Archives for the Month of October 2005 on Matthew Racher's Online Journal
Avoiding or Solving Conflict?
After completing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, I realized that my primary mode of living is focused internally. The results considered me to be an idealist. I agreed with most of the comments made on this type of person. They are good listeners, they care about others, and they want to apply their energy towards the greater good of the people around them. One thing that struck me was the fact that this type of person prefers to avoid conflict. I understood this to be a more negative comment. Anyone who avoids conflict does not like to focus on solving problems. They prefer to let issues blow over.
Avoiding conflict can not only hurt the person directly involved, but it can affect everyone around you in a job setting. As a manager, you are responsible for the actions of the people who work for you, and in a way, they rely on your decision making. If a conflict arises, I think it is important to discover the solution before it turns into a bigger problem.
Understanding your Values
When I chose my values from a list of forty- nine values and beliefs, I realized how difficult it is to discern what is important to me. It is hard to cross a value off a list and move on to the next because every value on that list is important to me. After choosing fifteen values, I realized that not even half the battle was over. I had to choose ten of the fifteen, and then five out of the ten values. I had trouble relating this exercise to Management class, after figuring out my five most important values, I realized how useful this exercise could be.
No matter what job position I hold in life, it is necessary that I have a clear idea of what is important to me. Once I realize what values and characteristics I rank above others, I will know more about who I am and why I make the decisions I make. The ability to assess your own personality and motives gives you a broad, more open- minded view on other people’s ideas. This is true because once you realize what is important to you, you can understand that your values are different from the values of others. This is why people make different decisions. They care about the outcome of the decision, but their decision is affected by their conflicting values.
An Approach to Discipline
When I think of discipline, one thing that comes to my mind is the ancient way of the Samurai. Another idea that comes to mind is an effective tool used by managers and supervisors in order to get employees to do a job efficiently. It is difficult to state the right “method of action” in order to get people to be more productive in their jobs, yet discipline is definitely a necessary tool in order for a company to see results.
It is important for managers to keep in mind that discipline is not only the use of verbal force, and, without saying, it certainly is not the use of physical force on a worker. Discipline should be more “self- taught.” By that, I mean it should be established by the manager in a job atmosphere, but instilled in the worker. One may ask, “How is it possible to get a worker to discipline himself?” Although it is hard to find a clear answer to that, this question can be broken down to fit the best interest of the employee. In America, a free country, Americans can pretty much go from job to job without feeling pressured to stay in one job in one industry. Therefore, it is hard to say that discipline will get a worker to work because it could just get them to quit their job and move on. Yet, in order to properly discipline a worker, I think it is important for a manager to establish goals and rewards for their employees. Higher pay, promotions, any benefits at all can make a job more valuable to a worker, thus giving them clearer direction in their work. Once this is established, a manager can set certain guidelines for a getting a job done correctly with more ease. In other words, when going through a dark tunnel, a person wants to know that there is light at the end. With clear statements and guidelines as to how a worker can benefit, a job (the dark tunnel) can be a means to propel the worker towards the company’s goals, which in turn will allow the worker to gain company benefits (the light).
In order to effectively use discipline a manager should understand what’s best for the employee. This in turn will encourage the worker to become more disciplined and “the good of the worker” will eventually become interchangeable with “the good of the company.”
Diversity...Why is it Important?
These days people argue that diversity is vital to a balanced job environment. It seems to me as though diversity, in the modern job world, is exploited in order to uphold a company’s image; to make the company feel as though they are doing the right thing by fulfilling a quota. The Oxford English Dictionary defines diversity as the condition or quality of being diverse, different, or varied; difference, unlikeness. According to this definition, diversity is not only racial diversity, but it is cultural, religious, and behavioral diversity as well. People coming from different backgrounds have a lot to offer to a company. Not only do they bring different ideas to the table, but their opinions on company strategies as well as direction are based on a more worldly view. Diversity is not just allowing the Jewish guy to work with the Indian guy, but it is expanding a company’s objectives, and helping them think outside of the box. A company’s main objective, aside from making money, is reaching out to as many people (customers) as possible. In a diverse world, it is important to maintain a diverse job environment that is conducive to meeting this objective of world-wide networking.