December 11, 2006
Last Day of Class
On the last day of class, Professor Piderit asked us to share our favorite experience of the class. I shared that I enjoyed the challenge of working with my HR team during the simulation throughout the course of the fall semester. Additionally, I was glad that I had been put in touch with the Career Center as they are an excellent source of information. I hope to further utilize that connection later in my college career.
Although I did not know what to expect from class this semester, I am glad that I had the opportunity to experience it. The different perspectives and methods of analysis of my fellow classmates were an experience in itself, and I am glad to have been a part of it.
The Learning Plan
The completion of the Learning Plan came sooner than I had expected it to. I would think it is one of the more comprehensive papers that I have completed in my college career. I enjoyed the creation of Part II in which we delved into our goals in depth. I thought that was the more exciting, if not difficult, part of the paper. I included my desire to travel to Europe in the near future. I have never been anywhere outside of North America and would definitely jump at the chance to travel. I think it would be an interesting experience to experience cultures and peoples radically different than what I am used to. Also, I would like to travel when I am employed, so what better way to start than now?
HR Simulation Review
The class discussed the pros and cons of the HR simulation in class. While I think that simulation provided a worthy chance for us to work in a management team situation and provided a chance to experience the aspects of HR, it was not without its shortcomings. First, there was significant confusion as to which incident was used for each quarter. Also, the correlations between the various aspects of the simulation (absenteeism, grievances, morale, accident rate, etc.) worked in mysterious ways at times and the significance of decisions was not always abundantly clear. Regardless, I thought it was a positive experience overall and would recommend it with reservations to the next management class.
Tom Mendola Case
We discussed the Tom Mendola case in class, which dealt with a disillusioned youth who was forced out of high school in order to support his family working in a manufacturing facility. The case dealt with how Tom was repeatedly warned about his poor performance on the job and whether or not it would be appropriate for management to let him go given his circumstances. The class was put into two different sections; one pro-firing and the other anti-firing. While my side had to argue against the termination of Tom, I personally felt that Tom had run out of goodwill at his place of work due to his poor work performance. Only so much can be blamed on extenuating circumstances at home and Tom should look into some way to continue his educational pursuits regardless of his work situation.
Terminating an Employee
In class we discussed how to deal with unproductive employees. I related my own personal experience while employed in the restaurant that I worked in as a line cook. One waitress was particularly ineffective as an employee and engaged in inappropriate behavior on the job site. The owner of the restaurant consulted both myself and the head server to gauge how best to deal with this situation. After making repeated warnings to the employee, it was decided it would be best to fire her. Both myself and two other employees (the next senior line cook and floor manager) accompanied me while I informed her that management could not put up with her behavior anymore, and she was thus terminated.
While it was hard to tell someone that they are being fired, in this case, it was appropriate given the employees behavior. Also, it was good to have multiple people there in order to ensure no one could claim any wrongdoing on any of the employees involved.
November 08, 2006
Eyes to the Future. Feet in the Present.
Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.
I came along this quote from the Greek philosopher Epicurus when surfing the Internet. So I took its discovery as a cue for an entry concerning the dream/goals activity that we did in class this past Tuesday. I thought that the activity was a refreshing departure from the typical class structure that we usually follow. It was a chance to dwell on the outrageous, the mundane, and everything in between as the class discussed where they saw themselves individually in the future. Toward the end of the conversation, one of my classmates contributed that they didn’t necessarily think it was a good idea to spend so much time and thought formulating goals lest we lost track of the present. The quote from Epicurus reminded me of the comment as well as a recent conversation I had with my own father not too long ago.
I was talking with my dad about school finances, how money was tight and related things. I probably took a negative tone and then discussed how I couldn’t wait for graduation and landing a nice job with a steady paycheck. He noted, however, that most adults in the middle of their professional careers fall back on college memories with great fondness, while in one of the great ironies of life, most college students cannot wait to graduate. While it is important to set goals and have dreams, I also think it is important to relish the immediate present. No mortgage payments, car loans, or lawn that needs to be cut. For the time being, I will take math class over that any day.
November 06, 2006
A Return to Ethics?
Lately, it seems that a popular topic of conversation in and out of the business world is the concept of ethical business behavior. I guess this can be expected after the Enron and WorldCom incidents have been burned into our memories along with all the poor people that were so tragically affected. Unfortunately, I feel that many feel that a simply checklist of good ethical behavior suffices when it takes years for people to develop their own personal concept of righteous behavior. Also, it should be acknowledged that some people enter the world of business, as with any other profession, with less than noble ideals. Although I never had the chance to talk with him personally, I am pretty certain that Ken Lay knew what he was doing was taking place outside of the realm of ethical behavior. He knew there was the chance that he could eventually reap what he had sown, and eventually he did.
In my opinion, the focus should be on the chains of command, the supposed checks and balances that broke down so tragically in the case of Enron which led to the eventual catastrophic collapse. It was not the actions of a misaligned group that deceived the rest. The corruption spread far and wide in the case of Enron; from the halls of our government, to the ledgers of Arthur Andersen, back to the phony companies set up my employees at Enron. I would suggest that anybody interested in the specific example of Enron see the movie, “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room,” for the full overview of how far the corruption spread. It is an eye-opening experience.
No one can control the actions or another. Nor can we ensure that all business professionals behave ethically. While it is appropriate to provide the proper environment in which students of business are educated about proper ethical behavior, it cannot just stop there. There also has to be a renewed focus on the function of business as it relates to government, society, and other regulatory bodies. In this way, the effects of a few or even many deviants will be lessened. It’s no easy task and I am in no position to dictate how businesses can return to a focus on ethics. But it is my opinion that focusing on the individual is worthwhile, but it is not the whole picture. We need to look at the larger picture as well.