Ethical Dilemma for Leaders - Report Example

I. Ethical Dilemma 2- Executive Compensation While it is true that top executive should be paid well, seeing as how theyre often responsible for their companies making millions of dollars, these executive shouldnt be making 200 times as much as the average worker. This is quite an exaggeration which may very well cause feelings of resentment and disapproval in the hearts and minds of the workers, something that will likely lead to their job performance to go down. 2. It isnt ethical for managers to take large pay increases while laying off employees. It clearly sends the wrong message to the employees, telling them that they are expendable and much less important than the managers. It conveys to them that the management doesnt care about them, but only about themselves. 3. Companies arent being socially responsible when paying executives premium compensation. They are failing to acknowledge the part the regular workers played in the companys success, neglecting to address this at all. Firm size and performance are factors affecting the executive compensation, yet employees are overlooked and executives still get their premium compensation packages. II. Best Leader 1. The best leader Ive ever known was one that was extremely articulate, charismatic and even dramatic. She would capture the attention of her surrounding people, which were drawn to her and mesmerized by her words. She talked to people as their equal, not looking down upon them, and therefore quickly gained their respect and approval. People were keen to listen to her. 2. CVS Corporation 1) CVS management looks for people with a desire to advance in position, natural leaders, and people with organizational and social skills when trying to find good potential leaders. 2) Managers view lack of motivation as a pitfall that prevents employees from pursuing leadership opportunities. 3) CVS teaches complex problem- solving skills by running simulations of these types of situations and training their future leaders step by step on how to solve those problems. III. 1. Doing the right thing can sometimes be difficult or tricky, but it is still the thing we should do. For example, I once found a wallet with a lot of money, looked around and no one was there, and saw no ID card or identifying details in it. I took the wallet to the police, so they can look for its rightful owner. Also, a friend of mine once took a test in which he got a great score, but noticed that his teacher miscalculated his grade and gave him a higher grade than he was supposed to get. He went to her and told her about it, knowing it would probably lower his grade. IV. Ethical Dilemma 1 1. I and other students spend between 0-2 hours a week in preparation for the classes, for each 1 hour class we have. It varies among students, as some dont spend any time and some spend much time. 2. I dont believe college professors spend as much time preparing for every class. Given their experience, they are used to teaching the same material and dont require as much preparation for class. Also, they are probably somewhat worn-out from years of teaching, and this is why they have dropped the standard. 3. It is, in my opinion, impossible to ascertain whether students who are putting-in part-time hours will be well prepared for a career after graduation. It is up to the individual student, depends on his or her abilities, motivation, desire to succeed, etc. 4. It is not ethical for professors to drop the standards or socially responsible for colleges to award degrees for doing less work today than what was done in the past. The whole point of standardization is that is remains constant, equal and fair for everyone, and this is not the case here. V. 1. My motivation theory is to always treat others as my equals, be open and receptive to their ideas, suggestions and complaints. If I treat them fairly and with honor and dignity, and try to inspire them and encourage them to work hard, making sure it is worth their while- I truly believe they will do their best, and so will I in making them feel happy and content at work, motivated to work and succeed. 2. Buffalo Zoo 1) The needs most important to the employees of the zoo are the esteem and self-actualization needs. They needed to feel achievement, the respect of others and by others, while also being creative, solving their problems on their own and having the freedom to do so. Dona Fernandez accomplished this by giving employees authority to make decisions and act on new ideas. They can be creative, they are respected and trusted. 2) Ms. Fernandez uses positive reinforcement in her management style. She participates and shares her idea with her employees, and lets them come up with new ideas on their own. She encourages them to do so and empowers the staff by being open and receptive to their thoughts and desires. The atmosphere in the zoo has become upbeat and optimistic, and this also motivated workers. VI. A previous manager I once had used to only criticize his workers when he held company meetings. He would only talk about the negative aspects of the workers performance, and announce his decisions in front of everyone. In one case, he passed by a certain worker and told her, in front of all her friends and co-workers, that she was fired. He was totally ineffective in using rewards and punishments, and quickly caused people to resent him and want to quit their jobs there. VII. 1) I prefer to use the Fiedler Contingency Model in my job. It claims that the group effectiveness depends on an appropriate match between a leaders traits and the demands of the situation. This is an assertion I fully agree with, because it is the combination of the leaders abilities and capabilities with the situation at the workplace that determines how workers will perform, according to the treatment theyll receive. 2) The Vermont Teddy Bear Company 1. Liz Robert is a task-oriented leader. Shes taken a scientific approach to understand the market and customers of the company, and has used detailed research to help make major decisions, ones which will progress her toward her task of advancing the company. 2. Robert mostly uses the scientific and informative path-goal leadership style. She relies heavily on the current research and other data available about her market and customers in order to form strategies that will help the company reach its goal of success. 3. Liz Roberts leadership style might probably improve the companys culture immensely. The workers are happy and more motivated. She has won the admiration of many among the company, and this can cause a better work environment and culture for the company. VIII. 1. Several things can improve our communication. First, we have to keep our communication lines open at all times, to never close up and reject communication. This will help the communication to be constant and flowing. Second, we should treat each other with respect, and refrain from yelling or arguing in loud voices. Talking calmly and respecting each other while communicating helps the parties communicating feeling at ease and comfortable. 2. A previous manager Ive had used differences of opinions as a conflict management style whenever hed disagree with someone else. For example, another manager of the company wanted to downsize in the number of employees, my manager told him right away that he doesnt agree and that this is very wrong. 3. * 4. Le Meridien 1. Bob van den Oord uses oral message-sending when he walks around the hotel to inspect it and also in meetings with managers and staff. 2. Nonverbal communication is important in the hotel, as staffers and managers use technological means also to convey their messages. But it is considered less important and preferable than verbal conversing. 3. Oord encourages employees to express their feelings and thoughts in different ways and does his best to please them become happy workers work well. IX. 1. Ive worked with several leaders in the past, and they were very different. The first was a decent, honest, respectful man, and this is what defined him as a good leader. He personally encourages me to voice my opinions in front of him, and therefore we had a good relationship. The other was exactly the opposite of this- impatient, angry and unreceptive to other opinions. We did not have a good relationship. 2. * X. 1. In a situation where I had to be creative, my supervisor and the organization didnt facilitate my effectiveness, but rather left it to me to make all the decisions and did not bother to assist me at all. While it should be their job to facilitate and encourage effectiveness, they just didnt care and leave it to me. 2. In a meeting I once had, we received an agenda prior to it, but it was general and quite vague. The leader conducted the meeting well, clearly stating our goals and desires. He also appointed each one to do something in which he or she was good at. It could have gone better if we were able to give more input and influence the work process. 3. Cannondale 1. Cannondale organizes its teams in teams in order to utilize that as a coordinated teamwork working together efficiently instead of single individuals who are coordinated and are less organized. 2. The teams need to produce bikes that are technologically advanced and affordable. They also have to be enjoyable and durable. This requires the managers to motivate and inspire the teams to do their best and to show their appreciation to the workers. XI. 1. My current employer is more transactional. He operates while seeing the goal, the business transaction in mind. For example, hes willing to make changes in projects even if they reduce the profit by a certain degree, because eventually its better than not closing the deal. 2. Nike 1. In my opinion, Knight and Perez are charismatic leaders. They can capture a listeners attention, and they have a way of applauding the workers and inspiring them to keep on working well, as they do already. They compliment their workers and make them feel that their workplace is a great one. 2. Perez has been known to be able to motivate and bring about changes, advancements and a boost to previous companies hes worked at. He launched them to the next level, business-wise. 6. Perez belongs on the more independent continuum of Tanenbaum and Schmidts model. He makes his decisions on his own and doesnt delegate much. 8. * 9. Perez can be described as an effective leader. Due to his charismatic nature, he can probably present obstacles as challenges and opportunities, therefore challenging the staff and making them work harder to overcome these obstacles and turn them into something good. XII. 1. Its not ethical or socially responsible to ask people to buy American products, especially since they are at time inferior at quality and cost more. Also, on rare occasions only do all the components of a product come from America and this means that the product isnt really American. 2. Buying foreign products is also problematic, because it may adversely affect jobs people have within America. Moreover, people rarely know where a product is produced, so the question is somewhat irrelevant. XIII. 1. In my place of work, several leadership actions have been taken, including the motivation of workers, giving them incentives for a good performance and encouraging them to voice their opinions. 2. One obstacle thats been removed from my place of work is lack of motivation of the workers. They were inspired and motivated to work after changes in management and attitudes toward them. 3. Lockheed Martin 1. The company has a very high performance culture. It strengthens good principles like equality, diversity, opportunities for growth and many more, and this gives incentive to workers to perform better at work. 2. A proactive approach was taken in regards with diversity by the launch of the Workforce Diversity Initiative, which helps implement diversity programs at strategic business unit levels. 3. The organizational form suitable for such a company is clearly a learning one rather than a traditional one. This company is all about innovation, improvement, advancement, and should therefore by of a learning model, which constantly grows and evolves. 4. Many actions were taken to shape the companys culture, including the designation of slogans, mission statements, clear definition of values and goals, including incentives to workers to help them work better and with a greater desire to improve and evolve at their work. 5. The self-managed team concept in which a team of people is solely responsible for a product doesnt really fit a corporation like this. It is imperative that a supervisor be involved in the process and approves the product, given the high reputation and scope of the company. 6. Stevens clearly uses a transformational leadership. He is focused on making workers grow and evolve, transforming them into better workers and the company to a more defined and coherent place of work, with goals and mission statements clearly visible and tangible. XIV. 1. An inspiring mission statement: "We are here for our employees every step of the way, and they are here for the customers in the exact same way!" 2. * 3. Fallon 1. The strategic factors the company considered were the possible massive growth of operations and opportunity to learn from other markets around the world but also the language and cultural barriers. 3. In order to help its employees overcome their resistance to going global, the leaders could hold staff meetings and assure them that the change will not affect their creative liberties and freedoms, but can only increase it, and that it will not be hindered in any way. XV. * XVI. * Read More