OBHR 3310 ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR FINAL TEAM REFLECTION PAPER-SIMULATION #1-3 FALL 2013

Directions Answer each question with complete sentences and thoughtful concepts which you learned over the semester (you may refer to your textbook/slides/simulation workbook/simulation program as needed). Please refer to the corresponding simulation you completed using your own experience while completing that simulation to answer each set of question. Review the grading categories given at the end. Each answer requires more than one quick sentence or yes/no answer be sure to explain your thinking! Type all your answers 12 pts Times New Roman 1 inch margin single spaced. Include THIS cover page with the information asked below, and staple all pages together. The due date is Monday Dec. 16th 4 pm submitted IN MY OFFICE JSOM 4.403 PRINTED STAPLED ETC (slide it under my door). This is a team assignment based on your combined experience via the simulation. Answer all questions based on your joint experiences not just one person, it is ok if you had different experiences, just tell me about it! You may type you answer directly below each question, if you do not list the full question be sure to list the number of that question before to type your answer. Please see and include when you turn in your paper, at the very end for the grading categories.

YOUR NAMES: Seth Hale, Nickolas Johnson, Varinder Singh YOUR TEAM #: A16 CLASS SECTION: 002

Simulation One

1a. Understanding the needs of a subordinate is important, because if we can understand and address their needs, they will be more willing to work with us to achieve out needs. If the subordinate believes that we have an interest in their lives, and that we respect them as a person, they will be much more likely to respect us both as a person, and their boss. 1b. Olis personal needs in the first simulation included a desire to take a day off to look at an apartment and a desire to extend Corey an invitation to an employee coffee break. By agreeing to go on the coffee break, Corey showed Oli that he has respect for his employees and wants to be a part of the team. 2a. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs is based on the theory that humans naturally rank their needs in a hierarchical fashion: as basic needs are fulfilled, humans naturally begin looking for the next level of needs. For Oli, his need to look for an apartment is a biological/physiological need; Oli needs a home and wont be able to live in his current apartment for much longer. The Team Coffee Break goal is more of a social need; Oli wants to be a part of a group of his peers, and also wants to be friends with Corey. Inviting Corey to coffee with his peers is a good way for Oli to fulfill both of these desires. 2b. Motivation is the desire to achieve a goal or a certain performance level. It usually leads to more goal-directed behavior. Through this simulation, I learned that while my motivation may be entirely different from a subordinates, we can still work together in a way that leads to both of our needs being met. 3a. Transformational leadership is leading by aligning employee goals with the leaders goals. This technique requires use of charisma, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration in order to increase influence among the leaders subordinates. Charisma is a sense of compelling attractiveness or charm that can influence ones followers. To be more charismatic in simulation one, I can support both Oli and his needs. Doing so will help him trust me, and will make him more eager to help me out in return. 3b. Once I motivate Oli, he becomes a lot more willing to help Corey, and also feels more comfortable introducing his personal goals. He becomes more eager to do the business cards and computer set up, and even tells Corey about the employee coffee break and his apartment troubles. 4a. Attitude is made up of three components: the affective component (how one feels), the cognitive component (how one thinks), and the behavioral component (how one acts). Changing an attitude is not necessarily an easy task, but it can be done. 4b. My attitude toward Oli depends on how willing he is to help me accomplish my tasks. While I understand that he has other things to do, I also know that I need certain things done, including the printing of business cards, and a computer account set up. If Oli is unwilling to set aside his other tasks to help me out, I will start to develop a more negative attitude toward him. Likewise, if I am unwilling to help him complete his tasks, he will start to feel negatively about me. 5a. I learned in this scenario that negotiation and compromise dont have to lead to both parties

being unsatisfied. It is very easy for both my needs and Olis needs to be met, if we both approach each other with an open mind and a willingness to find a solution. 5b. There are many different options in simulation one. I can completely disregard Olis needs and force him to do what I want, or I can be completely passive and allow Oli to fill his own needs and not address mine. The best option is probably to allow him to look for his apartment, and to attend the coffee break, but to also push the business cards and computer setup until Oli agrees to take care of them. He is reluctant at first, but will agree after enough green clicks. Simulation Two 1a. Task and personal conflicts promote a strong level of productive competition within the context of work relationships. They can be detrimental as well. The key element is finding a balance. Allocating resources to tasks as well as maintaining a healthy work relationship with coworkers are of a primary concern, but this also needs to be balanced with productive levels of conflict to promote a higher quality work environment. 1b.The meeting definitely starts off as dysfunctional with Rosa and Oli finding next to no common ground other than they both want people to stop complaining and to fix the morale issue. Oh, how I share their sentiments in this meeting. After passing a few work morale related topics they both seem to relax and ready to get behind the more pressing issues. 2a.You can play these two against each other a little bit. Each provides different points of views and frustrations, however gaining the support and respect of one causes the other to push against or align with current ideas. This provides a better situation for passing ideas or bringing up hidden ideas. 2b. The conflict that exists between Oli and Rosa is interpersonal. They have differing ideas on how certain policies and practices should be carried out in the work place. Once these issues are resolved or by-passed they are far more receptive to working with you or others. 3a. The conflict between Rosa and Oli involves you because you are their direct superior. I think both are looking for justification for their points of view and use Corey as a catalyst for their own devices. Sadly for them I wasnt putting up with that and shot down both of their attempts to push me in their direction. 3b. Oli quotes Will a few times as if he has clout with him. Rosa also talks about what Will would want or not want. They both seem to think they know what the upper management want or dont want and talk as if they are trying to be extensions of the upper management. 4a. First, its important to understand both sides of the conflict and understand where both parties are coming from. Then its important to set up a middle ground. Very rarely should there be a winner and a loser as that is counter-productive to morale and good competitive nature. I would focus on a win-win scenarios and then ensure that a resolution was met, putting the issue to rest. Should the issue persist then more drastic measures such as negative performance evaluations up to termination might be necessary. Regardless of the conflict or personal differences, finding common ground to collaborate and work efficiently is paramount in the work place, and those

that cannot be team players will not survive. 4b. In order to coach a mid-manager to resolve conflict, one should focus on win-win resolutions. It is important for internal competitive conflict that a clear winner and loser is never officially determined by management unless that is the express goal of the conflict. Make sure you understand both sides of the issue so a good common ground can be met. Know when to call it quits. If too many resources are being spent to satisfy or deal with the same issue between employees either take steps to remove the issue from the work place or remove the offending party from the team, situation, or even the job. Play nice enough to work together or there is the door. 4c. Hostile work environments largely dont produce optimal results. Once Rosa and Oli are brought to a common ground and understanding, a lot of productive discussions can take place. For instance once the issue of Fix Environment is passed, both are more receptive to working together with you and each other. 5a. I consider myself a leader. I have the experience and the skills need to succeed in this kind of position. Conflict resolution is no stranger to me. I have a fairly high tolerance for conflict and enjoy competitive team environments both in recreation and in work environments. 5b. One way I could increase my resilience to difficult situations is to remain calm. I have a tendency to get emotional and involved in difficult situations and can lose my head if I dont retain some mental fortitude. 5c. Ive learned that no one likes Oli. Generally we had pretty similar experiences for the entire scenario. However we all ran it 5+ times to try to achieve the highest score so we discussed strategy on how to achieve that goal. Simulation Three 1a. Power is defined by the ability or capacity to perform. Now in an organizational standpoint it is the ability or capacity to fulfill duties, and the ability to influence others. If a subordinate has the power to complete a task that said person does not complete, then the boss has the power to reprimand the employee. Power in an organization generally works in a hierarchy form, but it is not as formal as authority. Authority in an organization is formally given, while power is generally attained with personal influence. The lower of the pyramid you are in the organization, generally the less power you have. 1b. Herman has the authority in this meeting. He has been sent in from the Nortic Corporate audit office. Will is second in authority as he is over Corey and the others. The power of the meeting is controlled by influence. Corey contains the power in the meeting due to his ability to influence others to disregard Wills sales retreat plan, in order accomplish the Call Centers goals. 1c. Authority is different from power, because authority is formally given. Authority comes from the organizations head, such as a CEO, and works its way down to the bottom of the

organization. Power can be viewed as more informal and personal. Its the ability to influence subordinates or superiors what needs to get done. In this simulation, Corey has the ability to not focus on Wills goals of the sales retreat, and accomplish what needs to get done at the office. 2a. Organizational politics are very common characteristic in organizations. They root from just having different people and ways of thinking in the office. By being a boss, there are several different ways to tell your subordinates a certain way of doing things, such as, Well do it this way, compared to, How do you think we should do it? Organizational politics originate from the leader in the office, and the way said leader likes to run his office. 2b. Will starts the meeting by telling Corey, We have an unexpected guest, dont bring up the call center. He is trying to control the meeting before it even starts. He has an agenda and would like to get his goals accomplished during the meeting while disregarding the others. By redclicking on Will you get the ideas that really need to be brought up such as the Call Centers work, which Herman brings up. 2c. Will tries to control the meeting before it even starts. He tries to influence you to not bring up the call centers work that needs to get done, so that the office can use its resources to go on the sales retreat, instead of focusing on the call centers issues. It makes me feel that Will is not in congruence with the office. He has his own personal agenda of what needs to get done, and does not care for the goals of the office as a whole. 3a. If you were to agree with Will on the call center then the office does not have enough resources to work on the Call Center. I decided to red-click on Will, because his goals were not good for the organization as a whole. Herman brings up that we need to work on the Call Center and thats the direction that the organization should be headed towards. Once Herman decided to bring up the Call Center, I green-clicked on him, Rosa, and Oli. I did this in order to go against Will and his idea of the sales retreat. Essentially Will was frustrated that he was not able to go on the retreat, but could not act on his actions due to the fact that there were 4 other employees that went against him. 3b. If I were confronted by power and politics in my job, I would have to focus on the companys goals as a whole. You have to do what is best for the company as that is the reason you are hired. Although you have a set of goals that will make you look better for the company, you cant put those in front of what the company needs from you. 4a. When Will tells me not to discuss the Call Center in order to bring up his Sales Retreat, it feels that he has his own set of goals in mind, without considering the goals of others, and the company as a whole as a matter of fact. He essentially tries to belittle you and give you a command of not bringing up an important issue in the workplace. But he doesnt tell you that he is going to bring up his own issue in the meeting. He only tells you not to bring up the call centers work before the meeting. Once he brings up the sales retreat, it is infuriating that he has the nerve to tell you to not bring up your issue and then brings up his own that he would like to get done. 4b. It felt great to go against Wills sales retreat option. Although we don't know the aftermath of the effect, but at the time he got what he deserved. He does not have the authority to tell you to

not bring up an issue that is relevant in a meeting where there is a corporate officer there. As soon as you see that he wants to bring up the sales retreat, after he tells you to not mention the call center, you are kind of left with a Did he really just do that? reaction. Each day spent at the job is resources the company is putting in to accomplish their goals as an organization. Will would like to use those resources to go on a sales retreat in order to increase his sales numbers, when the call center is what really needs work, as brought up by Herman. 5a. If I could have changed how the meeting started, I would have told Will that he cant tell me to not say something. I would have told him I have the ability to bring up the call center or to not mention it, but he does not have the right to tell me what not to say. 5b. Ive learned from Scenario 3 that you have to work together to accomplish what you need done as a whole. Each person has their own set of classes and goals for the semester, and each person has a different schedule. The key is communication, letting others know when you are busy or free and that whether you have the ability to complete certain tasks. Everybody has their own agenda that needs to be accomplished and the key is working out a time that everything can get done. Simulation One, Two, and Three 1. Leadership in vLeader is based on three core elements: Power, Ideas, and Tension. Power is the ability to influence other people in order to achieve your desired outcomes. Power is either formal (an employers power over an employee) or informal (when one person respects another enough to listen to what they have to say). When Corey has power, green and red clicks have more of an effect on the blue progress bar, and other characters are more likely to change their minds on certain topics. Without power, it is very difficult getting anyone to see eye to eye with Corey, and his actions are ineffectual. The second core element is centered on creativity and innovation. A leader who can generate more ideas, or encourage others to make suggestions, can help resolve conflicts and disagreements in more efficient ways. For example, if Corey can put Oli at ease, he will bring up the employee coffee break and his apartment situation. Addressing these concerns will make Oli more responsive to Coreys needs, and overall make Oli feel more comfortable around Corey. Addressing these needs now will get Oli on Coreys side in the future, which is very important in later simulations. Finally, the third element is tension. Controlling tension is crucial in vLeader and in real life: too high, and other people shut down and are afraid to continue participating in the meeting; too low, and they get too relaxed and dont feel any need to stay active. Raising and tension was critical in simulation three: Hermans tension must be raised enough to encourage him to suggest funding phase 2, while Rosa and Oli must be relaxed enough to both work together and against Will, to ensure that the funding goes to the call center and not Wills sales retreat. 2. Non-verbal communication is any exchange of information that does not occur vocally. It can include body language, facial expressions, posture, and several other factors. Body language is crucial in interpersonal interaction, accounting up to 55% of communication between individuals, and only 7% of a receivers understanding of a message is based on the senders actual words. With enough practice, non-verbal communication can be understood just as easily as verbal communication, and monitoring ones own non-verbal signals is an important skill to learn. Characters in vLeader frequently exhibit non-verbal communication, depending on their

tension. If the character is tense, they will fidget, such as clicking a pen or tapping a table. If they are more neutral, they will take notes, or take a drink from a nearby cup. If they are relaxed, they will yawn, or begin to slouch down in their chair. Paying attention to these cues is critical to understanding the current environment and deciding how to proceed forward with the meeting. If a character is visibly nervous, they wont be as productive and green clicking on them will help them relax. Too comfortable, and they will disengage from the meeting. A red click will bring them back into line. 3. I felt most of these things, though not directly involved to actions in the scenarios. Largely I felt anger toward Oli. From scenario one through three this man made my life difficult. In fact I could say I felt all of those things, except maybe fear, from my time with Oli. Anger, oh anger. This was felt at the end of each scenario with their incessant need to finish meetings. Or a refusal to get behind ideas I was trying to enforce. Joy, this was felt at the completion of each exercise and when I knew I had successfully completed all the objectives. Shame? Not really for myself, largely for Oli. This mans frustrations weighed heavily on my opinion of him. Who asks their new boss for time off to go apartment hunting? Surprise, not really. Perhaps the first time I got a hidden objective to reveal itself. Was nice to see the process of revealing peoples hidden ideas. 4a. Emotional Intelligence is a persons Emotional IQ. This relates to ones ability perceive how others are feeling and predict and react to their nonverbal communication. This is about reading someones face, understanding the tone of their voice, and read between the lines of communication. 4b. Emotional intelligence can better interactions with coworkers through the use of empathy and understanding nonverbal communication. These skills will drastically improve your ability to handle social situations with much greater success. This allows deeper connections and understanding with those around you and ultimately results in a more satisfying experience for you and those around you. 5a. This simulation has allowed me the realization that each individual has their own set of goals that need to get done for the day. And the key is communication of said goals in order to accomplish them. The simulation allows me to view other peoples goals and not necessarily protrude on what I think is the best way to go about any group project. The simulation makes me aware that people are not always going to have common objectives in mind, even when they are working on the same project. 5b. In spring 2013 I worked on a marketing project with 3 other students. 1 of whom were always late and always behind on the schedule that we decided when we started the project. When we were meeting for the project, Magie, Brock, and I were the 3 out of the 4 that were always on time and ready to go. Magie was getting upset at the fact that the last group member would never be productive and was starting to turn her back on the project. I told her that we have an agenda that needs to get done and that the late group member will still be responsible for the work, and we could always talk to the professor before we turn it in if he was not able to complete it. I reassured her if that we just got what we needed to do done, then everything would be alright. We talked to the student many times, but he was very laid-back and you could even say lazy. He would always reassure that he would get his part done, and then he never would. Magie was fine with us working without him, and we ended up having to tell the professor of our

issues, due to the fact that the student kept missing deadlines and that the project was 30% of our grade.