Month: June 2018

In recent years technology has taken over many aspects of business especially communication and transactions. The technological advances and applications in industry and our daily lives have shot up quickly over the past few years. It has undoubtedly made a lot of things more accessible and more comfortable than ever. As the phrase goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” the business sector has responded to this technological surge very well. New advancements can be seen everywhere.

The postal systems in Canada, as well as the United States of America, have adopted various technological advancements. One of these is making payments online, and this has reduced paper bills and the hustle of keeping paper records to a great extent. Another significant effect is being able to track the post. This has been a revolutionary change and has eased a lot of things for customers as they can follow their post with one click of a button. As an increase in PO boxes and decrease in personal mails can be seen as well.  In case of Walmart, their online sales have taken over the retails. They have an app where you can pick items and compare prices. Self-checkout is another change that has been witnessed. Self-checkout has been my personal favorite as it has eased the process so much. People don’t have to wait in long lines, scanning the barcode and payment method is indeed a cake walk. Walmart also does not accept paper applications, their job applications are submitted online as well. Their job application site is highly effective as it states the exact availability and does not take any surplus applications.

Undoubtedly, technology has helped all these organizations in growing faster, but like anything, there are a few cons to it as well. The first thing I can think of is that not all people are well informed when it comes to technology. Especially a country like Canada with so many immigrants. Many people find it hard to understand, and it is difficult for them to do everything online. Organisations should keep conventional options open as well so that it is accessible to all. One step towards this has been taken in Walmart’s system by adding the ask for help option in self-checkout where a representative comes to help and assist the customer-facing any problem. All in all, it cannot be denied that technology is a boon and it has surely made the world a smaller and a smoother place.

 

“We cannot all suceed when half of us are held back.” (Malala Yousafzai)

Taking the gender leader implicit association test was very enlightening. I did not know how it will be scored, but when I saw the results, I was taken aback. No doubt that the time difference was almost negligible but I do associate women more with supporting roles. I never thought this was how I thought before. Reading this chapter and learning about the vast gender bias problem made me feel privileged that I have not yet faced much of it. I associate women with leadership roles as that’s how I grew up and I was always encouraged as a leader or strong personality in general. This did come with a con that I was labeled as a tomboy and sometimes I was called too manly, and it affected me in a wrong way. Nonetheless, I’ve been blessed with immensely supportive people in my life that did not let me drown in the negative loop but made me realize how I need to beat it and how I was capable of it. I’ve been a feminist ever since, and I know sometimes feminism is not understood entirely but to me, it is a synonym for equality. These days feminism is on an all-time high plus people are vocal about it too.

After reading The Catalyst (2016), I’m enlisting below the various ways or fostering a sense of recognition and inclusion:

• Breaking the myths is very important. Myths like women have it more accessible as they can just marry a rich man and have their life set. Most women refuse to do that and would instead build their empires. Back in India the biggest entertainment sites POPXo and Plixxo have women CEOs and founders. Another myth that needs to be broken is that women cannot work effectively and are more likely to get into arguments. Women are generally more poised and as capable as men if not better.
• Understanding other people’s varied work habits is another way to foster the sense of inclusion. Women may work a little different, and their responsibility and needs are a bit different at times. They do need leave during pregnancy, or they do have more responsibility in domestic chores, but that doesn’t make them any less competent.
• Opening and speaking your mind is very important. Having an open mind and not having any prejudice is very important. Sometimes at the workplace, a woman’s opinion is not even considered because of gender bias, and this needs to be avoided, and they should be included as much as any other person.
• Paying attention and addressing to any gender bias that is happening should be a priority. Uplifting anyone and encouraging them to break through it should also be supported. Constantly talking about the importance of breaking this stigma should also be done within an organization.

References

Northouse, P. G.  (2016).  Leadership:  Theory and Practice.  (7th ed.)  Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage Publications Inc.

 

“We still think powerful men as a born leader and powerful women as an anomaly.” (Northouse 2016,p.318)

This case study is about a lady named Marina Soslow who is a senior managing director at a manufacturing company who is soon to be promoted to a top executive position when she finds out she is pregnant. She is reluctant to tell her boss because many women in the same situation had lost their position in the past. Nonetheless, she mentions the fact of being pregnant with her boss and lets him know that she will need a three-month leave after her delivery. She is cut short by her boss while she was explaining how she can get everything worked out without any loss. Ross is somewhat unsupportive and says he knew this was going to happen anyway and he’ll talk about it later (Northouse 2016, p. 415).

The advancement barrier that Marina is encountering is gender bias. It baffles me how deep and wide this plague is. In my personal experience, I think women are the most stronger than men physically too, and one of the reason is that they can bear childbirth and then go back stronger taking care of not just themselves but a child as well. The mere fact that pregnancy is considered a weakness or hindrance to the performance of a women leader is disturbing and wrong. Nowadays to break this taboo many celebrities like Beyonce, Kareen Kapoor, and many others have been open about their pregnancies and their career is still as flourishing as ever if not better. On the other hand, Roy should have told Marina that he supports her and she will get the leave as she is legally accustomed to it as well under Medical Leave Act 1993 and her job will be secured too. On top of that, he should have listened carefully to her suggestions.

Roy could have made her appoint an intern or trainee or train another existing subordinate to cover for her while she will be away. She could teach him/her as well, and the company’s work and performance would not suffer either. In cases like these, the most significant organizational change that can be made is spreading awareness and educating everyone about fundamental rights like Medical Leave Act 1993. To train everyone to be supportive rather than critical of such situations. Gender bias is an urgent issue and needs to be addressed immediately, and education and practice is the key to it.

References

Northouse, P.G. (2016).  Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage Publications, Inc.

“People will not follow a leader with moral incongruities for long. Everytime you compromise your character, you compromise your leadership. The foundation of firm leadership is character.” (Bill Hybels)

Leaders have many important responsibilities and great moral implications. Being ethical and moral is an integral part of leadership, and it should never be compromised. Jane Van Buren in the video “What is Ethical Leadership” (March 29, 2013) defined ethics as principles, values, beliefs that define what is right, and what is the wrong behavior. Leaders set the moral tone for the entire organization. Leaders are the ones who uphold the shared values of the organization and see the cultural tone. Jane Van Buren in the video “What is Ethical Leadership” (March 29, 2013) talked about various moral implications of an active leader, their importance, and application in the growth of an organization are enlisted below:

Being a visible role model: Leaders have to act as role models for the organization. It can start with something as small as washing your coffee mug to encourage others to do so as well (Jane Van Buren, 2013). My boss is an excellent example of this. I started working at this job just a month ago, and I’m amazed by the leadership and ethical standards. I have seen the boss do the most basic stuff like cleaning or just handling customers first hand while the rush hour and this way he is a great role model for everyone else. This enhances teamwork behavior and also makes everyone work even harder.

Communicate ethical expectations: Communicating clear ethical expectations is very important for an organization. Creating an organizational code of ethics is the first step. Talking about and conveying clear ethical values and central ideas of a company goes a long way.

Promote ethical training: Ethical training should be a part of company’s schedule. Seminar, workshops and group discussions should be encouraged. Sitting with the whole team and talking about various moral or ethical dilemmas and their answers should be encouraged. This also promotes the feeling of trust and safety among teammates.

Other methods like institutionalization of ethical culture and providing protective mechanism can also help enhance ethical values of an organization. Above all, it is important to talk about and understand the necessity of high moral standards and practicing leadership ethically as it is indeed a great responsibility.

References

Van Buren, J. (2013, March 29). What is Ethical Leadership? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks2QGoIq5nA

“Transformational leadership is defined as the process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the follower”. (Northouse,2016)

In the article, ‘Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels,’ some hypotheses are stated about the various implications of managers. According to Wang, Oh, Courtright and Colbert, these are as follows:

• Transformational leaders affect followers performance at the individual level: This is achieved by any of the four behaviors exhibited by a transformational leader. A leader can show the behavior of inspirational motivation by developing and articulating a shared vision and high expectations. This motivates the followers to do better. Another option is by practicing the behavior of idealized influence by serving as a role model by acting in ways that are consistent with the clear vision. Transformational leaders can also interculturally stimulate the followers or exhibit individualized consideration by attending to the needs of every follower.
• Transformational leaders motivate followers to perform beyond expectations: This is a fantastic implication if leaders. They push the followers to do better than what they think they are capable of by constant motivation and faith in them.
• Not only individual performance but transformation leaders enhance group/team performance as well: Leaders communicate the vision to the group and motivate team members to work collectively. They encourage team cohesion and motivation.

The word ethics has its roots in the Greek word ethos, which translates to “customs”, “conduct” or “character”. In regards to leadership, ethics is concerned with what leaders do and who leaders are (Northouse,2016,p.330).

Acc to Johnson (2015), ethical leadership enhances organizational trust levels, fostering the perception that the organization is competent, open, concerned for employees and reliable (Unit 7 notes). There are 5 principles of ethical leadership and they are enlisted below:

1. Respecting others
2. Serving others
3. Justice
4. Manifests honesty
5. Builds Community

All five of them are like fingers of a hand, one can not be considered more important than other. All of these principles together make an ethical leader but if I had two picks any two out of these five, they will be respect and building community. Respecting others is very important and if you don’t respect others you cannot command respect for yourself either. As you sow, so you reap fits perfectly in this situation. As Beauchamp and Bowie (1988) pointed out, ” Persons must be treated as having their own autonomously established goals and must never be treated purely as a means to another’s personal goals” (Northouse,2016,p.342). Leaders who respect others also allow them to be themselves, with creative wats and desires. They approach other people with a sense of their unconditional worth and value individual differences (Northouse,2016,p.342). By respecting others a leader is also practicing justice. The second most important principle to me is Building communities. Ethical leadership demands attention to a civic virtue. This means leaders and followers need to attend to more than their own mutually determined goals. They need to attend to the community’s goals and purpose (Northouse,2016,p.347). Greenleaf (1970) argued that building community was a primary characteristic of servant leadership. All of our individual and group goals are bound up in the common good and public interest. We need to pay attention to how the changes proposed by a leader and followers will affect the larger organization, the community, and society. An ethical leader is concerned with the common good, in the broadest sense (Northouse,2016,p.347). This principle covers other principles as well as it is about serving others and manifesting honesty.

 

The ultimate goal of a servant/transformational/ethical leader is to serve and grow others.

References

Northouse, P.G. (2016).  Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA:  Sage Publications, Inc.

Wang, G., Oh, I.S., Courtright, S.H., & Colbert, A.E. (2011). Transformational leadership and performance across criteria and levels: A meta-analytical review of 25 years of research. Group & Organization Management, 36 (2), 223-270.

The roles of technology and employees in service theory and practice are evolving together. Now, employees are filling new roles as “Innovators”, “Differentiators”, “Enablers”, “Coordinators” (Bowen, 2016), and “Co-Creators” (Kandampully, J., Bilgihan, A., Tingting, C, 2016). On the other hand, technological advancement and the incorporation of the internet and social media within business models have revolutionized the way firms operate and conduct business. The extensive adoption and use of information technology, and social media in particular, by both customers and firms have led to new roles for customers, not only in the market but also in the firm’s perceptions. Technology thus can help organizations combat competition through innovation, by harnessing creative ideas from both internal and external people (Kandampully, J., Bilgihan, A., Tingting, C, 2016). This is a perfect hybrid of people and technology. I immigrated from India about two months ago and I was a dentist back there. Now as I’m pursuing my post graduation I get to work part-time here at a car rental cooperate company. It is very new to me and I have learned many things working in this organization. Various employee development plans used by my organization involving technology are:

1 Clear company policies and group activities: The first thing I was told to do by my boss was to read and remember the company policies from the official website. They were bright and customer friendly. This is one of the ways that technology is helping in employee development as I had full access to all the information and so do the customers. This helps them make an informed decision of whether they want to choose our plans and this saves the employees and customers from disputes later on.

2 Customer service and reviews: Customer service is the main agenda of most organizations these days with increasing awareness among people. I remember reading Starbucks agenda and it was; to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. Their customer service is remarkable and sets an example for other company’s as well. Taking customer reviews and continuous assessment is another important factor in employee development. Nowadays it is even more accessible for people to post reviews online on google or company website.

3 Developing a platform for sharing ideas among all employees is essential. Sometimes some employees may feel neglected, and this will affect their dedication and performance. Everyone’s views and opinions should be heard and considered. In the same way, feedbacks should be encouraged as well. This will give a better outlook on everyone’s performance.

4 Using cashless payments is another technological tool that enhances employee development. It is also employed in my workplace and it not just reduces the stress of keeping cash count on employees but also avoids problems like theft. On the top of this my workplace does not print out the bills but sends email invoices and this helps keep a better record, and both customers and employees don’t have to worry about taking care of a lot of paper.

To conclude, Information technology also has revolutionized all industry sectors by providing new ways to operate. However, human capital is still a nonsubstitutable source of creativity and innovation. Technology has allowed firms to “think” beyond their knowledge and resource borders, to transform themselves into perpetual innovators and firms recognize the importance of harnessing employees’ creativity and capturing the imaginations of engaged customers (Kandampully, J., Bilgihan, A., Tingting, C, 2016). Firms like Marriot, Hilton, Starbucks, and Disney are a testimony to the success of this human-technology hybrid. Undoubtedly, this hybrid can transcend all limits if used wisely and result in immense growth.

Reference

Kandampully, J., Bilghihan, A., Tingting, C. (2016). Developing a People-Technology Hybrids Model to Unleash Innovation and Creativity: The New Hospitality Frontier.

Andragogy is defined as the art and science of helping adults learn (Unit 6 notes). I always thought that as you grow older your ability to learn decreases but the incident I’m about to share changed that belief for me. I want to draw on a very personal but not a conventional experience.  Last summer my mother got a tennis elbow, and that stopped her from doing a lot of activities. My mother is a registered nurse in India and is the pillar of our family. This was when I realized that she might not look old but she is getting old, and I need to make sure she takes good care of herself as well. So, I took it upon me to teach her some exercises and review her diet plans. She was excited about this as well because she knew she needs it to keep working efficiently. As we discussed her diet plan, it was evident that it had a lot of shortcomings and we together decided to start a new more nourishing diet plan. We both work in healthcare so it was easier to understand the importance of what we are doing and it made the process a bit easier as well. I was amazed by my mother’s immense wide knowledge that she gained not just from books but 27 years of practice as a nurse.

Her readiness to learn was high because she realized the importance of health as well as how much the family needs her at her best. We started exercising together as well but it was a bit tricky for her to do some of those but her willpower was strong. She learned her ways around different yoga poses and was very consistent, more so than me. Her internal motivating factor was more significant than external factors. With time her elbow got better, but sadly there is not a definite cure for tennis elbow. She can perform all tasks usually but has to shy away from lifting anything with that specific arm. She has been working out and eating right ever since.

Honestly, I ended up learning more from her than she learned from me. Her grit, self-awareness, consistency, and motivation were remarkable. She is one of the strongest, kindest and determined person I know and above all, she is a constant and active learner.

For this activity, I was paired with a fantastic coursemate, Lewa Ahmed and it was an absolute pleasure to interview and connect with her. Lewa is a not just an inspirational person but also a true servant leader. She is a mother of five, entrepreneur, runs an NGO called The LEAH Foundation for the upliftment of women and children and mankind in general and last but not the least her organization is building a hospital. While talking to her, I was utterly mesmerized and inspired. She is everything I would like to grow up to be. When I asked her to define herself in three words, she picked, passionate, determined and patient and our conversation and her actions are a proof of this as well. I asked her about what her driving force is because it cannot be easy to manage so much and her answer was as beautiful as her thoughts; she replied that God is her driving force. Although she is doing great already, she is a constant learner, and she is looking forward to enhancing her ventures and run the hospital that she is building and serve as many people as she can.

I’m blessed to have come across such amazing people with this course, and she is a great human being as well. We connected well, and I believe we share a lot in common. She is humble and sweet, and even though she has achieved so much, she is kind and generous and not intimidating at all. I strongly think the world needs more servant leaders as she and I will surely look up to her at various times in my life.