Month: June 2018

Summarization

Task 1: Think about what I have learned from this course and choose one related quote that is meaningful for me.

I have benefited a lot from this course and am going to write down the top three answers.

1. I have gained a whole deep framework of servant leadership including the definition, ten characteristics of a servant leader, the model of servant leadership, and servant leader behaviours from the textbook written by Northouse (2016). Also, I have genuinely understood how a servant leadership could be practically exerted in real problem-solving processes, such as making decisions, guiding the team, and improving organizational processes, and so on. We all know that “serving other people” lies at the heart of servant leadership, which would make the leadership style be considered as a weaker one or a less tough one. Although I honour the servant leadership very much, I was also confused about how to wield it to serve and help the team stand firmly in the organization without hurting other people’s feeling during the processes of negotiating and decision-making. Then I learned from Page and Wong (2000) that “Being just a service-oriented person does not qualify one as a servant leader…a servant leader is one who invests himself or herself in enabling others, in helping them be and do their best…what distinguishes servant-leaders from others is not the equality of the decisions they make, but how they exercise their responsibility and whom they consult in reaching these decisions” (p. 70-71). These words mean a lot to me, and I realize the servant leaders are adept at empowering other people and gathering collective perspectives to move and act effectively. Also, the goal and vision established by servant leaders are mostly long-term and for the mutual good of all the people.

2. The interactional and interrelated relationship among transformational leadership, authentic leadership, principled leadership, ethical leadership, and servant leadership. Although the different types of leadership are illustrated in different chapters respectively, it turns out that a leader will never demonstrate or embody only one of them. For example, a servant leader no matter female or male, is also a leader with high ethical level, positive psychological capacities, and applies “values and virtues to policy development and decision-making” (Byler, 2017, para 2). There are many sentences I would like to quote here, and I will quote some of them which impress me the most: “Higher levels of moral reasoning make it possible for the authentic leader to make decisions that transcend individual differences and align individuals toward a common goal” (Northouse, 2016, p. 204); “the vision had to grow out of the needs of the entire organization and to be claimed by those within it”(p. 173); “They have a clear idea of who they are, where they are going, and what the tight thing is to do. When tested in difficult situations, authentic leaders do not compromise their values, but rather use those situations to strengthen their values” (p. 198-199).

3. From the unit of learning Andragogy, I have gained a whole new perspective to consider the learning process I am engaged in right now. The journal articles I read in that unit make me rethink about the knowledge I have accepted through learning and the view I am using to examine the things I have learned. Unlike children and teenagers, the adult learners are prone to accept the knowledge corresponding to their intrinsic beliefs, and they are motived to learn for completely different reasons from the youths. Knowing these kinds of information can greatly help me reassess my ability of critical thinking and adjust the way of my professional work. The article: A Transformation Theory of Adult Learning written by Jack Mezirow (1993) has changed my view entirely, and I would like to quote some profound sentences:

Learning may be understood as the process of construing and appropriating a new or a revised interpretation of the meaning of one’s experience as a guide to action. No conscious experience is free from interpretation, indeed, to have an experience means that we have identified its content, we have construed its meaning. (p. 141).

Task 2: What are two course learnings that have impacted my practice?

I would like to present two kinds of impact to answer this question, one for my professional work, one for my life.

1. My work is to train the stuff for the organization, to make sure the stuff acquire the needed skills and knowledge for the professional work. I used to find that some employees, especially the senior workers, were indifferent to learning and training. I liked to construe this phenomenon or attitude as them being ignorant. Anyway, it is my duty to deal with whatever happens during the teaching process, and I was overwhelmed when facing this setback. Fortunately, I got to know the knowledge of Andragogy in this course and realized the adult learners’ motivations were different from teenagers. They do not mechanically learn in the class like the children and teenagers do. More important, the motivation factors for adult learns “can also be a barrier” (Lieb & Goodlad, 2005, p. 3) because adults have to “balance many responsibilities against the demand of learning”(p. 3). For example, the motivations for adult learners are “a requirement for competence or licensing, an expected promotion, job enrichment, a need to maintain old skills or learn new ones, a need to adapt to job changes, or the need to learn in order to comply with company directives”(p. 3). If the adult learners were not motivated by any of those factors, they would have no interests to learn and take the classes. Lieb and Goodlad (2005) also mention that “the best way to motivate adult learns is simply to enhance their reasons for enrolling and decrease the barriers”(p. 3). Inspired by the points showed in this article, I designed a questionnaire for them to find out how can they be motivated to learn and what kind of skills they are interested in. After one month, the outcomes of the course are significantly remarkable, and the staff all come to me and tell me they like to have my classes. These positive results not only reinforce my faith in my professional work but also shape my ways of thinking and applying the methods in a critical and reasonable way.

2. The book Light from Many Lamps (Watson, 1951) has kept me company entirely through this course. I do not want to restate how profoundly this book has influenced me in my life. Instead, I would like to talk about how my family has been influenced by the stories included in this book as well.

One day in May, our family was driving the car to visit the mountains nearby our city. I was doing the reading of Light from Many Lamps (Watson, 1951) on the way. I just started to read the words louder in the car:

Let me taste the whole of it, fare like my peers. The heroes of old. Bear the brunt, in a minute pay glad life’s arrears of pain, darkness and cold. For sudden the worst turns the best to the brave, the black minute’s at end. And the elements’ rage, the fiend-voices that rave, shall dwindle, shall blend. Shall change, shall become first a peace out of pain, then a light, then thy breast. O thou soul of my soul! I shall clasp thee again, and with God be the rest! (p. 59).

After several silent seconds, my four-year-old son suddenly asked:” Mummy, what’s next?” I said:” It’s over, my dear.” He then added:” Where is God?” I asked him:”Where do you think he will be?” He said:” He is in the mountain, and we are going to find him.” I smiled and asked:”Is it going to be hard to find him?” He answered:” God has light! Follow the light, we can find him.” I was shocked and surprised. I did not know how much he had understood the poem, but clearly, he had construed the words and meaning in his own way, and it was a marvellous way I had never thought about. After that, I always read the stories from Light from Many Lamps to him. Sometimes he listened very carefully, and sometimes he just lost his patience and went to play. This reminded me of the definition of leadership which is a reciprocal process of influence (Northouse, 2016). And is not the process of parenting another form of leadership? My construct of leadership has been expanded through the process of learning from the stories of Light from Many Lamps. And I am recommending this book to my husband and mother.

There are still so much I have learned from this course, such as the interview with my role model Olivia for the assignment Women in Leadership, and the reflections of other classmates. I will keep all those in mind and revisit the blogs written by us to refresh the knowledge regularly.

References

Byler, K. (2017, July 30). Why we need principled leadership? [web log comment]. Retrieved from http://highergroundcg.com/need-principled-leadership/

Lieb, S., & Goodlad, J. (2005). Principles of adult learning. Retrieved from http://carrie-ekey.com/handouts/Rotterdam2012/Eu_Coaches_Conf2_Rott_Day_1_A4.pdf

Mezirow, J. (1993). A transformation theory of adult learning. In Adult Education Research Annual Conference Proceedings, 141-146.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.

Page, D., & Wong, T. P. (2000). A conceptual framework for measuring servant leadership. The human factor in shaping the course of history and development, 69-110.

Watson, L. E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps.  New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc.

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-10/unit-10-learning-activities/

This is a response to Kwantlen Branda’s blog https://create.twu.ca/kwantlenbrenda/2018/06/27/unit-9-activity-2/

Question: Am I not the only one that see that self-checkouts have a ways to go before they truly make the shopping experience easier? Or will self-checkouts become redundant in retail as we head toward more online sales?

Basically, the country I am in right now does not provide self-checkouts service in the supermarket or other shopping patterns. I think it is due to the huge population which could lead to crowd disorder during checking out or difficulty in supervision. But I did experience once of self-checkouts service in Ikea last year, not Walmart. To be honest, I like self-checkouts. It is convenient and shows the level of civilization of the country. Everyone was waiting quietly in line, the staff of Ikea walked around to see if there was any help needed rather than expressing the feeling of monitoring. I really enjoy this kind of atmosphere full of peace and trust.

Besides, I do not think self-checkouts become redundant comparing with online sales. China is full of online shopping right now due to the prevailing of Taobao. People are crazy about shopping online and I even buy the roll paper, towels, bowls online. Of course, Jack Ma benefits a lot from it, but this kind of consuming pattern do create potential danger. For example, the commodities showed on the web page are not real ones presenting in front of our eyes. Therefore, it is usual that customers feel being cheated and return the goods back to the sellers. Also, the buyers always suffer the huge pressure of credit card bills as the sense of money transaction has been minimized in online shopping. Sometimes you are not aware of the amount of money you have spent until the bills are delivered to your hand. In my opinion, I like to shop in a real mall or market and feel the quality of the goods. Also, I could find a salesperson to ask the questions regarding the good face to face which makes me feel assuring. We are all social creatures and need to build connections with other people with trust. I would like to vote for the increasing use of self-checkouts rather than shopping online.

This is a response to Kunal Singla’s blog https://create.twu.ca/b4ntu/2018/06/27/activity-2-3/

Question: Have you ever been suffered from wrong product ? The product you have seen online but get a totally different one and how you respond to that situation ?

I am going to have FedEx Canada be the example. I would like to choose the organization I am familiar with to share more opinions and reflection on this blog. I have a very close friend who had worked for FedEx for a year, and we talked about this company many times.

FedEx:

FedEx is mainly running for the delivery of goods. According to my friend, the division of FedEx she was in also took charge of printing for mailing and posting. She was very enjoying working there with other coworkers. They usually wrapped the packages together, put them in the truck, and waved hands behind the truck. I was so moved by the satisfactory emotion implied in her tone of hard working and harmonious teamwork.

And there is a lot of use of technology in FedEx. The company has designed the official page in beautiful purple colour that you could find from https://www.fedex.com/en-ca/home.html. Also, the company has incorporated the relevant information, such as the location of the FedEx companies and the terms of service, and the diverse business items on the page. It has greatly helped the customers find and proceed to the services they are seeking. For example, the customer could establish an account first to fill in some personal information such as name and Email address; then, he can choose the service he wants and fill the details in another page; further, he could track the record from the page by typing in the codes of the package. As for the staff, my friend mentioned that they had their own information system to compute the time the delivery might need, take record of every package, and so on. The technology has made the delivery service more convenient and effective. Rather than writing the address of the destination and simply waiting for the package to arrive with no idea of its current location, the information on the computer is clearer and the trackable service can create a sense of reliability for the customer which could trigger the intention to choose the FedEx continually.

However, my friend did mention some adverse aspects regarding the technology. First, the company relies too much on the technological means. Since every detail of the packages and all the information were kept in the computer system, it was a complete disaster when the system crashed or the computer died. And they had run into this kind of situation many times. Once it happened, they were unable to keep the work going on anymore and the complaints from the customers appeared day and night. Second, the technological hardware is easy to become outdated. These years, the world is witnessing a series of technological evolution. The high-tech means is updated rapidly, and consequently, the software and the hardware need to be renewed in time. Clearly, the FedEx company was not taking care of this aspect because the staff were complaining about the outdated computers and printers which greatly affected the working efficiency. 

As far as I am concerned, the leaders in the FedEx company should fully exert the ability of foresight in depicting the vision and establishing the long-term goal for the company like John Smart (2015) has strongly suggested. The leaders have to realize that the technological evolution is not a one-time thing. The next step of the technological evolution is unpredictable, and the technological means has become an indispensable factor in the business items. Therefore, it is crucial for the leaders to incorporate foresight in making decisions and equipping the organization. Apparently, the leaders of FedEx should update the systems and buy in computers, printers and hard disks regularly to keep the business and service running at the higher level. Also, my friend had mentioned that the training programs of FedEx company were not well-designed and effective. Considering the widely used teleconference in many organizations, I believe that the FedEx company could resort to it to learn from other organizations. Then the higher manager can impart the new training programs to the store managers of all divisions through teleconference to facilitate the training. At last, there should be a feedback mechanism set in the staff information system. As John Smart (2015) says ” Most stuff happens bottom-up”, it would be necessary for the leaders to keep track with the bottom line of the organization where the real problems and needs rise up. The workers or employees at the bottom line are the people who are actually communicating with the clients and customers. Therefore, devoting more attention to them can get to know the real requirements of the market. Besides, if the workers at the bottom line are equipped with the high-tech devices, they would accomplish the work efficiently and serve the customer effectively. 

Question: I would like to ask a question regarding the ability of foresight. According to Malgeri’s (2010) definition about foresight which “can be considered a behavioural inclination, referring to an individual’s tendency to devote a significant amount of time engaged in thought or activities concerning the future”(para. 1). What are the key traits or abilities of a leader which can contribute to the ability of foresight in your opinion?

References

John M Smart. (2015, April 8). John Smart – Leadership of Tech Change – WFS 2013 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhdWqLNUJns

Malgeri, J. (2010). Organizational foresight and stewardship. Public Manager, 39(4), 39-42.

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-9/unit-9-learning-activities/

Unfortunately, it is really hard for the staff to discard their biased perception of female workers in my workplace. I am putting this conclusion at the very start to raise the attention of the unfair treatment toward women and to notice myself that there is still a long way to go and do not give up.

I was born in an Eastern country and raised up in the eastern culture. I always consider the women in Western countries have more opportunities to be themselves and much easier to achieve the higher level management. After reading Chapter 15, I was surprised by the number taken as examples to demonstrate the pervasive biased gender stereotype toward women in western countries. Therefore, I guess that since the topic of women in the leadership role is a worldwide issue remaining to be solved, I could get more information and find supportive ways to try to make a change in my organization and country.

Northouse (2016) mentions that the unfair treatment of female leaders “stems from the culturally defined role of women in society” (p. 410). I have a deep feeling about it for this is what I am facing everyday at my working place. For example, several days ago I mentioned in my office that I wanted to lose some weight by sensing that I was fat recently. The male staff in the office criticized that “Why bother, you are already a mom. Whom are you doing this for?” I felt more sad that even the female collogues were saying the same thing to me. It is not only due to the organizational culture, but also the culture of the whole society. In terms of the leader, there are approximately 70 leaders or managers in the organization with only three female leaders who are in the lower level of the management hierarchy. Based on this phenomenon and culture, the female workers are in the self-abandoned status and after years, they have become satisfied with this situation.

In order to foster recognition and the sense of belonging for women, this most important thing is to change the underlying basic assumptions against women in the organization. The underlying basic assumptions lie in the deepest core of the organizational culture (Cameron & Green, 2012).

Retrieved from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjY2bCpyunbAhUSIIgKHfc8CoYQjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sidewaysthoughts.com%2Fblog%2F2010%2F11%2Forganisational-culture-defined-courtesy-of-edgar-schein%2F&psig=AOvVaw0b7RXBtNE2GWfSXGIfDmwU&ust=1529836258741300

The underlying basic assumptions belong to the unconscious recognition of our brain. Hence, changing the assumptions requires being aware of the typical stereotype we have intrinsically. In order to be more effective, it is better for a leader in the organization to advocate and raise the attention of the unfair situation of women.

Second, the managers should build more teams for different work issue and involve more female in the teams. The sense of belonging means they feel “welcomed and valued as part of their workgroups and among their colleagues” (Nugent, Pollack, & Travis, 2016, p. 2). Therefore, based on the current situation in my organization that the females are self-abandoned, the most useful way is to give them more chances to work with other male staff by working in teams. Not only will the female staff gain more recognition through accomplishing the tasks and from others, but also the male staff could reassess the value of the women and change their stereotype towards female unconsciously.

Third, leaders and managers should hold more conferences for both male and female staff to communicate and exchange opinions and feelings. The lack of communication between different genders can only exacerbate the biased stereotype. And I believe that the biased stereotype is happening both ways. Only accusing male of being unfair to female might originate the impatient and resistant attitude of the men. Trying to comprehend the situation of both genders is the correct and effective way to reduce the biased stereotype. Sheryl Sandberg (TED, 2010) mentions that women also put a lot of pressure on men such as earn more money. Hearing that, I just thought maybe that was the root of the origination of the unbiased perspective. Women put pressure on men, and in turn, men add conditions to women. It is unfair for us to only focus on the women who want to achieve higher management level. What about a man who dislikes to go to work and just wants to stay at home, spends time with the children? I guess we are both being unjust. In order to bridge the gap, the communication should be sufficient and timely. Once we can understand the perspective held by another gender, we could be more supportive and welcome.

References

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2012). Making Sense of Change Management (3rd edition ed.). New Delhi, India: Kogan Page Limited.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.

Nugent, J., Pollack, A. & D. Travis, (2016). The Day to day experiences of workplace inclusion and exclusion. Retrieved from http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/the_day_to_day_experiences_of_workplace_inclusion_and_exclusion.pdf

TED. (2010, December 21). Why we have too few women leaders | Sheryl Sandberg [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18uDutylDa4

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-8/unit-8-learning-activities/

Case 15.3 Pregnancy as a Barrier to Job Status

Question 1: What advancement barriers is Marina encountering?

Based on the history of women promotion in Marina’s organization, it seems that pregnancy and promotion cannot coexist. This is due to the gender-based prejudice deeply implanted in the organization culture. I am saying this because it is mentioned in the case that “several other women who were eased out of their positions before they gave birth or shortly thereafter” (Northouse, 2016, p. 414). Clearly, it indicates that little effort has been taken to fight for this unfair treatment. This phenomenon implicitly has become pervasive and been tacitly approved by the staff in her organization. Once the prejudice has been institutionalized in the organization, the female employees will face greater difficulty in the way of promotion (Northouse, 2016).

Question 2: What should Roy have said when Marina told him she was pregnant?

Roy could have shown his concern toward Marina first, to care about her status of health during the pregnancy and ask the date of the delivery. Then, Roy could discuss the workload Marina is taking right now with Marina to see if she needs to distribute some to other staff. For example, if Marina is influenced by the changes of the hormone during pregnancy and feeling incompetent to accomplish some part of her work, she could get support from other staff. I think if it is used appropriately, this is an effective way to form the supportive culture within the organization. After that, Roy should ask Marina’s future plan about her work, including getting promotion and how to balance the domestic responsibility with work. At last, Roy should tell Marina that no matter what will her plan be, her job would be guaranteed. This act would comfort not only Marina but also other female workers in the organization, which is conducive to build organizational consensus.

Question 3: What could Roy do to ensure that Marina’s work will be covered during her absence and that taking this time off will not hurt her advancement?

The best way I can think of is that Roy could view the absence of Marina as being away for lengthy training. According to the case, Marina has a master’s degree in chemical engineering, and she has gained an MBA during work. Apparently, Marina is a mature adult learner who is eager to gain more knowledge and well organized in balancing the process of learning and working (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1972). Based on this information, Roy could assign relevant training material, such as books, articles, and conference reports, to Marina for her to read during the three-month leave of absence. At the same time, Marina should keep track of her work during her absence, such as how the work has been distributed to other staff and to what extent they could accomplish the work. Roy could make a team including Marina and other staff who is going to take charge of her work. The team member should regularly report the process of the work to Marina via high-tech means. I am sure that Marina would be an effective and considerate team leader for women incline to demonstrate transformational leadership and to employ contingent-reward strategy (Northouse, 2016). Additionally, after Marina get promoted eventually, it is very crucial for her to publicly appreciate the members of the team during her pregnancy and absence and make sure the others know their contributions (Kotter, 2012). Not only the staff who have helped Marina would feel they are valued, but also the rest of the staff, regardless of the gender, would feel the warm power from Marina’s leadership. In turn, the organizational culture would change to the equal treatment towards female workers, and the other females would get more chances to be promoted. 

Question 4: What type of organizational changes can be made to benefit Marina and other pregnant women in this organization?

Northouse (2016) summarizes several ways of organizational changes to help female staff reach top positions in the organization. First, the culture of the organization should be changed. For example, the impression of some roles which are defined can only be accomplished by male should be changed; the notion of “uninterrupted full-time careers” (p. 406) should be abandoned. Second, the organization can “augment women’s career development by involving them in career development programs and formal network and offering work-life support” (p. 406). Further, “assigning more women to high-visibility positions and developing effective and supportive mentoring relationship for women” (p. 407) could greatly facilitate the selection and promotion.

I would like to add another organizational change which can change the situation of the female workers: mergers and acquisitions. There are five basic rules of mergers and acquisitions which include tackling the cultural issues (Cameron & Green, 2012). When mergers and acquisitions are happening, it will lead to the integration of the two types of culture. I believe this process in which we can redefine or restructure the culture will change the culture of the whole company from the core. Especially mergers with women-owned companies can significantly remedy the biased gender stereotype against females.

References

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2012). Making Sense of Change Management (3rd edition ed.). New Delhi, India: Kogan Page Limited.

Knowles, M. S., Holton, E., & Swanson, R. (1972). Andragogy. NETCHE.

Kotter, J. P. (2012). Leading change, With a new preface by the author. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage publications.

https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-8/unit-8-learning-activities/

This is a response to Charlie Mable’s blog https://create.twu.ca/charliemable/2018/06/14/ethics-and-morals-act-1/

Question: If leadership truly is a process of influencing others, it is important that leaders enact the moral and ethical responsibility entrusted to them. Do you agree?

Yes, I agree with you. Moreover, I think leadership can be observed and exerted in other kinds of situation or context rather than merely organization and political domain, such as leadership at home, leadership within the school setting, and so on. Considering the influential process of the leadership, I believe the moral and ethical responsibility should be addressed more in other kinds of context. For example, it is far more profound for a father to nurture his children to grow up and become ethical and righteous individuals. In turn, if the children are raised to be the potential transformational leaders or ethical leaders, they would influence more people who are around them or working for them. Similarly, the authentic and moral impact that the leadership has on within school settings or friends can be significant. Coming back to the organizational context, I really like the example you made in promoting effective financial management. This example can also be a perfect one to demonstrate the conduct of leading by examples. When the leader is acting moderately and morally, the followers will be at least influenced to act the same way in terms of short-term effect. Sequently, the moral behaviours will be institutionalized as the moral traits for the followers. In turn, the moral culture within the organization is formed. This process just echoes your words in the beginning: It has a ripple effect. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

This is a response to Kwantlen Brenda’s blog https://create.twu.ca/kwantlenbrenda/2018/06/11/unit-7-activity-1-indigenous-economic-development-ethical-leadership/

Question: What are some other ethical and moral beliefs that the public holds with its indigenous organizations? Do you think it is fair that indigenous organizations are held to this standard given the history of inter-generational trauma?

Thank you sharing your valuable thoughts of indigenous organization which I barely considered before. I live in China, therefore I could only synthesize the situation of the indigenous organizations here to my answer.  Hope you find them useful.

China is governed by the Communist Party, and the culture in China particularly emphasizes the morality of serving for the mutual good for the society. This moral principle serves as the implicit standard for all kinds of organization, especially the indigenous ones. Actually, I do not like the invisible pressure that the public has put on the indigenous companies. Actually, I am working in an indigenous company. To be honest, the public and the government are using a magnifying glass to look at the all aspects of the indigenous company. For example, the public thinks that it is abnormal for the staff of an indigenous company to have the salary above the average level of the citizens in that city. And the government, who is willingly to incline to the thoughts of the public on this issue, has been extremely strict with the companies. Ironically, the government does rely on the indigenous companies to gain a beautiful financial report each year, and the public admires and desire to work in the foreign companies or partly foreign-owned companies. Therefore, I totally agree with your words that there is only one chance to do things right for the indigenous companies because it is already hard and impossible for the indigenous companies to satisfy the public and the government anyhow. The pressure and the unfair treatment are potentially undermining the intrinsic will of serving others of the indigenous companies. This is the real potential threat to the country, I think, and this threat is stemmed from within.