BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 1 Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Organizational behavior is really the combination of four areas of study – psychology, social psychology, sociology, and anthropology. While each of these areas involves an examination of people and their interactions, the focuses are quite different:
Psychology – studies the mind and how people make decisions.
Social Psychology – examines how people work in groups.
Sociology – explores how systems work within the organization.
Anthropology – examines how culture works within the organization.
Now, assume that you are an organizational consultant and have been asked by a new CEO to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the organization.
Of the four areas of study listed above, which would you focus on first?
Make sure to explain why you chose this area, and why it would take precedence over the other areas.
View this short video for guidance.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
 
BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 2 Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
After watching the video, make your case for diversity, and respond to the questions below.
Click here to watch the video
What benefits can a diverse workforce provide to an organization?
What are the possible negative consequences for an organization that does not embrace diversity?
What strategies can managers implement to enhance cultural awareness and overcome preconceived biases or stereotypes?
If you have examples from your own experience, or from recent examples in the news, please make sure to include those in your response.
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
 
BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 3 Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Daniel Goleman, a psychologist, was the first to popularize the trait Emotional Intelligence, sometimes referred to as EI. Emotional Intelligence is a person’s capacity to be aware of her or his emotions and feelings towards others to influence their thinking and actions. The four components of EI are:
Self-awareness – This is your ability to read your own emotions accurately to know how your actions or lack thereof affect others.
Self-management – This is your ability to control or regulate your emotions and act with integrity.
Social-awareness – Gives you the ability to understand the needs of others and show empathy towards them.
Relationship management – this is your ability to communicate clearly and convincingly, reduce conflict and build strong bonds.
After viewing the video, respond to the following questions for this weeks discussion on Emotional Intelligence.
Click here to watch the video
How has your emotional intelligence, or lack of emotional intelligence, positively or negatively impacted your professional or personal relationships?
Choose ONE of the components of EI and explain how it contributes to job satisfaction.
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
 
BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 4 Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Motivation is the psychological process that arouses and directs behavior. There are three theories that will help us understand the motivation of employees in the workplace.
Goal-setting theory – Suggests behavior can be motivated with specific, challenging goals that are obtainable. The key to goal-setting theory is ensuring employees understand what is expected and accept the goals.
Self-efficacy – Is the belief “I Can/Can’t Do this Task.” Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s personal ability to do a task. There is a lot to be said to scoring high in this trait. People who are confident about their ability tend to succeed, whereas those who doubt their ability tend to fail.
Reinforcement theory – Explains how behavior can be altered by administering positive or negative consequences to actions of employees. Behavior with positive consequences tends to be repeated, and behavior with negative consequences tends not to be repeated.
For this week’s discussion, I want you to take a moment to think about what it would take to motivate you to achieve your goals at work, and what it would take to motivate people that you’ve worked with, or your family or friends, to achieve their goals.
Of the four areas of study listed above, which would you focus on first?
Make sure to explain why you chose this area, and why it would take precedence over the other areas.
View this short video for guidance.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
 
BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 5 Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
We have all worked in a group or team at some point in our careers. A team is brought together to achieve a common goal. The team needs to have members who have complementary skills and who are committed to a common purpose to achieve performance goals. However, teams don’t move immediately toward performing, but instead evolve over time. There are five stages of group and team development.
Forming – Getting oriented and getting acquainted. High degree of uncertainty as members as they try to figure out who is in charge.
Storming – Personalities start to emerge, along with roles and conflicts within the group.
Norming – In the third stage conflicts are resolved, relationships developed, harmony and unity surfaces.
Performing – The members concentrate on solving problems and completing the assigned task.
Adjourning – Members prepare to disband. Some members may be reassigned, terminated from the group or the group is resolved.
Think about a time when you joined a new group . . . it could be at work, in a family setting or with a social group.
Which of the five stages was the most challenging for the group to work through, and why?
How might you have helped the group work through that stage differently based upon what you know now about the five stages of group and team development?
View my video for a better understanding.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
 
BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 6 Discussion
Decision making is the process of identifying and choosing alternative courses of action. While we want to make rational decisions, sometimes we don’t . . . sometimes we make non-rational decisions.
There are four steps in rational decision-making:
Recognize and define the problem or opportunity-In business the problem can come in the form of customer complaints, supplier breakdowns, staff turnover, sales decline, etc. Organizations proactively seek opportunities to exceed goals, surpass the industry expectations and to expand and grow the business.
Identify and analyze alternative courses of action-Leaders should seek input from multiple sources to interpret and analyze the problem/opportunity to come up with as many options as possible to solve the issue.
Choose a preferred course of action-The group want to answer the following: (1) Is the action ethical?; (2) Is it feasible? (costs, technology availability; (3) Is it effective? If your answer to this question is the resolution is “good enough” you want to rethink this solution it will cause more harm than good.
Implement the preferred course of action-You need to the participation from all teams to successfully implement the action.
On the other hand, non-rational decisions are generally the result of either Satisficing (going with the first available option without much research) or Intuition (using your “gut” or just your own feelings to make decisions).
For this week’s discussion, think about a time when you made a non-rational decision on the job or in your personal life.
Was it the result of satisficing or intuition?
How would your decision have been different using the four steps for rational decision-making?
How would the steps have helped you to make a better, or more sound, decision?
Don’t forget to view my video for clarity on this weeks topic!
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
 
BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 7 Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Managers spend 1/3 of their time communicating up and down the organizational hierarchy. Communication is the transfer and understanding of information from one person to another. The communication model comprises of several parts.
We want to examine the Communication Pathway or medium in which communication is delivered. The Communication Pathway is the pathway messages are sent, including:
face-to-face meetings,
electronic mail and online discussions,
written letters or memorandums, and
telephone or voice-mail, among others.
While some people may be better at using certain mediums over others, certain mediums can be better suited for the specific message being conveyed.
For this week’s discussion, suppose you are a manager who needs to communicate several messages to employees of the company.
Messages
1. The CEO abruptly resigns after the news media reported, the CEO embezzles millions of dollars
2. A plan to relocate the company
3. The death of an employee
4. The reassignment of one division to a new location
For each of the messages above:
List the medium (telephone, email, text, face-to-face meeting, etc.) you would use to communicate the message.
Explain why you choose that medium over the other possible mediums.
Then, look at the messages from a general sense and explain how your choices affect trust and credibility among the employees.
View the video below for guidance.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
 
BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 8 Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Leadership is the ability to influence others to achieve organizational goals. Organizations spend billions of dollars each year to improve the leadership skills of its employees. Leadership skills are needed within organizations to execute the vision, mission and strategic goals of the organization.
Visit the mind tools website and complete the short Leadership Skills exercise (https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_50.htm). After you explore your strengths and areas for growth, address the following items in your response:
What are your strengths?
Where do you have opportunities to grow your leadership skills?
Based on your assessment results, propose three things you can do to improve your leadership skills.
Watch me walk through my assessment with the video below.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
 
BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 9 Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Organizations from time to time must make hard decisions (expand, layoff employees or close a facility). As a manager you will have to use work experiences, advice from supervisors and the organizational culture to support your decision. Organizational culture is the sum of the values and beliefs shared among employees.
Suppose you are a manager who is faced with having to reduce headcount (layoff one of your two employees) in your unit. Sales within the company have declined due to the downward spiral of the economy each department within the organization is faced with making the same decision. Fortunately, you only have to cut one job; others are reducing more.
Mary is in her mid-20s, single, college graduate, she is very hard working and was in the top 10% of the performance ratings this year, she constantly volunteers to travel, work weekends and evenings. However, she supports political causes that could be viewed as contrary to the goals of the company.
Alice is in her mid-40s, has two young children, her husband is a doctor, her performance is good, and she has above average performance reviews. However, she has limited availability on weekends and limitations onovernight travel due to her volunteer work with local charities.
As a manager who would you select to layoff and why?
What other factors can be used to decide who gets laid off in organizations?
How should an organization choose between a decision that is legal and in the best financial interests of the organization, but which could be viewed as unethical?
View the video below for guidance.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
 
BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 10 Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Organizations that fail to innovate find themselves in a situation where they have to restructure themselves to stay afloat.
Choose 1 of the companies listed below. Use the provided articles to support your understanding of the company’s situation.
Blockbuster        Toys R Us             Circuit City
Blockbuster
View Article(s)  Circuit City
View Article(s)  Toys R Us
View Article(s)
Based on your chosen company, discuss how reorganization of its business structure would or would not have helped them meet new market challenges. In your response, address the following:
Specify at least 2 reasons why you think reorganizing was or was not necessary, and provide an explanation for each reason.
Suggest 2 strategies you think could have improved the company’s efforts to meet current market challenges and remain sustainable.
Watch my video for support with this weeks discussion.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.
 
BUS520 Leadership and Organizational
Week 11 Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
You did it! You’ve reached the end of this course. In doing so, you’ve developed your skills in organizational behavior and leadership. Take what you have learned and continue to apply it, both in your MBA courses and in your career.
In our last discussion, reflect on your experience in this course by addressing the following items in your response:
What skills do you feel you developed most in this course?
Emotional Intelligence
Motivation
Diversity
Leadership
Decision-Making
How do you plan to continue growing your leadership and organizational behavior skills you identified above?
More of a feel-good message but hey you earned it!
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.