Management Practices That Spell Doom

 http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/aug2009/ca20090811_861931.htm?chan=careers_managing+your+team+page_top+stories

It is clear that aging contemporary management practices are dying with the economy. Companies have actually been contributing to employees’ bad habits and demanding good behavior through layoffs, yearend bonuses, and automatic pay raises. These practices derive from out of date speculations that are supposed to boost performance but have little to nothing to do with learning and human behavior. When people are solely concerned with the ends, the means of getting there becomes utterly insignificant.

I think management in general can be resurrected by breaking out of the clutches of the ever falling economy. This is done in two ways, one being to educate the new generation of managers to reorganize and reform the way organizations run, mainly with employees. Soon enough, the baby boomer age group will be depleted and current college undergrads will have to hit the ground running. The second way is to train current managers in behavioral science techniques so they can pave the way to a new era and access employee’s full potential. These solutions are very relevant to all our lives today because in time we will be thrust upon the world of management.   

 -Greg Calabrese

Handling Make-or-Break conversations

http://www.businessweek.com/management/handling-makeorbreak-conversations-09232011_page_2.html
We all have important conversations that can be life changing.  Maybe a job interview or a conversation with a boss that has serious effects on our lives.  The result of these conversations will have to due with how well we are able to handle the pressure.  Three reasons people perform poorly in serious conversations are inability to control emotions, lack of safety ,and silence and violence. Three things that help people perform better in conversations are safety, goals, and focus.
   This article is important in our stage of life because we will be going through serious interviews to find a career in the next year.  Once we graduate from college we will all try to find a job that we want for the rest of our lives.  Our ability to handle a serious conversation without being too nervous could make a huge difference in the way we live our lives.
-Kenny Palmer

Things Not to Say to a Laid-Off Worker

http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/03/02/5-things-say-just-laid/

Whenever someone just was recently laid off from their job, it is always a sticky situation.  The person is almost always upset, and human instinct tells us we should offer encouraging words to them letting them know everything will be all okay.  However, in such a sensitive time off a persons life, we may possibly say the wrong thing to them.  This article displays a list of 5 things one should not say to a recently laid off worker.  In the article, there are common sense phrases that are obvious, such as "What did you do to get fired."  I did find a couple interesting phrases they say not to say, like "Don't worry, you'll find a new job in no time."  One must be very careful when discussing this with their friend.

I found this fitting in this time because of the high unemployment numbers in this day and age. With numbers creeping around 10%, it is very likely that you know at least one person suffering from unemployment within your group of family and friends.  After every phrase and comment, Fox Business offers a different version of the previous statement. I have a hard time believing that people do say these things still, especially in today's environment.  Why can't we use more sense in discussing such serious topics?  More consideration needs to be involved.  The bigger problem is why are we in such a bad position economically where we are forced to have multiple discussions such as this?  The question may not be relevant to the blog post, but I am just trying to spark ideas for discussion...

Steven Krygowski

10 Things Not to Say

There are a million different things that managers can say to enhance their employees future performance. However, there are also bad ways to try and accomplish the same thing. Ten Things Only Bad Managers Say is an article from businessweek.com written by Liz Ryan about things managers say which have a terrible effect on employee's performance. These ten phrases are great examples of what not to say, or how to be a bad manager.

This article went right along with the first reflection paper assignment given to the MQM 221 Organizational Behavior class by Dr. Sheep. The assignment was to interview the best Organizational Behavior Manager that you knew, and there is no way that any of the interview for the papers of the class had any of these sayings in them. Frankly, it is kind of difficult to believe that people still say these types of things with all the information out there telling the world not to say those things. If it is so well known and seemingly understood of at least what not to do, why do managers everywhere still say these terrible things? Is it an emotional thing? What would make them want to say these things in the first place? Why would these phrases ever be considered to be helpful in the future of an organization?

Richard Hearden

Is There Enough Work-Life Balance Out There?

http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/mar2009/ca20090327_734197.htm

In the article above, it explains that many businesses do not have a well developed plan for work-life balance in their organization.  It also explains how during the economic downturn that people are searching for careers with a good-work life balance because they are more driven during work.  The number of employees satisfied with work-life balance has dropped significantly in the poor economy and this has people not happy with the work they are doing, thus not doing work to their capability.

I feel that businesses need to put a larger emphasis on the work-life aspect of their employees in order to receive quality work from them.  Although the economy is down, if they do this, they will have better and more driven workers which will show in the long run.  If they do not do this, I am afraid things could get UGLY!

So, I ask you all, should employers make work-life balance a priority?  Is work-life balance a bad or good thing for employees to have with consideration of the economy?  If a change is not made, could it get ugly for many employers? Let me know what you all think!

--Posted By: Trey Tennell

MQM 221 Introduction

Our group consists of Kenny Palmer, Steve Krygowski, Greg Calabrese, Trey Tennell, and Ricky Hearden. This blog will have a theme about "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." We will deal with everything from scandals to major breakthroughs in the business world. We will keep a very interesting and up to date page, and feel free to comment on any of our posts at any time. We will keep our audience informed.