A631.1.5.RB_StevensEric

                                                                           A631.1.5.RB_Stevens

1. Do you see value in the EcoSeagate team development process?
2. Why would something like this be necessary in a high-performing organization?
3. Could your organization benefit from a similar activity?

When I first viewed the video I saw that many of the participants in the video appeared to be having a difficult time with the program. The video started out with the introduction of what the issues were and the goals of the program in EcoSeagate.

I do see the value of this unique program because if forces the ideal of teamwork in the groups.  Without successful teamwork the individual teams would not be able to pass the tasks assigned to them.  These tasks were set up with team work in mind and the only way to pass each of these tasks is to depend on the other team members to do their part.  These tasks show individuals who may not have known each prior to this event that with cooperation the tasks can be completed successfully.

I think it is necessary because it allows each of these individuals to see that they are capable of accomplishing a task with complete strangers. I think this is beneficial also to show some people that without team work their ideas cannot succeed. It may also show others to relinquish the control when another with better skills can step up and help the team guide it way to success. This will allow many different scenarios where each of the team members  to contribute in each of their own way and become an important member of the team.

I really believe that my organization can benefit from such an event where you bring strangers together and focus on a common goal. By doing this you do take yourself and others out of a comfort zone where they may have been the big dog back at the office or in the field. You have in essence created an equal playing ground where nobody has a clear advantage at the beginning.  This will allow individuals who may not have been the star in the office to shine. These individuals may now have the best idea on how to accomplish the mission or task successfully. I really feel this is a great exercise in team building and the benefits that the organization has after this event can be astounding. I think that the company as a whole will have employees who have a new self-actualization that they do have the potential to make a difference and give something back to the organization.

A630.9.4.RB_StevensEric

When I viewed the video and I looked at Eric Schmidt’s approach to hiring and recruiting I was confused at the beginning when he talked about what they were looking for in potential employees of the company. His approach to the recruiting and hiring practice was strange in the fact that he was implying that the employees should be hired on strictly the basis of interpersonal skills with other workers. I agree in his analogy that you shouldn’t hire friends because this could lead to the problem that the new employee could be viewed as a favorite of the boss. I do like the culture of Google where the employees have been empowered to make decisions on what direction the company should go in and how the company should operate. This allows the employees feel important and have stock in the company and the direction the company will go in based upon their actions.

In my workplace this is not the manner in which they conduct themselves. My company is structured in a Para-military style of organization and the opportunities to openly express how the company should proceed are only allowed by the command staff through the chain of command. The Sheriff has the ultimate say so on what is allowed as far as changes to the organization. I feel this is a huge difference between public sector employees and private sector employees. Do I feel that some elements of this practice could be incorporated in the public sector and the answer would be yes. I feel that the Sheriff should allow recommendations from the line officers on a regular basis because he would be kept up to date with current policing tactics.

As a leader I feel that courage is a huge part of the process because if you lack the courage to stand up and say that the direction the company is heading in is the wrong one than without this leadership I feel that the organization as a whole could be compared to a large ship floating without any power or direction. This would be a issue where you would be guided by the environment and you could not change course or direction to lead your organization.

This type of approach could backfire because the employees could feel that they can dictate what the company will do and how they will do it based upon popularity not by fiscal or market sense.

I take away the knowledge of hiring the right personnel is important for your organization and having the right people in place to guide the company in the right direction. I also can take away that a strong leader is important and that without a guide or captain of the ship the ship will eventually run aground and lay dead in the water. It is very important that your employees feel empowered and feel vested in the organization and help achieve the goals of the organization.

A630.8.4.RB_StevensEric

When I first viewed the questions that were attached to this exercise I was thinking there is no way that MBA students could be outdone by kindergarteners. But once I listened to the reasoning and the data of the experiment I quickly had the idea that this makes perfect sense. The MBA students were jockeying for the role of leader. The alpha is a title that people with type A personalities achieve to obtain. The type A personality seems to have a hard time sharing in the leadership role with others freely and they tend to come up with great ideas but when that idea is challenged they can become agitated that their idea is challenged.

I feel that kids have not learned the bad habits that adults have in trying to outshine each other. Kids like to have friends and peers that want to play together. The idea of being isolated from friends does not normally go over very well with the kids. The team model of children is not a hope but often is a reality. Kids strive to work together to accomplish a common task. The idea of problem solving and making the ideas work is very exciting to the kids.

In the idea where CEO’s with executive assistants perform better than CEO’s alone is the executive assistants are the doers. These assistants often are the ones that make the company work and the CEO’s just provide direction. I have always understood that the workers of the company are the ones that make or break the company on the basis that a CEO can say this is what we need to get the mission of the company accomplished but it is the workers, executive assistants that actually get the job done.  When you have a lot of chief’s and no Indians the problem of job completion or task completion will come up. The CEO’s will look for others to get the work don and when they have to do the work themselves they may have a problem is actually agreeing on how to start.

I would love to break the groups up and have them problem solve the issue given to them. I would then repeat the same exercise with different team members. I would then present a new task and start in reverse order  where I have the stranger groups work together and then back to their original groups and complete the task. I would than sit down with the group as a whole and allow them to see the results of each exercise.

The idea of working together as a team and not jockeying on the idea on who is going lead the team. I have come to realize that working together for the common goal of the mission is a very important concept and I will apply this to my career. Coming from a para military career I think that if the command structure was downsized the efficiency of the agency as a whole would be greatly improved and the mission statement would be closer to being fulfilled.

A630.7.4.RB_StevensEric

When I first heard that statement from CEO Bonsignore I was surprised at the candor he presented in talking about the organizational change he would be implementing in the company. I felt that he had adopted an attitude that it was his way or the highway. I understand that as a CEO you have to at many times take an approach of the authoritative manager model or you run the risk of losing control of the company. With Honeywell the company did not appear to be in a crisis of employee morale but I can see many employees becoming disgruntled after such a remark. The idea of managing through fear and intimidation came to mind rather quickly. I do however feel that the company will succeed in the end and become a very successful in the future because of the change.

Some of the barriers that I can immediately see from the merger of the companies is from internal resentment. I can say that the CEO’s position is clear and his intentions are clear on where he wants to take the company. The culture of the company is being altered at an extremely fast rate and the chances for success have declined because of this rapid change. I can also see investors of the company being skeptical in the direction the company is moving because of the lack of profits the company is providing. The CEO has an uphill battle to win the support and trust of the shareholders.

I believe that first and foremost that Honeywell should focus on the employee’s acceptance of this change in their culture before trying to move to the next step. The OD personnel should build that trust with the client base on the employee level before implementing major changes to reduce the resistance. I am aware that you will have resistance in any company when you try to make rapid changes but I believe it is very important that the CEO is walking along with each step of the process and explaining why they are changing.

I can take away the reasoning of why things change and the need to do so. In my line of business the need for change is great but the methods often employed by the upper management are often not explained and the resistance is high. I can appreciate the methods used by both of the CEO’s presented in this segment of the module and see the distinct differences in their leadership styles and the similarities on how they manage. I have always been a firm believer in the saying that a happy employee will usually accept change better than an employee who is looking for a reason to complain. I do however understand when the need to negotiate the change and force the change is required based upon the needs of the company at that time are presented. The lesson of the video is that sometimes different tactics are needed when the organization as a whole must adapt quickly in order for that organization to survive.

A630.6.4.RB_StevensEric

                                                                      A630.6.4.RB_StevensEric

When I look at the presentations I can say that what I am hearing can be described as a feeling like I have been here before. What I mean is that some of the ideas that are presented are some of the same feelings that I have had before in my organization. The ideas that are presented in this presentation are some ideas that can be effectively be used to make change happen.

 Dr. Watkins presents some interesting ideas in the manner that why we shouldn’t change and the ideas presented are ones that people use on many occasions why they shouldn’t change. The status quo idea is one that many people feel they need in the lives in order to keep things simple. What I mean by this is that people are inherently creatures of habit and when that is threatened they do not accept the change very well. I almost look at this in the same manner as Maslow’s hierarchy where the basic principle of the pyramid is the need for safety and security. People have become accustomed to making habits or routines a part of this safety and security. The need for change can occur and if properly done can help people reach the high point of self-actualization in their lives which for many will be difficult to achieve.

I have used many of these excuses in both my professional and personal life. I was never in favor of change and the thought of doing things in a different manner made me cringe. I can take away from this presentation the idea that change should be reviewed thoroughly on a critical thinking platform and not dismissed right away. Many in the past have held the same views of change and how to resist this change. One example would be the thought that the world was flat. I know this is a novel approach but if we didn’t have the advances in technology during these times how long would of that concept remained true?

Seth Godin made in my opinion an excellent argument that tribes help change the way people think. The idea of 1,000 people sharing the same ideas and principles to facilitate these changes have been used on many occasions. Throughout history we have seen successful leaders use this same principle to benefit their ideas or causes. We all know that some of these leaders have used these ideas for evil and others for good. People in general are like cattle who are told to go in a certain direction without opposition. This may sound like a crazy notion but if you sit and look at the way people respond to simple things for example like a traffic flow pattern. One person is told to go a certain direction a majority will follow behind the lead person or vehicle without any question. These ideals of a tribe operate in a similar manner where a few do what they deem as correct others will fall in line and follow.

I can take away the information provided in these presentations and make an informative decision on which path I should follow. If I believe in a cause then I can use these skills to help convince others to join my tribe. I understand that this idea is not always the easiest path to success but can be the most effective and successful one.

A630.5.4.RB_StevensEric

In this portion of the module I was intrigued by what the survey revealed about NASA. Administrator Sean O'Keefe stated that the survey revealed a culture in NASA that was one of pride, integrity, and performance. O'Keefe said that overall the agency scored high compared to many other companies that have been evaluated in the past. O'Keefe was quick to point out the positives that NASA has been doing but emphasized the negatives and how to improve the agency as a whole.

I think the reasoning behind addressing the leaders of NASA was to have them understand what his goals or intentions were for the agency and to address where the agency needed improvement. O'Keefe said that during the evaluation the agency had problems in communication between not only him and other leaders in the agency. He did a great job in my opinion of clearly articulating his expectations of his leaders and gave them suggestions on how they could improve.

It appeared that he was believable in his presentation to the leaders of the agency. He did a great job of not shifting blame to others. He made them understand that he was just as accountable as the first line supervisor in the agency. O'Keefe made it clear that he had every intention to change what he did day in and day out to improve his own leadership within the agency. I think it is essential that he is believable because of the fact that he needs to convince his subordinates that this idea is a great one. Without the support of his leadership team he may face many hurdles to overcome without even addressing the hurdles faced as a result of the survey.

Administrator O'Keefe stressed the values of NASA to instill that anything can be achieved. This was evident in the core mission of NASA from the very beginnings. He used these foundations of the agency to support his position on why the agency needed change to improve the quality of service to the American Public.

I take away from this exercise the ideals that anything can be achieved with teamwork. Without teamwork the chances for success of change is greatly reduced and the organization will suffer. I believe that I can facilitate some change in my organization by reminding my fellow employees why we chose this career. I feel at times that some employees tend to forget the fundamental core values of my profession. I am in public service and the name in its self is evident of why I chose this career.  

A630.4.4.RB_StevensEric

                                                                  A630.4.4.RB_StevensEric

·         Marcia Blenko argues that decision effectiveness correlates positively with employee engagement and organizational performance. How do you think that employee engagement relates to decision effectiveness?

·         What are some impediments to good decision making?

·         Blenko suggests that there are four elements of good decisions: quality, speed, yield, and effort. In your opinion, is there anything missing from this list?

·         What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?

In the video I immediately understood what Marcia was trying to say when she talked about how employee engagement related to decision effectiveness. In the company that has the backing of the employee base when decisions are being made or implemented the likelihood of the employees in essence coming on board with the idea of change without much resistance will greatly improve the efficiency of the organization. With a company where employee engagement is low and management direction is high I can see the issue that the employees will attempt to reject certain ideas or decisions on the basis of bucking the system. This is probably one of the worst case scenarios where the employees of the company themselves are sabotaging the efforts of the management team.

Some of the impediments that I can see in good decision making for the organization are exactly what Marcia said in the video having the wrong people in positions who cannot be critical thinkers or forward thinkers.  This may seem like a no brainer that it is essential to have the right people in place in order to make the organization more effective. The truth is that a lot of companies have senior level managers in place because of seniority at the company or personal influences and appointments. This I believe in my line of work in the public sector is an ongoing issue. The click as many refer to this process is readily apparent and in place in my organization. The term it is all in who you know and not what you know is a hazard in good decision making.

I feel that resources should be included in this list. The question “What are our limitations?” should be addressed in this list. Some companies may have vast resources at their disposal while others may have a very limited amount of resources that could affect one or two items on the list.

I can immediately take away the idea of do we have the right people in place to make the right decisions? If I was a top level manager I would immediately evaluate this position inside my organization. I would definitely want individuals who have the vision to look ahead and possibly identify future problems that we may face. I would also examine these steps and apply them to my career and see how I could change my organization in a positive manner.