http://bx.businessweek.com/management-trends/view?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.innovationexcellence.com%2Fblog%2F2011%2F10%2F31%2F7-strategies-for-generating-ideas%2F
This is a great article that shows 7 strategies companies should use to generate new ideas. The ideas are made up of: Invite everyone in the quest for new ideas, involve customers in the process of generating ideas, involve customers in new ways, focus on the needs that customers don’t express, seek ideas from new customer groups, involve suppliers in product innovation, and benchmark idea-creation methods. These methods are all intended to help organizations create ideas that will keep them active in the market.
The article pertains to this class because a successful OB would consist of all of these different strategies. You definately want all of your employees to know that they are involved in the quest for new ideas. We learned in MQM 221 that it is easier to accomplish creative tasks when you have more minds working on the same task. The next 4 ideas consist of involving customers in idea generation. This makes sense because the customer is who you are trying to satisfy so it makes sense to try to create the things that they desire. Suppliers are an important part of organizations and it is important to try to build a lasting relationship with a supplier that will benefit both parties. And finally benchmark idea-creation methods means making sure that someone is in charge of keeping idea-generation fresh and new. You want to make sure that you are thinking of creative ideas that will help your company grow. All of these strategies would be important in staying ahead of your competition in the business world and are things that I will hopefully be able to utilize in my career.
-Kenny Palmer
Monday, December 5, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Creating Management Practices for Making Work Work
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/aug2009/ca20090828_011424_page_2.htm
Motivating employees to perform well is a very important skill a manager must have. However, in rough economic times such as these past few years, this has become a difficult task to achieve. It is hard for an employee to think positively and openly when they are more worried about how they can afford to pay off the next bill. Managers are attempting to find alternative processes, programs, and incentives to make the workplace more functional.
This article goes in depth at this current crisis managers are dealing with, and how some companies are trying new things to boost productivity. Some alternative programs discuss in this article include; flexible scheduling for employees, allowing employees to work at home once a week to save transportation costs, offer one-time financial assistance to employees, incentives to employees who manage financials properly, shared "extended-leave" program for all employees, and incentive for health and wellness decisions. All of these programs can help an employee in a crucial time of need, which in turn leads to better morale and workplace productivity. All of these ideas have worked well for the company that installed them. More managers need to think outside of the box and assess what needs to be done to make their work more enjoyable and personable.
I believe as time moves forward, more managers will pick up on these fairly recent trends, and this will become an emerging practice for most companies. The article states "our people are our greatest asset." This cannot be anymore true, because without effective employees, there will not be an effective product/service that is ultimately offered to the customer. The focus of attention needs to be placed to that great asset, and managers are finding multiple ways to convey that message.
Posted by Steven Krygowski
Motivating employees to perform well is a very important skill a manager must have. However, in rough economic times such as these past few years, this has become a difficult task to achieve. It is hard for an employee to think positively and openly when they are more worried about how they can afford to pay off the next bill. Managers are attempting to find alternative processes, programs, and incentives to make the workplace more functional.
This article goes in depth at this current crisis managers are dealing with, and how some companies are trying new things to boost productivity. Some alternative programs discuss in this article include; flexible scheduling for employees, allowing employees to work at home once a week to save transportation costs, offer one-time financial assistance to employees, incentives to employees who manage financials properly, shared "extended-leave" program for all employees, and incentive for health and wellness decisions. All of these programs can help an employee in a crucial time of need, which in turn leads to better morale and workplace productivity. All of these ideas have worked well for the company that installed them. More managers need to think outside of the box and assess what needs to be done to make their work more enjoyable and personable.
I believe as time moves forward, more managers will pick up on these fairly recent trends, and this will become an emerging practice for most companies. The article states "our people are our greatest asset." This cannot be anymore true, because without effective employees, there will not be an effective product/service that is ultimately offered to the customer. The focus of attention needs to be placed to that great asset, and managers are finding multiple ways to convey that message.
Posted by Steven Krygowski
How to Give and Receive Criticism
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2008/ca20080318_504987.htm?chan=careers_managing+your+team+page_teamwork
This article discusses the fine line between bad and constructive criticism. It is described how badly criticism can come off because if self esteem is low then it makes a person feel even worse. On the other hand, if someone is highly strung and criticized, then they start to question their ability. Either way, the criticism being described is poor criticism. This is bad. A manager should never practice this because it has no beneficial outcome possible. A manager needs to practice criticism that describes what a person has done wrong and how they can fix it. This is good. This way, an employee will come learn from their mistake rather than get down on themselves. Criticism should also never be personal in the workplace. There is no good that can come from this and would be truly unprofessional. This would be ugly.
I believe managers today are starting to understand this concept, but their are still aggressive managers out there. Unfortunately, they will experience the negative effects in their employees ability to solve problems. As we learned in the leadership portion of class, a manager must try to lead by understanding his/her followers.
What do you think the proper way is to go about criticism? Do you believe there is a good and bad form? Or is it all the same?
-Trey Tennell
This article discusses the fine line between bad and constructive criticism. It is described how badly criticism can come off because if self esteem is low then it makes a person feel even worse. On the other hand, if someone is highly strung and criticized, then they start to question their ability. Either way, the criticism being described is poor criticism. This is bad. A manager should never practice this because it has no beneficial outcome possible. A manager needs to practice criticism that describes what a person has done wrong and how they can fix it. This is good. This way, an employee will come learn from their mistake rather than get down on themselves. Criticism should also never be personal in the workplace. There is no good that can come from this and would be truly unprofessional. This would be ugly.
I believe managers today are starting to understand this concept, but their are still aggressive managers out there. Unfortunately, they will experience the negative effects in their employees ability to solve problems. As we learned in the leadership portion of class, a manager must try to lead by understanding his/her followers.
What do you think the proper way is to go about criticism? Do you believe there is a good and bad form? Or is it all the same?
-Trey Tennell
Is Collaboration Dangerous?
Eight Dangers of Collaboration
Chapter 10 (“Conflict and Negotiations") of the book Organizational Behavior, written by Talya Bauer and Berrin Erdogan looks at the different strategies to manage conflict. The chapter explains that “Collaboration” is the strategy that should be used to achieve the best outcome from conflict. Collaboration is high in both assertiveness and competitiveness which are the two characteristics that determine how somebody will handle conflict when it is presented to them. The objective of this strategy is to reach a win-win agreement while challenging points that others make instead of making it a personal attack, and all signs in the chapter point to this strategy having a higher potential for success than Avoidance, Accommodation, Compromise, and Competition, which are the other four strategies.
The article “Eight Dangers of Collaboration,” written by Nilofer Merchant, challenges Chapter 10’s explanation of Collaboration being the best strategy in managing conflict. She recognizes that most of what is written about collaboration is positive, but then goes on to ask a question, “So why is collaboration as rare as it is?” Her short answer incurs that the reason it is seldom used is because it is dangerous. Is it dangerous? Merchant goes on to talk about the “Eight Dangers” that specifically make collaboration as scarce as it is. Read the article above and decide which dangers you think are a real problem, preventing more collaboration among businesses and organizations? Which dangers are not as much the problem as others? Merchant also explains that we cannot manage collaboration well until we acknowledge that it is dangerous. Do you agree with this statement? I think there are many situations in which collaboration works simply because it gets people to do all of these so called “dangerous” things. Just because something is dangerous does not mean that it should be avoided or that people necessarily want to avoid it. Let me know what you think about these “Eight Dangers.”
Ricky Hearden
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
What's Your Leadership Mindset?
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jun2009/ca20090619_819188.htm?chan=careers_managing+your+company+page_top+stories
In this interesting article, the author starts out by examining the responses he gets when asking students at a U.S. Naval Academy and a large state university the question "How many of you want to be leaders?" Unsurprisingly, all the students at the Naval Academy raised their hands, and less than half up their hands up at the state university. This was due to the cultural assumptions that leadership is routinely instilled at the Navel Academy and the state university invests in preparing students with knowledge and practical skills. The distinction became clear when he read professor Carol Dweck book Mindset. Her research says that there is "growth mindsets" or "fixed mindsets." People with growth mindsets believe they can continuously get better at something and potential to exceed their current position. However, people with fixed mindsets can only proceed to the extents of their natural ability, and no further. He then insists there are three questions you need to ask yourself to distinct which mindset we are in as a leader. "First, how effectively are you managing your organization's talent? Second, does your organizational culture permit risk taking and mistakes? Finally, are you resting on your laurels as a leader?"
These questions were typically hard for me to answer because I haven't been in a leader position in an organization yet. But I do like the section that explains different mindsets. I have come across people that have growth mindsets and fixed mindsets. I also think that we are capable of having both. I can honestly say that there are things that I am not going to get any better at during my life, no matter what. On the other hand, I believe there are things that I can improve on through hand work and dedication, and leadership is one of them. Hopefully this means I have a growth mindset. Overall, there is some good food for thought in this article.
Greg Calabrese
In this interesting article, the author starts out by examining the responses he gets when asking students at a U.S. Naval Academy and a large state university the question "How many of you want to be leaders?" Unsurprisingly, all the students at the Naval Academy raised their hands, and less than half up their hands up at the state university. This was due to the cultural assumptions that leadership is routinely instilled at the Navel Academy and the state university invests in preparing students with knowledge and practical skills. The distinction became clear when he read professor Carol Dweck book Mindset. Her research says that there is "growth mindsets" or "fixed mindsets." People with growth mindsets believe they can continuously get better at something and potential to exceed their current position. However, people with fixed mindsets can only proceed to the extents of their natural ability, and no further. He then insists there are three questions you need to ask yourself to distinct which mindset we are in as a leader. "First, how effectively are you managing your organization's talent? Second, does your organizational culture permit risk taking and mistakes? Finally, are you resting on your laurels as a leader?"
These questions were typically hard for me to answer because I haven't been in a leader position in an organization yet. But I do like the section that explains different mindsets. I have come across people that have growth mindsets and fixed mindsets. I also think that we are capable of having both. I can honestly say that there are things that I am not going to get any better at during my life, no matter what. On the other hand, I believe there are things that I can improve on through hand work and dedication, and leadership is one of them. Hopefully this means I have a growth mindset. Overall, there is some good food for thought in this article.
Greg Calabrese
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Trusting a CEO in the Twitter Age
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/aug2009/ca2009087_680028.htm?chan=careers_managing+your+company+page_top+stories
This article discusses whether or not it is a wise idea to trust a CEO in the "Twitter Age" and if it affects a company negatively. Today, it seems as though nothing is a secret and everything becomes public knowledge on social media websites such as Twitter. Unfortunately, this bodes poorly for a CEO of a company. They need to watch out what they post, what they say, what their employees are posting, etc. It is discussed in this article that there are open sessions now over the internet where people can discuss their concerns or questions about anything in regards to the company. The feedback from performing these sessions was positive, but was it healthy for the company? Is there a such thing as going too far with communication within a group? I feel that this age is going to ultimately hurt companies and cause problems between employees and CEOs. There is a point where too much can become public and this is where I am afraid our society is headed and there is almost no turning back.
But, how do you feel...? As an employee, should we worry about trusting our CEO's in this age? Will they try to use this technology to their advantage or will it ultimately hurt the company when doing so in the end? Will this Twitter Age turn out Good, Bad, or Ugly?
-Trey Tennell
This article discusses whether or not it is a wise idea to trust a CEO in the "Twitter Age" and if it affects a company negatively. Today, it seems as though nothing is a secret and everything becomes public knowledge on social media websites such as Twitter. Unfortunately, this bodes poorly for a CEO of a company. They need to watch out what they post, what they say, what their employees are posting, etc. It is discussed in this article that there are open sessions now over the internet where people can discuss their concerns or questions about anything in regards to the company. The feedback from performing these sessions was positive, but was it healthy for the company? Is there a such thing as going too far with communication within a group? I feel that this age is going to ultimately hurt companies and cause problems between employees and CEOs. There is a point where too much can become public and this is where I am afraid our society is headed and there is almost no turning back.
But, how do you feel...? As an employee, should we worry about trusting our CEO's in this age? Will they try to use this technology to their advantage or will it ultimately hurt the company when doing so in the end? Will this Twitter Age turn out Good, Bad, or Ugly?
-Trey Tennell
CSI Normal Activity
1. During this activity, many of the tasks discussed in the chapter came into play while trying to figure out this mystery. First, everyone played the contributor role because we all needed to work together in order to have a chance at coming anywhere near solving this. Greg specifically wrote ideas down which designated him as the contractor of the group. I felt that I fell into the completer role because I always like to take action. In this instance, I helped figure out that we all had different sheets and presented my idea of helping to take action in solving the case. The exercise was beneficial in helping us use these different roles and helping us realize how we use them.
2. It would have been very helpful to have a coordinator in this activity. If we had a coordinator we would have been able to organize our thoughts more efficiently, thus resulting in a quicker solve of the mystery. I believe if we would have had this role covered by someone the outcome of this exercise would have been different for our team.
3.I truly believe that our team is in the Performing stage of team development. We all understand each other and what each person brings to the group. Also, everyone knows what they are best at and we all collaborate well because of this. We communicate well and are efficient in the tasks we perform. Overall we are doing very well in the Performing stage of team development.
-Trey Tennell
2. It would have been very helpful to have a coordinator in this activity. If we had a coordinator we would have been able to organize our thoughts more efficiently, thus resulting in a quicker solve of the mystery. I believe if we would have had this role covered by someone the outcome of this exercise would have been different for our team.
3.I truly believe that our team is in the Performing stage of team development. We all understand each other and what each person brings to the group. Also, everyone knows what they are best at and we all collaborate well because of this. We communicate well and are efficient in the tasks we perform. Overall we are doing very well in the Performing stage of team development.
-Trey Tennell
Discover Your Leadership Blind Spots
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/sep2009/ca2009091_828190.htm
In this article, the author address that everyone has blind spots. Whether we are comparing good managers or bad ones, everyone is susceptible to blind spots and the only way to eliminate them is to be aware of them. Us as students have to become aware of them because of our lack of experience in the field. Some of the consequences of blind spot are bad decision-making, decreasing the scope of awareness, producing enemies, destroying careers, and poorly impacting business results. This article recognizes some common management blind spots so leaders can realize them and increase organizational performance. One is to share the burden. Managers tend to lean on the statement "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself", which is okay in some situations, but bad more often than not. If people see you acting as a team of one all the time, they will get frustrated and feel devalued altering their behavior. Another one is impact awareness. When people step into management positions they don't always realize how much impact they have over people resulting in insensitivity. People judge and respond to behaviors, which means you don't want to come off as insensitive or your team will dismiss a lot of what you have to say. The last blind spot for discussion is bottling it up. In a managerial situation, there is no room for avoiding difficult conversations because believe it or not, this will only amplify the problem. If you cannot talk about a specific problem, then it will never get resolved.
-Greg Calabrese
In this article, the author address that everyone has blind spots. Whether we are comparing good managers or bad ones, everyone is susceptible to blind spots and the only way to eliminate them is to be aware of them. Us as students have to become aware of them because of our lack of experience in the field. Some of the consequences of blind spot are bad decision-making, decreasing the scope of awareness, producing enemies, destroying careers, and poorly impacting business results. This article recognizes some common management blind spots so leaders can realize them and increase organizational performance. One is to share the burden. Managers tend to lean on the statement "if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself", which is okay in some situations, but bad more often than not. If people see you acting as a team of one all the time, they will get frustrated and feel devalued altering their behavior. Another one is impact awareness. When people step into management positions they don't always realize how much impact they have over people resulting in insensitivity. People judge and respond to behaviors, which means you don't want to come off as insensitive or your team will dismiss a lot of what you have to say. The last blind spot for discussion is bottling it up. In a managerial situation, there is no room for avoiding difficult conversations because believe it or not, this will only amplify the problem. If you cannot talk about a specific problem, then it will never get resolved.
-Greg Calabrese
CSI Normal
1. During this activity, I think that we all had different task roles. Richy, Kenny, and Steven were all mainly contributors because they used the three debriefing sheets to find and share information about all of the suspects. I would say that I took the completer role because I was writing down the info that Richy, Kenny, and Steven were sharing on the warrant sheet so we could narrow down who was innocent. We were all playing the role of the critic because we were all trying to be the "devil's advocate" to make sure the right people were innocent. As far as the social and boundary spanning roles, we also played all of them because we were all communicating and working toward our team's goal.
2. I think that the most important role was the contributors and the creator. The contributors are the ones who are actually trying to depict through the debriefing sheets and the creator could change our task so more people could read through the same sheets. This would allow us to discover that the debriefing sheets had different information on them.
3. Given our current group status, I would say that our group is in the performing sage. We are definitely past the forming and storming stages because we have met plenty of times, and no one has their guard up anymore. Norming is a little different I feel. We have set ground rules or norms but they could be subject to change. With that said, since we do have norms, one could say that we are now in the performing stage.
-Greg Calabrese
2. I think that the most important role was the contributors and the creator. The contributors are the ones who are actually trying to depict through the debriefing sheets and the creator could change our task so more people could read through the same sheets. This would allow us to discover that the debriefing sheets had different information on them.
3. Given our current group status, I would say that our group is in the performing sage. We are definitely past the forming and storming stages because we have met plenty of times, and no one has their guard up anymore. Norming is a little different I feel. We have set ground rules or norms but they could be subject to change. With that said, since we do have norms, one could say that we are now in the performing stage.
-Greg Calabrese
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Three Leadership skills that count
http://www.businessweek.com/management/three-leadership-skills-that-count-10212011.html
This article focuses on the good side of management. The three leadership skills that are talked about are productive paranoia, empirical creativity, and fanatic discipline. Productive paranoia is important in that you have to be aware of things that can hurt your company and take steps to ensure safety from possible hazards. Empirical creativity is using creative measures that are based on evidence, not opinion. Fanatic discipline is being consistent in values, goals, and hard work. This article is relevant to our class because it shows good leadership traits that we can work on to make us all better leaders. We could all become more effective leaders by becoming stronger with all of these traits
-Kenny Palmer
This article focuses on the good side of management. The three leadership skills that are talked about are productive paranoia, empirical creativity, and fanatic discipline. Productive paranoia is important in that you have to be aware of things that can hurt your company and take steps to ensure safety from possible hazards. Empirical creativity is using creative measures that are based on evidence, not opinion. Fanatic discipline is being consistent in values, goals, and hard work. This article is relevant to our class because it shows good leadership traits that we can work on to make us all better leaders. We could all become more effective leaders by becoming stronger with all of these traits
-Kenny Palmer
CSI Normal
1. Our team worked together very well in solving the mystery. Most of the ten roles were in play, but the one I noticed the most was cooperator because we all took turns switching papers and looking at the different information. We were all coordinators as we told our findings to the person who designated themself as the communicator who took down all of the information. The role that i played most would be the completer because i noticed the different sheets and was able to get a few names off of our list fairly quickly. It was a fun exercise where we all worked together.
2. All of the roles were helpful in solving the mystery, but the most helpful would have had to been communicator because it helped us to all share our findings with one another.
3. I feel that we are in the Performing stage because we all understand who is good at what and are all doing our own part to accomplish tasks. We all work together well now and tasks are becoming easier to complete as a team.
-Kenny Palmer
Monday, October 24, 2011
Management Improving Behavior
http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/aug2009/ca20090828_011424.htm?chan=careers_managing+your+team+page_top+stories
In past blogs we have talked about the bad and ugly things that go on in business involving Organizational Behavior. Today I am going to talk a little bit about the good side of that same topic. Creative Management Practices for Making Work Work, is an article written by Ellen Galinsky, Tyler Wigton, and Lois Backon about different ideas companies are coming up with in order to keep workers engaged and why they are coming up with these new ideas now. The article talks about the fact that companies are finding it especially important now to help inform there workers about dealing with different situations because of how poor the economy is right now. Companies are informing workers of ways to deal with managing work and home life, welcoming a new baby, as well as dealing with a spouses job loss. With this new information being put out there many people are finding it easier to cope with different challenges and therefore employees are working better and working happier. What are some different ways that you might suggest a manager go about informing employees of challenges they may have? Read the article and write about what may help others through their struggles. Are some struggles inevitable or is there always a way to cope with a situation to reduce stress?
Ricky Hearden
In past blogs we have talked about the bad and ugly things that go on in business involving Organizational Behavior. Today I am going to talk a little bit about the good side of that same topic. Creative Management Practices for Making Work Work, is an article written by Ellen Galinsky, Tyler Wigton, and Lois Backon about different ideas companies are coming up with in order to keep workers engaged and why they are coming up with these new ideas now. The article talks about the fact that companies are finding it especially important now to help inform there workers about dealing with different situations because of how poor the economy is right now. Companies are informing workers of ways to deal with managing work and home life, welcoming a new baby, as well as dealing with a spouses job loss. With this new information being put out there many people are finding it easier to cope with different challenges and therefore employees are working better and working happier. What are some different ways that you might suggest a manager go about informing employees of challenges they may have? Read the article and write about what may help others through their struggles. Are some struggles inevitable or is there always a way to cope with a situation to reduce stress?
Ricky Hearden
Crime Solving
On Thursday in Organizational Behavior class the different team were asked to solve a murder crime using clues in a story that we were given. There are many different roles that different people need to take amongst the teams in order to complete certain tasks. During this exercise I really felt like Kenny was the communicator which is a social team role. He was the first to begin communicating the differences in clues and information on each persons sheet. I felt like Greg did a great job in a contractor role as he was the one writing down all the information in order for us to sort out which persons were innocent. And Steve was a major contributor finding many different clues that led to us solving the murder. I would say that I played the role of completer simply because I found the final clue and then brought the paper up to the professor. All of these roles were important and none more important than another.
I think one role that we did not seem to have in the group was a coordinator. I believe if we had a coordinator that we would have finished the mystery first rather than third. It would have allowed us to ask the questions that we needed to as well as share information amongst the group in a more efficient manner. We discovered that the sheets were different pretty quickly, but if we would have had someone to coordinate between the sheets we would have discovered all of the specific differences much faster.
Lastly, I really feel after the past few team exercises that we have done that our team has really gone into the Performing stage of team development. Each person really knows their individual place on the team and we have set norms or standards for what our team expects to get done on certain occasions. We communicate very effectively and have gotten past any forming issues that we may have had.
Ricky Hearden
I think one role that we did not seem to have in the group was a coordinator. I believe if we had a coordinator that we would have finished the mystery first rather than third. It would have allowed us to ask the questions that we needed to as well as share information amongst the group in a more efficient manner. We discovered that the sheets were different pretty quickly, but if we would have had someone to coordinate between the sheets we would have discovered all of the specific differences much faster.
Lastly, I really feel after the past few team exercises that we have done that our team has really gone into the Performing stage of team development. Each person really knows their individual place on the team and we have set norms or standards for what our team expects to get done on certain occasions. We communicate very effectively and have gotten past any forming issues that we may have had.
Ricky Hearden
Thursday, October 20, 2011
CSI: Normal In Class Excercise
During class, we were assigned an activity that deals with working in groups and teams, and using analytic thinking in order to solve the problem. While doing the exercise, I noticed there were multiple different types of roles each person assumed to get the job done the right way. Some of the roles are, but not limited to; coordinator, contributor, completer, cooperator, and communicator. One person may have held more than one specific role type, but we all collaborated these types to do the task effectively and efficiently. On a personal level, I feel like I mostly fell under the contributor role. While some of my teammates coordinated the different notes we had, and others filled out the arrest warrant sheet to complete the task, I contributed here and there with little facts of information regarding the type of person it could have been.
A role that was very helpful in the assessment was coordinator, because the coordinator was the one who figured out some of the sheets were different, therefore allowing us to exponentially use more information to solve the case. Also, the communicator role was very crucial in determining the sheets were different, as well as helping narrowing down the suspect list in the end.
The stage of development our group is in currently can change depending on the context. For this specific in class exercise, I would say we are in the performing stage. This is because we had to figure out and solve a problem. However, overall we are in the norming stage of the development cycle. Being halfway through the semester, we now are settling in to clear roles and responsibilities. Additionally, instead of arguing over specific ideas, we now are able to come to agreements easier, and find consensus within our team.
Posted by Steven Krygowski
A role that was very helpful in the assessment was coordinator, because the coordinator was the one who figured out some of the sheets were different, therefore allowing us to exponentially use more information to solve the case. Also, the communicator role was very crucial in determining the sheets were different, as well as helping narrowing down the suspect list in the end.
The stage of development our group is in currently can change depending on the context. For this specific in class exercise, I would say we are in the performing stage. This is because we had to figure out and solve a problem. However, overall we are in the norming stage of the development cycle. Being halfway through the semester, we now are settling in to clear roles and responsibilities. Additionally, instead of arguing over specific ideas, we now are able to come to agreements easier, and find consensus within our team.
Posted by Steven Krygowski
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Team Exercise 2
I am a firm believer that CCS is important to team/organizational effectiveness. Behind CCS is an even greater use, which involves getting a group of co-workers to bond in a cohesive group that is efficient and effective. It means to collaborate the efforts of colleagues, coordinate their efforts, and use all of the synergy created to come up with better ideas. However, I do not feel the CCS structure is not always necessary. This is because there will be times where one person may have the ability to master a specific subject pertaining to the task, and therefore be able to conduct it by their self.
There are so many options for both individual and team competencies that are necessary for successful CCS. Some of these include, but are not limited to: relationship management, role awareness, importance of knowledge, and time management. To improve, one can attempt to grow their friendship stronger with fellow employees, strive to have a better understanding of their role in the tasks, read more into their role and the overall objectives, and focus squarely and getting the items completed in a timely fashion. In our team exercise, we could have used our time more wisely, because there were times where we did not just focus on the exercise itself. Also, if we understood our strengths and weaknesses better, we could have possibly made better decisions based on what we do better within the group.
http://www.findacriminaldefenseattorney.com/Profiles/Knowles-Law-Firm-Phoenix/Articles/Collaborative-Efforts-by-Police-Bust-Shoplifting.aspx
In this Article, multiple police municipalities in Arizona used the CCS model and made a major shoplifting bust that has been occurring for several years. With the communication efforts between the cities, they were able to locate and arrest these criminals, halting an end to the shoplifting ring. Without CCS, this could possibly have not led to the same result, and these criminals may still be committing crimes.
Steven Krygowski
There are so many options for both individual and team competencies that are necessary for successful CCS. Some of these include, but are not limited to: relationship management, role awareness, importance of knowledge, and time management. To improve, one can attempt to grow their friendship stronger with fellow employees, strive to have a better understanding of their role in the tasks, read more into their role and the overall objectives, and focus squarely and getting the items completed in a timely fashion. In our team exercise, we could have used our time more wisely, because there were times where we did not just focus on the exercise itself. Also, if we understood our strengths and weaknesses better, we could have possibly made better decisions based on what we do better within the group.
http://www.findacriminaldefenseattorney.com/Profiles/Knowles-Law-Firm-Phoenix/Articles/Collaborative-Efforts-by-Police-Bust-Shoplifting.aspx
In this Article, multiple police municipalities in Arizona used the CCS model and made a major shoplifting bust that has been occurring for several years. With the communication efforts between the cities, they were able to locate and arrest these criminals, halting an end to the shoplifting ring. Without CCS, this could possibly have not led to the same result, and these criminals may still be committing crimes.
Steven Krygowski
CCS Blog Post
1. CCS stands for collaboration, coordination, and synergy. Collaboration is to work with someone in order to produce something. This is important because if you don't collaborate in your group nothing will get done, which is not effective. Coordination is to organize the different parts of a job or plan so that the people involved work together effectively. This is important to team/organizational effectiveness just by definition. Synergy is the extra energy or effectiveness that people or businesses create when they combine their efforts. This is important because it establishes how the group will perform. If there is low or no synergy, teams won't collaborate or coordinate as a unit. It really depends on the task but I would say that these are always necessary for groups that want to have effective outcomes. Collaboration and coordination deal with communicating, and if there is no communication, then there will be no positive product. And synergy is what brings everything together in the sense that people create it when combining everything.
2. I feel like you can’t really put a finger on competencies that are necessary for successful CCS until you’ve been on a team that has failed a task. Since our team did fail the water balloon test, looking back, we could have done some things differently. Some of the competencies that we lacked were time-management, plan organization, and enthusiasm. When we first received our supplies, we knew that we had 5 minutes to plan and 7 minutes to build. Not once did anyone look at the clock and tell everyone how much time was left, which is bad time-management. Second, our pan was not too organized at all. We just kind of took turns saying what we thought were good ideas. What we could have done is write down what we thought were good plans, then collaborated them, and finally coordinate what was supposed to go where. This way plans could have been fused to make the most appropriate one. Last, we lacked enthusiasm, which has to deal with synergy. Before we even started building, everyone, including myself, was saying our balloon was going to get smashed. When you’re not excited and enthusiastic about the task at hand, then you can’t expect a positive outcome when combining efforts. As for myself, I could have updated the group on time, suggested making our own plans and then combining them, or been more enthusiastic towards a successful outcome.
3. In this article 7 people were saved when their boat capsized and sank off the Florida Keys. A person found 3 of the people drifting and called the coast guard, informing them that there were still 4 people drifting at sea. About a hour later, coast guard found them in choppy seas about 4 miles away from where the boat that sank. With any rescue it is critical for effective CCS because they are dealing with terms of life or death. Coast guard had to collaborate and coordinate with each other to have a successful search, and also have synergy so they could find the remaining people.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/09/7-treading-water-for-20-hours-rescued-off-florida-keys/?intcmp=trending
-Greg Calabrese
2. I feel like you can’t really put a finger on competencies that are necessary for successful CCS until you’ve been on a team that has failed a task. Since our team did fail the water balloon test, looking back, we could have done some things differently. Some of the competencies that we lacked were time-management, plan organization, and enthusiasm. When we first received our supplies, we knew that we had 5 minutes to plan and 7 minutes to build. Not once did anyone look at the clock and tell everyone how much time was left, which is bad time-management. Second, our pan was not too organized at all. We just kind of took turns saying what we thought were good ideas. What we could have done is write down what we thought were good plans, then collaborated them, and finally coordinate what was supposed to go where. This way plans could have been fused to make the most appropriate one. Last, we lacked enthusiasm, which has to deal with synergy. Before we even started building, everyone, including myself, was saying our balloon was going to get smashed. When you’re not excited and enthusiastic about the task at hand, then you can’t expect a positive outcome when combining efforts. As for myself, I could have updated the group on time, suggested making our own plans and then combining them, or been more enthusiastic towards a successful outcome.
3. In this article 7 people were saved when their boat capsized and sank off the Florida Keys. A person found 3 of the people drifting and called the coast guard, informing them that there were still 4 people drifting at sea. About a hour later, coast guard found them in choppy seas about 4 miles away from where the boat that sank. With any rescue it is critical for effective CCS because they are dealing with terms of life or death. Coast guard had to collaborate and coordinate with each other to have a successful search, and also have synergy so they could find the remaining people.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/09/7-treading-water-for-20-hours-rescued-off-florida-keys/?intcmp=trending
-Greg Calabrese
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