ë Five common elements in every org. structure:
ñ Operating core-employees who perform the basic work related to
production of products and services
ñ Strategic apex- top-level managers who are responsible for overall org.
ñ Middle line-managers who connect the operating core to the strategic apex
ñ Technostructure--analysts who have the responsibility for affecting certain
forms of standardization in the organization
ñ Support staff-people who provide indirect support services for the org.
Organizational Structure Designs
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Simple Structure
ë Strengths: simplicity; fast and flexible; low cost; goals are clear
ë Weaknesses: limited application (only can be used in small size
organizations); too much power with single person
Owner
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Organizational Structure Designs
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Machine Bureaucracy
Structure
ë Strengths:
standardization; high
efficiency; economies of
scale; employees in peer
groups so easier
management;
experienced
management not
required due to high level
of standard rules
ë Weaknesses: each unit is
independent and so does
not know what other units
are doing; org. goals not
well known; unknown or
new situations cannot be
handled
Chief
Executive
Officer
Dir. Public
Relations
Exec. Dir.
VP
Finance
VP
Personnel
VP
Marketing
VP
Manufacturing
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Organizational Structure Designs
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Professional Bureaucracy Structure
ë
Combines standardization with decentralization requiring top management to give up power in
order to give professional high skill employees more effectiveness. Used in schools, hospitals
and firms requiring highly trained employees.
ë Strengths: Combines standardization with decentralization requiring
top management to give up power in order to give professional high
skill employees more effectiveness.
ë Weaknesses: same as for professional bureaucracy; highly trained
employees may have professional directions and restraints that do
not match firm’s goals
Chief
Executive
Officer
Research
Exec. Dir.
Dir. Public
Relations
VP
Marketing
VP
R&D
Strategy
Promotions
Electronic
Materials
Packaging
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Divisional Structure
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Organizational Structure Designs
A set of autonomous units, each usually a machine bureaucracy, coordinated by a central headquarters
(a business in a business). This structure gives more power to division managers.
ë Strengths: more focus and responsibility given to each division; gives
top management more freedom from day-to-day operations; any division
can be cut without hurting other divisions; being part of a larger structure
Chief
gives economies of scale
•Weaknesses: duplication
of effort; conflict between
divisions; resentment over
lack of division freedom;
coordination problems
Executive
Officer
Dir. Public
Relations
Exec. Dir.
VP
Asia
VP
Europe
VP
Personnel
Production
Marketing
VP
Personnel
Production
Marketing
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
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Adhocracy Structure
ë
Organizational Structure Designs
Staffed mostly by professionals with
high levels of experience. Supervision
needs are small and behaviors are
internalized and management has
chosen employees based on well
established professional criteria. Unlike
the professional bureaucracy, the
adhocracy does not make rules for new
problems, but each and every problem
has a unique solution so standardization
and formalization is not needed. Power
flows to anyone with expertise,
regardless of the position.
ë Strengths: ability to respond
quickly; adaptivity;
creativity; collaboration; can
handle complex, highly
technical tasks
ë Weaknesses: conflict easy
to arise due to blurred lines
of authority; no economies
of scale; inefficient; not long
lasting
Chief
Executive
Officer
Dir. Public
Relations
Exec. Dir.
VP
Operations
VP
Marketing
VP
R&D
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Bureaucracy (A Closer Look)
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Max Weber’s ideal organization,
characteristics:
Weber’s Bureaucracy
ë The central theme in Weber’s
bureaucratic model is standardization.
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Dangers:
One of the best-known arguments
presented against the machine
bureaucracy was made by social
psychologist Bennis.
Org. Dangers
ÜRapid
and unexpected change.
ÜGrowth in size.
ÜIncreasing diversity.
ÜChange in managerial behavior.
People Dangers
ÜDivision
of labor.
ÜWell-defined authority hierarchy.
ÜHigh formalization.
ÜImpersonal nature.
ÜEmployment decisions based on
merit.
ÜCareer tracks for employees.
ÜSeparation organizational and
personal lives.
ÜThe
rules become more important
than the ends that they were
designed to serve, the result being
goal displacement and loss of
organizational effectiveness.
ÜPeople will do just the bare
minimum to get by. The rules,
therefore, become interpreted as
setting the minimum standards for
performance rather than identifying
unacceptable behaviors.
ÜA major cost of bureaucracy is
employee alienation.
ÜA “cog in the wheel.”
Bureaucracy (Very Successful Form)
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Bureaucracies are everywhere!
ë It works. Bureaucracies are effective in a wide range of organized
activities: manufacturing, and voluntary associations.
ë Large size prevails. Organizations that succeed and survive tend to
grow to large size. And we know that bureaucracy is efficient with
large size.
ë Natural selection favors bureaucracy.
ë Societal values are unchanging. North Americans have traditionally
been goal-oriented and comfortable with authoritarian structures.
ë Environmental turbulence is exaggerated.
ë The professional bureaucracy has emerged.
ë Bureaucracy maintains control.
Adhocracy (A Closer Look)
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The matrix is a structural design that assigns specialists
from specific functional departments to work on one or
more interdisciplinary teams, which are led by project
leaders.
ë A cornerstone of bureaucracy-which requires every employee to
have one and only one boss to whom he or she reports. Employees
in the matrix have two bosses—their functional department
manager and their project manager.
VP
Personnel
Production
Marketing
VP
Personnel
Production
Marketing
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
Manager
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Adhocracy (Theory A & Z)
The major disadvantages of the matrix
ë Confusion it creates, its propensity to foster power struggles, and the
stress it places on individuals.
ñ Not unusual for project managers to fight over getting the best specialists
assigned to their projects.
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Theory A, J & Z
ë Large American bureaucracy (the Theory A organization) and the
characteristics inherent in the typical large Japanese company (the
Theory J organization). William Ouchi.
ë Theory Z to describe the Americanized version of the Japanese model.
ñ Theory A bureaucracy is designed to control employees through a tightly
monitored structural system.
ñ It is adapted to handle high rates of employee turnover.
ñ Jobs are defined narrowly, and employees are required to specialize.
ñ The organization responds to this individualistic ethic by treating people as
just another input cost. Employees, then, are not significantly different from
a machine. You purchase them to obtain utility of service and can discard
them if they break or become obsolete.
Theory A, J & Z (2)
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The Japanese model (Theory J) is a very different; essentially
a function of low turnover.
ë Much more likely to mirror an adhocracy than the mechanistic
bureaucracy that Theory A creates.
ë Centered around the generalists rather than specialists.
ë Japanese employees are appraised against a number of criteria, only
one of which is current output or performance.
ë A holistic concern for the well-being of employees.
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The Theory Z organization is the Japanese model adapted to
fit into American culture.
ë American values such as individualism and allocating rewards on the
basis of performance.
ë Treat their employees as a valuable and scarce resource, to be
nurtured over the long term.
ë Essentially adhocratic. Complexity is low since. Formalization is also
low.
Change
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The objective of planned change is to keep the
ÜPurchase of new
organization current and viable.
equipment.
ÜScarcity of labor.
Causes of change:
ÜNew MIS system.
ÜGovernment
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Change agents
ë Change agents are those in power and those who
wish either to replace or constrain those in power.
ë You should expect, therefore, that every change
agent will bring along his or her own self-interests.
ë Management can use outside experts to give the
appearance of impartiality.
regulations.
ÜThe economy.
ÜUnionization..
ÜConsumer-advocate
groups.
ÜMergers or
acquisitions.
ÜActions of
competitions.
ÜDecline in employee
morale.
ÜIncrease in turnover.
ÜSudden internal or
external hostility.
ÜDecline in profits.
Organizational Change
Ü
Model for Managing Organizational Change
Determinants
Feedback
Forces
initializing
change
Change
agent
Org. Initiator
What is to
be changed?
Intervention
strategies
Structure?
Technology?
Org. process?
Change process
Implementation tactics
Unfreeze-Move-Refreeze
Intervention
Participation
Persuasion
Edict
Implementation
Change
Results
Org.
effectiveness
Change Tactics
Ü
Intervention, participation, persuasion, and edict.
ë Intervention tactic is characterized by change agents selling their
change rationale to those who will be affected.
ë participation, change agents delegate the implementation decision
to those who will be affected.
ë Internal or external experts then use persuasion to sell their ideas.
ë Edict. When this tactic is used, change agents merely announce
changes and use memos, formal presentations, or the like to
convey their decision.
ñ Edict was successful just 43 percent of the time. Participation and
persuasion achieved success rates of 84 and 73 percent, respectively.
Intervention, while used in only 19jpercent of the cases, attained a
perfect 100 percent success rate.
Ü
Management would prefer to avoid change, if it were
possible, because of its cost, disruptive impacts, and threat
to management’s control.
Conflict
Ü
The average manager spends approximately 20 percent of
his or her time dealing with conflict.
ë Conflict: behavior by organization members which is expended in
opposition to other members.
ë Whether conflict exists is a perception issue.
ë The goal of management is not harmony and cooperation-it is effective
goal attainment! Elimination of conflict is not realistic in complex
organizations, nor would such elimination be desirable.
ñ Rules and regulations reduce conflict by minimizing ambiguity.
ñ Conflict potential is enhanced when two or more units depend on a
common pool of scarce resources such as physical space, equipment,
operating funds, capital budget allocations, or centralized staff services
such as the same secretary.
ñ This is especially likely to occur when true value differences exist among
the participants. The research suggests that the high interaction incurred
in participation acts to solidify differences more than facilitate coordination
and cooperation.
Managing Conflict
Conflict
ë Normally, we think of conflict as
hindering the achievement of
the organization’s goals, but
another view of conflict is that it
improves effectiveness by
stimulating change and
improving the decision-making
process.
Ü
Traditional View
ë All conflict is BAD and must be
resolved quickly
Ü
Interactionist View
ë An org. with no conflict is static
and does not adapt
Conflict & Org. Effectiveness
Apathetic
Stagnant
Nonresponsive
Lack ideas
Viable
Self-critical
Innovative
Low
Level of conflict
Conflict-Survival Model
Conflict
Change
Disruptive
Chaotic
Uncooperative
Highs
organizational effectiveness
Ü
Adaptation
Survival
Highs
Ü
Trouble Makers
Sources and Solutions to Conflict
ë Some employees choose to fight. This group can become continuous conflict
stimulators-looking for problems, spreading rumors, twisting and distorting
facts to instigate disturbances, and similar actions. Such people, and all large
organizations have as least one, seem to enjoy upsetting the system. To the
degree that they establish allies in their cause, they can become a major
source of conflict.
Ü
Interdepartmental conflict
ë Increases when departments possess a great deal of knowledge of each
other’s activities. Imperfect knowledge, on the other hand, clouds self-interest,
diminishes disparities, and makes coordination easier. (Knowing too much is
not good)
Ü
A superordinate goal:
ë A common goal, held by two or more units that is compelling and highly
appealing and cannot be attained by the resources of any single unit
separately.
ë The cooperative environment grows as effort is directed away from concern
with separate and independent units to recognition that the conflicting units are
part of a larger group, a synergy developing from the collaboration of forces.
Sources and Solutions to Conflict (2)
Ü
Scarcity of a resource
ë The easiest manner in which to resolve the confrontation, and the
one most satisfying to the conflicting parties, is through expansion
of the available resources.
Ü
Ü
An appeals system provides the right of formal redress.
Authority
ë The authority that superiors have over the conflicting parties is
important enough and its usage spread so widely that it can be
singled out as a separate resolution technique.
Ü
Managers can manipulate communication messages and
channels in such ways as to stimulate conflict.
Ü
Organizational culture
Org. Culture
ë A system of shared meaning. In every
organization there are patterns of beliefs,
symbols, rituals, myths, and practices that have
evolved over time. These, in turn, create
common understandings among members as to
what the organization is and how its members
should behave,
ë Most large organizations have a dominant
culture and numerous sets of subcultures.
Ü
Core values
ë A strong culture is characterized by the
organization’s core values being intensely held,
clearly ordered, and widely shared.
ë Strong culture increases behavioral consistency.
ë The founding fathers or mothers of an
organization traditionally have a major impact in
establishing the early culture.
Key characteristics
ÜIndividual
initiative.
ÜRisk tolerance.
ÜDirection.
ÜIntegration.
ÜManagement support.
ÜControl.
ÜIdentity.
ÜReward system.
ÜConflict tolerance.
ÜCommunication patterns.
Influencing the Org. Culture
Ü
Selection (most widely used method to influence org. culture)
ë Typically, more than one candidate will be identified who meets any
given job’s requirements.
ë Results in the hiring of people who have common values (ones
essentially consistent with those of the organization) or at least a
good portion of those values.
Ü
Top Management
ë The actions of top management also have a major impact on the
organization’s culture.
Ü
Culture (socialization)
ë is transmitted to employees in a number of other forms—the most
potent being through stories, rituals, material symbols, and
language.
ñ New employees are potentially most likely to disturb the beliefs and
customs that are in place. The organization will, therefore, want to help
new employees adapt to its culture.
BOOK TWO
Chpt. 1 A Psychiatrist’S Toolkit
Ü
A Psychiatrist’s techniques as they relate to business
situations.
ë Let your natural curiosity guide you.
ë Don’t let yourself be injured by negative comments.
ë Unless the words are “You are fired?” or “No deal,” assume that a
solution can still be reached.
ë Don’t take anything personally. Your feeling don’t matter in
business. If you make them matter, then you will pay for it.
ë Accepting your feelings and personal problems as part of the way
you are without making excuses or apologies for them. As you
search, be sure not to blame others.
ë Be open about your ignorance in order to get the most assistance.
ë When someone asks your opinion, simply reveal your thinking.
ñ Don’t try to sell your version of he truth.
ñ If you have to lie about what you believe, your opinion doesn’t matter.
ë
Toolkit
(continued)
There’s no point telling the truth if all you’ll gain from it is to offend
others.
ë Keep your goals clearly in mind.
ñ State only the information that is necessary to support your position.
ñ Don’t try to demonstrate how brilliant or how worthy you are, or how wrong
someone else is.
ñ Be helpful, but don’t needlessly provide ammunition to a conflict that is
none of your business.
ë Speak in as generous terms toward others as you can.
ñ Don’t be afraid to say “I want” and “I need.”
ë It’s more appropriate to be closed while you survey the opposition and
seek your strongest position.
ñ The times for acting boldly aren’t that frequent.
ñ Be closed when information is scanty.
ë Be flexible, understand that you actions must be planned and use
being closed to plan, not to avoid.
ñ Admitting what you don’t know can be a highly successful approach to
unfamiliar business situations. Admitting your ignorance will get you further
than almost any other tactic.
Flying Blind & Making Decisions
Ü
If you must fly blind, here are some guidelines for faking.
ë 1) Ask for others? opinions, but don’t give your own. Just say, “It’s
not quite right.”
ë 2) Always point out that you are still looking for the best direction.
ë 3) Pose disarming questions like “How do you know that is true?”
ë 4) State truisms vigorously: “ I think we can do better, don’t you?”
ë 5) Get other people to express their self-doubts by asking “What if
your calculations are wrong?”
ë 6) Make few decisions. You can avoid being confronted by never
making decisions.
Ü
You can distinguish yourself by making a decision when
others are afraid to.
ë If you want to lead, to create forward momentum and influence
others, you must project a belief in yourself.
ë A manager’s response to an employee’s statement that the
manager does not understand the complexity of the problem:
ñ “Of course I don’t. That’s what you being paid for. I just know what is
needed to save this company and your jobs.”
Simple Truths & Walking Away
Ü
Managers get to the truth by:
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
Ü
Figure out what’s wrong.
Don’t look to blame.
It gets in the way of clear thinking.
Make a plan to set it right.
Delegate the details.
Trust your judgment and keep everyone on course.
Know when to leave.
Walk away when you realize you don’t belong:
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
1) Walk away when the other person refuses to hear you.
2) Walk away when you are being provoked into a fight.
3) Walk away when the person is out of control.
4) Walk away when you are being lied to.
5) Walk away as soon as it makes no sense to be there.
Don’t walk away just to avoid painful situations, but do walk away
from those that are pointless, futile, draining, and unproductive.
Chpt2. Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Ü
No one succeeds in business without understanding his or
her strong and weak points.
ë YOUR BEST JUDGMENTS-SUCCESSES
ñ (homework)
ë YOUR WORSST JUDGMENTS-FAILURES
ñ (homework)
ë YOUR MAXIMUM VULNERABILITY
ñ (homework)
ñ Your weakest point.
ñ You are most vulnerable when you do not know or accept this
weakness.
ë SKILLS YOU NEED
ñ (homework)
ë YOUR STRENGTH
ñ (homework)
Analyze Your Answers
Ü
What kind of person is this?
ë Would you want this person as your employer, employee, or coworker?
ë Is this person successful, happy?
ë In what way does this person need to grow?
ë How comfortable would you feel betting your life on this person?
Ü
Balancing belief in oneself with the potential for selfdeception in mind is most important
ë No one particular strength is more important than any other in
achieving success being open about your weakness, whatever it is,
will keep you from failing,
ë Believing in yourself, working hard, giving your best, and being
willing to take risks ensure success.
Business Problems Are People
Ü
Successful Traits for Dealing With People Include:
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
Ü
Believe in self
Never arrogant
Open to own faults
Accept responsibility for failures and have courage to succeed
Do not blame others
Look Back at Your Profile
ë How did your profile compare to the profiles of the people in the book?
ë How honest were you about admitting your weaknesses?
ë Do you use your strengths to their best advantage? (these are your
competitive advantages)
ë What personal traits betray you?
ë Do you take full responsibility for your performance?
ë How can you be better?
ë You don’t have to be perfect to be successful, but you have to be
aware to be effective.
Chpt 3 How to Read People
Ü
Feelings
ë Get your own emotions out of the way.
ë Pay close attention to any negative first impression when you meet
another person.
ñ If you don’t feel at ease in dealing with the person and this feeling
doesn’t change as time passes, it is unlikely that you are ever going to
be able to get down to the business of working efficiently.
ñ However, you should be willing to change your first opinion.
ñ Try to determine if there is a pattern to the way you misjudge.
ë Be aware of your weakness.
Ü
Three basic personality types: dependent, controlling,
andcompetitive.
ë Rare to find a pure type, although a person is likely to stay
predominantly the same type all his life.
DEPENDENT PEOPLE
Ü
Characteristics
ë They are happiest when they are pleasing another person.
ë They feel most damaged when they are rejected.
ë Their constant conflict is that they fear losing what they have as
much as they enjoy possessing it.
ë A need for someone else in order to feel complete, a fear of
abandonment, and a need for reassurance.
ë Dependent people want instructions and need to be led.
ë They need to know where to get help, but often are so afraid of
being rejected for appearing stupid that they don’t ask when they
get into trouble.
DEPENDENT PEOPLE (2)
Ü
Negative & Positive Aspects
ë They tend to become helpless, let bad situations get worse, and
need to be rescued.
ë Dependent people under the right circumstances are the most
reliable content members of any work force, the ones least likely to
cause problems when their basic needs are met.
ë This includes providing jobsecurity, retirement benefits, insurance
protection, family health and educational support, frequent signs of
emotional appreciation, and continued reassurance that they are
doing a good job and won’t be replaced or fired.
ë Their loyalty, when they are well provided for, is unconditional.
DEPENDENT PEOPLE (3)
Ü
What You Can Do For Them
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
Ü
A parking space with their name on it.
Locker or cubby they can call home.
Continually reassured
Need firmly set limits.
They fear that they may find themselves in violation of some rule
and risk disapproval.
Rapid change tends to paralyze them and they can become
obstructionistic.
Moving frightens them.
The unknown terrifies them.
Require supervision, especially in difficult situations.
Dependent people need as much preparation and explanation of
any change as possible.
Write out your experience with a dependent employee
coworker or boss (Homework).
Controlling People
Ü
Characteristics
ë Controlling people are difficult people to manage.
ë They are not free and do not want you to be free.
ë They want to control you, write the rules, define the terms, give the
directions, illustrate the points, check the figures, find faults in the
logic, show where you went wrong, and prove they were right.
ë They meet frustration everywhere they go.
ë Need to feel important.
ë Want to be the key person.
ë Down deep, they fear being abandoned just as dependent people
do.
Ü
Positive & Negative Aspects
Controlling People (2)
ë Controlling people often display a lawyer mentality.
ë They bring up points for the sake of completeness, are rigid, ruled
by precedent, and so are likely to be limited in their creativity.
ë Excuses for everything.
ë The fault is always outside themselves.
ë Ineffectual in leading others for they managea by intimidation and
manipulation not by understanding.
ë Do not trust their own worth.
ë Difficult to believe in others, and so they do not inspire
ë They learn their lessons with great difficulty.
ë Claim that the world is out to get them.
ë Their underlying message is almost always an attempt to
compensate for their self-doubt.
ë It’s important to be sympathetic when correcting their mistakes.
ë Arguing with them is a waste of time.
Controlling People (3)
ë They have an answer for everything and will only rationalize their
actions and resist your reasoning.
ë Just state there is a problem and that it occurred in their sphere of
influence and you just want to help them fix it.
ë On the positive side, controlling people have an excellent sense of
industry.
ë They love to anticipate disaster and prevent it.
ë Have difficulty in assigning priorities and worry excessively about a
problem that is unlikely to occur, mearely because they feel
powerful in addressing it; while they may ignore a severe conflict
that already exists, because it makes them feel uncomfortable.
Controlling People (4)
Ü
What You Can Do ForThem
ë Controlling people need to be carefully managed, monitored, and
reminded of their direction.
ë Channel their energy and put it to your use.
ë Controlling people do not make good leaders at the top corporate
level; they do well leading small groups, where they get personal
feedback that keeps them from becoming isolated.
ë Because there is something ridiculous about being so rigid, other
people continually test and tease controlling people
ë Although they to think of themselves as creative, they are more
calculating than intuitive, more intellectual than instinctive.
Controlling People (5)
ë When he gets demanding, ask him if he thinks he is being
unreasonable.
ë Help him correct his thinking.
ë Tell him that the pressure he’s creating is making your job more
difficult.
ë Be polite and matter-of-fact, but be direct.
ë Don’t challenge him.
ë Be a stronger, more stable person than he is.
ë Who but an isolated lonely, and unfeeling person would ever treat
people like he does?
Woking for a Controlling Boss
Ü
Ü
Ü
Ü
Ü
Ü
Ü
Humor them, do it carefully.
Agree with them, but be sincere about it.
Remember, you are reassuring them, not lying.
Tell them what they want to know just infuriate them and if
they are in control, you may find yourself being assigned a
lot of tedious busy work for punishment.
That is their specialty: handing out small work that deals
with details. They just cannot see the big picture
There’s really little point in staying, unless you learn not to
care.
Write out your experience with a controlling employee,
coworker or boss (Homework).
Competitive People
Ü
Characteristics
ë Living off the desperate energy of the survival instinct is exciting
and may result in material success, but it also exacts a heavy
physical and emotional toll.
ë Competitive people make up the backbone of every sales force,
sport team, and marketing division.
ë Competitive people want to be better.
ë Deep down all competitive people are insecure and need external
reassurance.
Competitive People (2)
Ü
Positive & Negative Aspects
ë The drive to be best is both their strength and their weakness, for in
trying to beat an unworthy opponent they may not set their sights
high enough and may not achieve their full potential.
ë When competing with someone far above their ability, they may
become deeply discouraged and mistakenly draw the wrong
conclusion about their true worth.
ë They like victory and can be so swayed by its thrill that they lose
perspective and then often have difficulty finding meaning simply by
being themselves.
ë Living a competitive life is stressful and feels like you are at war.
ë They have little peace of mind, for as much as they desire to win,
they worry about losing.
ë They may appear to be good sports on the surface, but they are
deeply hurt by a loss
Competitive People (3)
ë It is this relentless outward drive that makes the competitive person
so valuable in business.
ë This is the person corporations screen for
ë Such competitiveness takes a costly emotional and physical toll.
ë Competitive people tend to suffer as they get older.
ë While they may seek to improve their playing skills, to become
better salesmen or negotiators, they are mainly focused on winning
in the moment.
ë They do not set personal long-term goals.
ë Their rewards are now.
Competitive People (4)
Ü
What You Can Do For Them
ë You must help them to manage their stress.
ë Align their personal goals with those of the company without
manipulating them.
ë These people need to be listened to, supported, and esteemed,
especially when performance is off.
ë By and large, it’s easy to manage competitive people.
ë Reward them generously in words and pay.
Competitive People (5)
ë They need recognition, love applause, feel insecure, fear failure,
dread being embarrassed, want to be better than the other person,
and need a goal.
ë For this person, Losing, like winning, is overvalued.
ë To manage competitive people in defeat, help them find some
sense of personal worth.
ë Consistency and reliability need to be valued as much as being a
hotshot.
ë Write out your experience with a competitive employee coworker or
boss (Homework).
Psychopaths-Con Men
Ü
Ü
This is a Special Case, But Every Organization Has Some
of These
Characteristics
ë You will always have some feeling of doubt in dealing with
psychopathic people.
ë Psychopaths are liars.
ë They have no moral sense at all.
ë They believe what is right is what is good for them.
ë They do not care one bit about you.
Psychopaths-Con Men (2)
Ü
What They Do
ë Expect them to be lying, you will seldom be wrong.
ë They undermine authority, destroy team morale, and create an
attitude of suspicion and blame.
ë And yet they are often well liked by everyone because they prey on
people’s needs for attention and understanding.
ë They befriend the lonely, the downtrodden, the insecure, and the
desperate.
ë Psychopaths love using pressure.
Psychopaths-Con Men (3)
Ü
What You Can Do
ë Issolate the person and make sure he has no chance to manipulate
others. Often, everyone will see this person for what he is and will
avoid him.
ë If your management style lead to much discontent, you can be sure
the psycopath will take advantage of the opportunity and
manipulate others to increase problems.
ë If you hire a psychopath, you are in trouble.
ë Write out your experience with a psychopath employee coworker or
boss (Homework).
Chpt 4 Getting Others to Say What They Mean
Ü
The Truth
ë Welcome the truth, don’t attack people for bearing bad news.
ë Continually monitor your results and evaluate the reliability of those
you depend upon.
ë People lie not merely to conceal their ignorance and errors, but also
to avoid the reaction of someone who explodes, overreacts, or
blames.
ë The more you feel you are being lied to, the greater the probability
that it is true.
ë Take them seriously.
ë Share your concerns openly.
ë Say, “This doesn’t feel accurate.”
ë “This doesn’t sound right.”
How to Hold a Meaningful Discussion
Ü
MAKE AN AGENDA
ë You need to have some plan in mind when you deal with others, to
maximize your efficiency.
ñ People who succeed make plans.
ñ Give others time to prepare for a meeting. This Lowers their anxiety
and increases their effectiveness.
ë Reassurances should be generous, appropriate, and effective.
ñ
ñ
ñ
ñ
Instructions should be clear.
Directness is important
Ask for the other person’s opinion.
Correct any mistakes you make as soon as you make them.
ë If you don’t understand something, ask.
ñ Do not be attached to any belief.
Ü
Monopolizing The Conversation
ë Lead him to discuss his own shortcomings.
How to Hold a Meaningful Discussion (2)
Ü
When Others Act Inappropriately
ë The other person’s inappropriateness is no excuse for you to get out of
control.
ñ Responding emotionally in a business situation is always wrong and gives
others an advantage.
ò Resist angry provocation.
ñ
ñ
ñ
ñ
When others reveal their anger, acknowledge it calmly.
Ask them how they feel damaged.
Don’t be intimidated.
Admit what responsibility you must, but do so in a business like manner.
ò Don’t defend yourself.
ñ Analyze the attack.
ò
ò
ò
ò
Ask them why they are getting so emotional.
Ask them what they want.
Make it their problem.
Rise above it.
ñ Do not react emotionally to an emotional outburst.
ò Take control by assuming a positive resolution to the situation and by asking for
constructive suggestions.
Encouraging Ideas
Ü
Ü
Openness in communication is key to allowing the free flow
of communication as well as encouraging creativity,
involvement and respect.
It’s easy to cut down any idea or to be the critic
ë Building an open atmosphere takes skill and character
ë If you want other people to share their new ideas and be open, you
must be generous and encouraging
ë Approach all new ideas as possibilities in need of further
development
Helping Others Focus
Ü
Your comments should always imply a forward direction, a
profitable solution.
ë Be pleasant.
ë Do not respond to silence by being hurt or angry even though the
silent treatment makes one uncomfortable.
ë Showing your willingness to hear criticism enhances your stature.
ñ Show your appreciation for being corrected.
ñ Conceding error is always a sign of strength.
ë Don’t insist on answering every question or solving every problem.
Sometimes you lose just by becoming involved in a fight.
ë Getting others to repeat a point that is obviously false or mistaken
can be abused if you use it to ridicule others.
ñ Some victories are empty.
ñ Sometimes you win best by helping the other person achieve victory.
Chpt. 5 Using the Telephone Effectively
Ü
Ü
The telephone can be your salvation or your undoing.
In a single call you can create a negative impression,
undoing years of good will.
ë Because visual clues such as facial expressions are missing while
the potential for intimacy is increased.
ë When you hang up, the other person is left with the impact of your
call.
Ü
Ü
Ü
Ü
Take the time to be focused.
Know when you want to hang up, before you call.
Ask if this is a good time to call.
Is there a better time?
Evaluating Your Telephone Effectiveness
Ü
For the next week, including weekend, after each call:
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
Ü
Was the call necessary?
Why did you make or receive it?
Was the call too long?
How long did it take to get to the actual business of the call? Why?
Did you accomplish what you wanted? Why or why not?
How could you have made the call more effective?
Talking excessively in business is almost uniformly a bad
trait.
ë The more said in the least amount of time the better.
ë Calling back is a waste of time and often you miss opportunities.
Ü
Signs
Telephone Signs
ë A cough indicates discomfort.
ñ It may be a fear of expressing disagreement or anger.
ë Notice when others forget or lose their place.
ñ It often indicates that there is something they don’t want to discuss.
ë Being silent allows the other person room to expound without the
benefit of visual feedback, but don’t over do it.
ñ The longest silence that can be tolerated without explanation is about ten
seconds.
ë Being placed on hold is a sign of disrespect or trying to get rid of you.
ñ If someone puts you on hold for a long time, hang up and call back
immediately saying you were cut off, and make other arrangements for
the call.
ñ Saying that the person you are looking for is not in and you are not given
a follow-up contact number is the same sign.
ë The best time to call is in the morning.
ñ While spirits and energy are still high and before problems have come up
that require attention (most managers spend their time putting out fires,
so try to catch them before the fires start).
Be Nice to the Little People
Ü
Treating secretaries as equals often gets you further than
treating their bosses as equals.
ë Spending a few pleasant moments with someone’s secretary is
always in your interest.
Ü
It’s not a good idea to get in to an argument with a
secretary.
ë She’s only empowered to discourage nuisances.
Ü
Ü
Ask again if this is a good time for him to talk.
On the other hand, do not blame a manager for a really
bad secretary.
ë Remember, really good secretaries are hard to find.
ë Do not mention the secretary problem directly to the manager.
ñ He will already be aware of the problem and can decide on his own
what action, if any, to take.
ë Simply mention that it has been hard to get through or to find him.
Your Phone Receptionist
Ü
The people who answer the phone should convey the
following messages:
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
ë
I’m glad you called.
I have the time to understand what you want.
We can solve it.
I’m sure we can find a way to work together.
You matter.
Your business is important.
This is a good place to work.
We like people.
Negative people do not belong on the telephone.
Putting people on hold is an insult.
It’s made worse by not telling them first.
Never put someone on hold for longer than one minute.
The Telephone Call as Business Meeting
Ü
Avoid calling people casually unless you have a personal
relationship.
ë The unstructured telephone call is unwise.
ë It dilutes your effectiveness and positions you as needy or
annoying.
ë If the other person brings up a point that you don’t want to discuss,
postpone the discussion.
Ü
Difficult Calls (like sales calls)
ë People avoid you because they don’t want to face the problem that
comes with you.
ë Sincerity is the best gimmick for being accepted.
ë If you want to avoid harassing calls, take the call and be direct.
Ü
Weed out everything in your life that keeps you from
thriving.
When You Shouldn’t Call
Ü
Ü
Never express anger over the phone.
Remember, the best calls state and answer a single
question clearly,
Answering Machines
Ü
Ü
Ü
Ü
Ü
Ü
Keep it simple.
Don’t get cute.
Don’t leave a message if this is your first contact.
Never hang up in anger.
Indicate that you are glad to have spoken together.
Close with a statement like “We’ll get right to work on that,”
or “you’ll hear from me in a week.”
Chpt. 6 Written Communication
Ü
Your correspondence must be one hundred percent
effective. Things to Avoid:
ë
ë
ë
ë
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Don’t boast, brag, or search for compliments.
Don’t show off.
Don’t use a big vocabulary.
Don’t make blind assumptions about what the reader wants or needs.
Don’t use nicknames
Don’t be insincere.
Don’t complain.
Don’t undermine.
Never threaten. Just indicate that you want to avoid unnecessary
problems and resolve differences agreeably.
Never let off steam in a business letter.
Never put someone down.
Never criticize another person’s company, employees, tactics,
judgment, policy, or attitude.
Never send a letter without a clear purpose.
Written Communication (2)
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Things to Do:
ë Before you write a letter, remind yourself of your long-term goals.
ë A business letter longer than one page is unnecessary.
ë A long, involved letter indicates that you don’t think well enough of
your ideas to make them precise and understandable.
ë A long letter means you do not value your reader’s time.
ë If you can’t see a profitable outcome in doing business with the
other person, you shouldn’t write the letter.
ë The correct business letter is simple and direct.
ë Can you summarize the letter in a single sentence?
ë The one-sentence letter is intensely personal and reveals even
more about you than a longer letter. But you risk having it backfire.
The Framable Letter
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Giving positive feedback reassures people that someone
notices them and values their contribution.
ë If you decide to write such a letter, avoid using the pronoun “I.”
ë Receiving it should make the other person proud, happy, and enjoy
sharing it with someone else.
ë Send a memo when you feel good about someone’s work offers
positive reinforcement.
ë If you have an important criticism to make, a memo is not the right
place to express yourself.
ñ Negative memos are almost always the product of a controlling, selfimportant, rigid person who is out of touch with the people who work
with or for him and who is uncomfortable dealing with people directly.
ñ People like to use memos as a form of punishment. (not a good idea)
ñ They see the memo as instruction, but really use it to force their way
on others.
Chpt. 7 How to Run a Business Meeting
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Everyone in business spends time in business meetings.
When people schedule time to share ideas, discuss
problems, progress, or planning, they are having a formal
business meeting even though only two people may be
involved and it lasts only a few minutes.
A good business meeting clarifies directions, creates plans,
sets priorities, delegates responsibility, allows for
participation, and enhances a sense of cohesion and unity.
Most business meeting are a waste of time; they are poorly
planned and administered, and provide an arena more for
the display of egos, competitiveness, and power than for
work.
“I Hate Meetings”
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Most of what is discussed is catch-up material, minutes of
the last meeting, filler, and so on.
ë People begin to resent such meetings
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People who flourish in the meeting environment are not
particularly motivated workers. They see meeting as a
social event.
ë The real workers make fun of them.
ë Having meetings just for the sake of having meetings is operating
at the lowest level of efficiency.
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Meetings need the thrust of reality to keep them focused.
ë The best are problem-oriented.
ë The worst are pointless discussions.
Getting “Up” for the Meeting
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All business meetings require preparation.
ë The object of the meeting is to solve a problem and move forward
so you should have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish.
ñ Have some notion of who will object and to what.
ë To be an effective group leader, don’t permit your comfort or
effectiveness to depend on what anyone else in the group says or
feels.
ñ Be above this.
ë You need to get up for the meeting.
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Consider what you want to accomplish.
How necessary is the meeting?
Picture the meting in your mind.
Imagine the scenes you would like to take place.
Write out the purpose of the meeting in a single sentence.
Every Meeting Needs a Leader
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You can’t lead if you depend on other people’s support for
your leadership.
ë On the other hand, don’t be fixed in your belief about what you want
to take place.
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If you are that sure of what you want, why not save
everyone the time and effort and simply issue a statement?
ë People resent a leader insincerely seeming to be democratic more
than they do a leader who asserts himself dictatorially.
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Consider where you want the meeting to take place.
ë If you are a superior, inviting one other person to your office
reasserts your power and authority.
ë Tell others before hand what you plan to discuss.
Some practical Advice for the Group Leader
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The function of the leader is to direct the group so that at
the end of the meeting everyone feels it was important to
have been there, that he had an effect on the outcome.
The leader is not the center of the group, but its catalyst.
Be as subtle and as light-handed as possible.
Don’t go into a meeting cold; know what the situation is.
Ask, “Is this the right question? Do any of you have an
opinion of how this meeting should proceed?”
This invites others to relate to their agendas.
When a jealous person intrudes, ask him or her to make a
positive suggestion.
Questions to Focus the Group
ë If a solution develops in a meeting you are leading, your leadership
showed the way and you should be proud.
ë Questions to be effective
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I don’t understand.
How does this work?
These are especially useful comments.
Ask others to become clearer.
Let them help you understand.
Where are we now?
Is this the right direction?
What are we missing?
How could this go wrong?
ë When others play it safe and are unwilling to comment, pressuring
them to contribute is self-defeating.
ñ If you anticipated the meeting correctly, you’ll have a good idea of who
will contribute and why.
Good Ideas
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Good ideas need to be encouraged, but remember they
are a product of the group, not the individual.
ë Praise the idea and direction rather than its author.
ë Challenge them with a statement like “Yes, it’s a great plan, but will
it really work? What could go wrong?”
ñ This is not deflating their egos but using their good feeling as leverage
to investigate the downside risk.
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As a leader you should always be a little removed from the
emotions of the group.
Don’t make a meeting a play
ë Having someone make the comment you want by prior
arrangement is always a bad maneuver.
ë If your idea is good, it will evolve through your careful listening and
support.
Chpt. 8 How to Interview
ë The purpose of interviewing is to discover people’s strengths and
weaknesses, so you can help them make the most of themselves and
keep them out of trouble.
ë Impressions
ñ Effective interviewers trust their instincts.
ñ Before, be sure you know what you are looking for
ñ Pay attention to your first impression.
ë Dress & Presentation
ñ Ask what he had in mind when he dressed that morning.
ñ Overly rigid standards don’t protect against hiring losers
ò If you are hiring someone to represent your company or if you are looking for a computer
programmer.
ò A lot of costly mistakes have been made by losing sight of the firm’s priorities.
ë Opening & Speaking
ñ The best way to open an interview is to ask a question that reflects your
interest in the points on your list.
ñ Allow the other person to talk.
ñ Be patient.
ñ Try to get an idea of the other person’s thinking.
ë Mistakes he/she makes
Giving an Interview (2)
ñ The ability to recognize mistakes and correct them is more valuable than
giving a perfect but shallow impression.
ë Look for something about the other person you like and mention it.
ë Make positive comments like “Yes, Good, Exactly, Of course, I see, and
I agree.”
ñ Smile.
ñ Nod agreement.
ñ Be appreciative, sincere, and listen.
ë Creating stress is generally counterproductive and should avoided.
ë Confront them when you suspect that other people are not being honest
or frank about their faults,
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Evaluating Your Interview Experience
ë Everyone knows of people who have impeccable work qualifications
and dreadful interpersonal skills.
ñ Don’t be swayed by an impressive background. See that background as the
ticket for admission to the interview and give the interview independent
status.
ñ People who struggle to impress you reveal their insecurity about the very
things they brag about, and show their lack of insight into themselves.
Giving an Interview (3)
ë Things to Look for
ñ The object of a good interview is to assess a person’s capacity for
growth.
ñ A person with high potential likes to work, works hard, and is eager to
get started.
ñ He is open, especially about failures, and yet has a sense of pride
achievement, and delight in his successes.
ñ He doesn’t give up.
ñ He is honest, ask questions freely, and admits what he doesn’t know.
ñ He admits unflattering criticism without excused and accepts blame
without long explanations.
ñ He makes helpful contributions without asking for credit and willingly
shared the glory.
ñ He is interested in others and has a sense of humor about himself.
ñ In order for the interview to have lasting value, it must be a valid
reflection of the company behind it.
Chpt 9 How to Take an Interview
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The belief that if the situation is right for you, it is going to
turn out right, and if it’s not, it won’t.
ë If you view the interview as trying to convince someone to employ
you, all you are looking for is a job.
ë The most important part of your resume is the growth it reveals.
ë Loyalty is not nearly as important as the ability to adapt and solve
problems.
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Be selfish in assessing the position.
ë Where will this job take you ten years from now?
ñ Is this an opportunity to progress on your own merits or a position on a
slow-moving conveyor belt where advancement comes only by death
and acts of God?
ë You have to be willing to risk everything in the interview.
An Interview (2)
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The correct attitude to project in an interview is that you are
concerned with doing a good job, are eager to listen and learn,
and are willing to do whatever needs to be done to get the job
done.
ë Demonstrating your flexibility without appearing soft is the delicate
balance you are trying to achieve,
ñ If you make an important mistake in the interview, don’t ignore it even if the
interviewer hasn’t noticed.
ò Saying “That’s not accurate, I meant to say…”is usually all that’s needed.
ñ If the interviewer asks why you erred, just say you were concerned about
making the best impression.
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Some interviewers are unfair.
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An Interview (3)
They are usually amateurs, directed by their own insecurity.
If you confront them, you risk retaliation.
They cannot take criticism, especially about their abuse of power.
When you realize that you are dealing with an unfair person, assume
that the situation is probably lost and don’t allow yourself to be
dragged into his negativity.
ñ Such an interview is a fair warning of the way you would be treated if you
were unlucky enough to be hired.
ñ Should the interview go badly, don’t ignore it.
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Prepare some questions to ask yourself that show your
interest in the company and the position, and reveal your
expertise.
ë Don’t be afraid to ask about opportunities for advancement.
ñ Spent years and expended energy cannot be reclaimed, so take
advantage of this moment..
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Summarize your impressions
ë Thank him for him time
Chpt. 10 Increasing Productivity
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The best and most lasting way to make people more
productive is to identify with their needs and employ them
for their strongest talents.
ë People adapt to all stimuli so unless people are encouraged to
motivate themselves all attempts at increasing productivity are
short-lived.
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Attempting to motivate workers by external means requires
ever-increasing external rewards to make the same impact.
ë The sudden threat of losing one’s job has a powerful and often
lasting effect in increasing productivity.
ñ On the other hand, the chronic threat of losing one’s job undermines
self-esteem and always lowers productivity.
Understanding Your Own Productivity
ë The key to increasing productivity is to tap into the individual’s inner
drives and identify with them.
What do you do best?
How often do you do that?
What would you rather be doing than your present job?
Is there anyone with whom you would like to exchange jobs?
What appeals to you about the other job?
Can any part of this be include in your present work?
What stands in the way of you doing this?
What part of your job do you do least well?
How much of the time do you do this?
When are you most productive?
How often does this positive situation occur?
Are you able to “run” with your most productive times or does your
schedule or other duties cut them short?
ñ When are you happiest in your work?
ñ Are these times the same as your productive times?
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Personal Feelings & Productivity
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People want to be effective, to make a difference, to how
that they contributed something of value.
Praise is a powerful motivator only if it is sincere.
This applies to co-workers, juniors, and superiors.
Everyone needs praise and encouragement.
Ultimately, it is each worker’s personal sense of
responsibility that keeps productivity high.
The most productive companies give people the chance to
find themselves.
Negative attitude spreads through a work force like a bad
rumor.
Feeling cheated, ignored, and unrecognized destroys
morale and is difficult to repair.
Chpt. 11 Taking Criticism
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The way you react to criticism limits you more than
perhaps any other reaction in business.
ë The most difficult job for many managers is to criticize an
employee’s behavior or job performance.
ñ Frequently, they don’t have all the facts and have only second-hand
reports, but know something isn’t the way they expect it to be.
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Almost all people offer some resistance to admitting they
were wrong.
ë Resisting criticism causes stress and wastes energy and time.
ñ People who take criticism poorly, even though they may otherwise be
doing a good job, are often the most difficult people for management to
deal with.
ñ You are more trouble than you are worth if you offer resistance to valid
criticism.
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The secret of taking criticism is to turn the How
situation into one where you are asking for advice.
to Take it
ë Your capacity for growth.
ñ If you try to avoid making mistakes at all costs, you are making a bigger
mistake than the one you are trying to avoid.
ñ The people who are going to amount to anything make mistakes and they
make them all the time.
ò They just admit their errors and learn from them.
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Negative people are the worst critics.
ë They feel that because they’ve caught you red-handed they now have
an excuse to dump everything onto you.
ë Negative people try to provoke others to fight when they have a
defensible case against them.
ë Don’t get trapped.
ë Offer no resistance.
ë Keep your distance.
ë Be nimble.
ë Observe and stay detached.
ë Don’t take it personally or retaliate by criticizing their outburst.
Negative People
Negative people have a low self-esteem.
All of this is a momentous waste of time.
Let their comments pass through you.
Always remember in dealing with unreasonable or negative people that
their hostility is really their problem even if you are their target.
ë Don’t fight with them (you can never win).
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Most of the people who will criticize you are reasonable
Consider the way you react to criticism.
Don’t automatically challenge
Don’t become elusive.
Avoid being defensive.
A successful person listens to all comments without getting in their way
or trying to influence or criticize the critic.
ë Be easy to deal with.
ë Admit you were wrong.
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When you resist your manager doesn’t know Don’t
if you are being difficult, stupid, incompetent,
insecure, uncooperative, sullen, or are just a loser.
Resist
ë If you see yourself as someone on the way up, you don’t want any of
these negative attributes associated with your name.
ë Understand the complaint; Ask questions to be sure you understand.
ë Admit what you don’t know.
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The leader differs from the follower in that he is aware of his
limitations and overcomes them.
ë Ask for instructions and advice.
ñ Be teachable.
ë Validate the efforts of the people who are trying to show you a better
way.
ë Use the newly opened lines of communication to broaden the working
relationship.
ë Turn criticism into an opportunity.
ë Ask for advice.
ë Be open, accepting, and expect to grow.
Chpt. 12 Giving Constructive Criticism
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Supervisors should try to keep an objective distance, so
that they can be effective and yet stay in contact.
ë When a supervisor withholds criticism, he or she experiences
discomfort and irritation.
ñ These feelings build, raising the risk of overreaction when the
opportunity to criticize finally presents itself.
ë Criticism and praise have to go hand in hand.
ñ The first rule is to make your criticism an extension of some praise.
ë Although people know they have room for improvement, they
publicly deny their weaknesses, while competence and fear
discovery.
ñ Your goal in offering correction is to create a more open work
atmosphere in which criticism and praise flow along as part of the
work, where people do not dread being singled out
Criticism Objectives
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Have clear objectives.
ë Before you criticize someone, know what you want to accomplish.
ë Pick the time and place.
ñ People get grumpy when they are hungry and their stress tolerance
drops (Morning may be best).
ñ Pick a place that is private, convenient, and friendly.
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Be positive.
ë Talk about the problem with distance and encourage the other
person to comment on it from the same perspective.
ë Accept some of the blame for the problem.
ñ This creates a feeling of mutual concern.
ñ Perhaps you were misunderstood.
ñ Perhaps you did not express yourself clearly or failed to make sure that
the other person really understood you.
Working Together
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Once you both agree that something is wrong , allow the
other person to share his perception of the problem.
ë Use short questions to direct him, such as “How did that happen?”
ë “What was your reasoning?” or “What did you think was
happening?”
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your job in offering correction is to help people look at
themselves and take responsibility for their own
improvement.
ë Make sure that you both are talking about the same subject.
ë Restate your opinion and be done with it.
ñ Fear is a poor motivator.
ë When you’re done, thank the other person for listening.
ñ Reassure him of your continued support and belief in his worth.
ñ Make future contact easier by scheduling regular follow-up meetings so
that you can monitor progress