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A631.9.2.RB – Video Debrief of Team MA

            Steve Jobs was and still is to be known as one of the biggest entrepreneurs of all times. His vigorous need to innovate the computer and technology world, led him to create numerous products. Nevertheless, such success did not come without its challenges. His demanding and perfectionist personality attributed to been removed from his first company, Apple Computer. After such bitter moment, he decided not to give up and create, Next Incorporated. It was not easy to start allover again with the reputation he brought from his first company. Thankfully, some of the previous employees ended up following him, as they believed in his ideas. The true journey starts then, where innovation and money is not enough.

            Jobs had unreasonable expectations about how he wanted to handle and deliver a start-up company, in this case, Next Incorporated. He really did not care much for how much stress this was going to create to his employees. He truly wanted to believe that his mission was, “to build computers that change the world and that our friends can afford to buy; to build a great company, so exciting and fulfilling that we can't wait to come to work in the morning” (Nicholson, 1997, para. 4). Comparing his management styles with mine, I believe with have some similarities, as I am a perfectionist by nature. My assessment results indicate that I belong to a large venture dynamic with independent business units or divisions. In other words, I need to belong to large organizations but have the flexibility to work on my own with little to no supervision if possible. The data and perfection characteristic results reflect a, “tendency to prefer gathering significant quantities of data, and driving for perfection such that their ability to accept less of either may lead to indecision or frustration” (NextSteps Research, 2015, p. 5). Consistently, Jobs management focus was in creating a perfect product. Moreover, Steve Jobs, wanted to create or build the company’s technology from the heart, and not just a product that would eventually provide financial stability.

            Additionally, Jobs has a dreamer/believer personality, and he does not fear failure; he was a risk taker. As he mentioned, “make it or break it” (1989). He would much rather go broke and spend even more than the $7 million dollars he spent on the company at the beginning, than having to deal with the deception of knowing he never tried. Similar to my report, I am not afraid to takes risks. “The ability to both assess the “risk vs. reward” of a decision or situation, and rapidly make choices based on those assessments is a key to success in this environment” (NextSteps Research, 2015, p. 3). It is not that I have no care for the outcome of the situation, but I rather say I failed than to regret not trying at all. I would have probably done the same thing in this specific case. According to the Management Assessment Profile (2015), I report a logistical leadership management style. This translates to having focus for questions such as who and what. Leaders with this management style tend to be concerned about who did something and what exactly happened. We really do not care how or why, we just do it.

            Although, his innovation creativity was leading him to the “big moment,” the price they wanted to collect from the public was too high. Three thousand dollars is not an accessible price to students, much less affordable. In this regard, I would have tried being more realistic as to what the general population considers affordable at that time. Lastly, the new company was already under pressure, as the competed against Apple Computer. Consequently, most of the employees were not ready for a change, and were faced with having to accept those changes. Additionally, they were not ready to confront the future of the company with their previous reputation.

            A good alternative that could have suited their problems was, that of being more credible. Steve Jobs should have been more realistic about the product he wanted to launch to the market and offer his employees more time to come out with an innovative computer. Although, Jobs’ management skills did make the company go far; he failed to be a true leader, as he never gave the opportunity for others to provide their opinion without being judged or declining their ideas. Therefore, it is recommended to develop listening skills and provide that time to his employees who have expertise in how long it really takes to have a product done. The critical deadline he was trying to impose into his followers only brought unnecessary stress.

            Reflecting back on my past experience, the Management Assessment, and the information presented in the video, I feel certain that I would have fit into the initial NeXT culture. As long as there were new and challenging projects for me to work on I would have continued to thrive at the organization. Once the organization settled into a repetitive cycle, I would have been looking for stability that might not have occurred at NeXT.     

References

Nathan, J. (1989, Mar 17). Entrepreneurs. Nathan/Tyler Productions. Retrieved from 

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loQhufxiorM&feature=youtu.be

NextSteps Research, (2015). Management Assessment Profile Report. Pp. 1-8. Alexandria, VA 22314.

Nicholson, D. (1993, Nov 23). Book world; how Steve Jobs hexed NeXT. The Washington Post (Pre-1997 Fulltext) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/307691153?accountid=27203

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A631.8.4.RB – Reflective Analysis

            In the past, although I was not required to do it, I have taken a similar self-assessment personality test before. The reason I did it is because I was not sure if Law School was a good match for my personality. For many years, I had the idea of becoming a lawyer and as an adult; I started to question myself why was I following this career. I wanted to know if I truly was passionate about it but more importantly if my personality was adequate for it. I had previously worked for law firms and to my surprise, it never worked out, as I wanted to. When I received my results back, it was obvious I was not following my true passion. I was already working as a medical assistant, and I loved it. Everyone will make comments to me as to why don’t I become a doctor. It was like a slap in my face every time someone told me that. Ironically, when I was younger, I wanted to be a doctor. In fact, I wanted to study obstetrics. The results were right on point about my description. The assessment showed my need to constantly help others and my devotion for doing the right thing. Thankfully, I was lucky to be able to find this assessment and make it useful to what my needs at that time.

            According to the Jung’s and Briggs Myers’ theories of personality type, I am a (INFP), which stands for 12% Introvert, 9% Intuitive, 19% Feeling, and 22% Perceiving. This assessment is evaluated and represents an individual’s preferences characterized on four dimensions of personality type. Overall, I believe the results were pretty accurate, as they do describe my personality. It is no surprise to me, that the first part is about being introverted. I have always been more quite than the normal. Needless to say, I have no problem making friends or talking to others. I just will not go out of my way and make conversation with others unless is job related and that is part of my job. Additionally, the report made the suggestion that INFPs never lose their sense of wonder, and that cannot be any truer. Furthermore, it was mentioned that, “INFPs have the ability to see good in almost anyone or anything” (16 personalities, n.d.).

            Under the INFP career choices section, the assessment describes in detail my personality type and my relation with work. Acknowledging this traits and weaknesses can potentially help minimize everyday problem and differences at work. The overall results show that personality could be more effective in occupations involving a lot of intellectual work that is focused on humanities and social science, spirit and soul, inspirational activities, and requiring creativity. Some good examples that were mentioned are: social workers, radiology technician, nursing, medical records administration, psychologists, life coaches, addiction rehab counselors, mental and community care staff, children education, teaching, and also script writing. While this are not careers I am interested in following, it reassures me that medical school and becoming a doctor provides me the opportunity to help others and offer others my care.

            As far as the learning style portion of this assessment, I find it very interesting because it feels as it is talking about me while I read. How INFPs acquire, memorize and recollect information? The assessment report explains that my personality is interested in learning about issues facing humanity. “INFPs easily grasp material, especially if a large part of it is devoted to how the topic relates to human behavior or activity. They are good at retaining theoretical material, especially when it actively engages their feelings. Needing to understand material that is purely logical or not related to the humanities or social sciences is boring to an INFP” (16 personalities, n.d.). It is curious, as when I am studying, I find some subjects more interesting than others, and most of the times, most people find it very tedious contrary to what I find very interesting. And the harder the subject, the more I feel driven to study it.

            Moreover, I am a hands-on learner more so than mechanical, and that is specified on the report. Likewise, I can relate to what it is said about visual aids, as when it comes to producing the brain map assignments, I cannot really find the purpose of doing so. On the contrary, I am more of a list person, as I can organize myself better on a piece of paper. When it comes to “TheBrain,” I tend to feel disorganized and unable to find my thoughts. Thankfully, the school has decided to drop this type of assignment out of the courses. Lastly, and one of my favorites ones, the assessment describes INFPs to be last minute studiers, as we leave it for last minute. I believe that my brain, unfortunately, works better under stress. If I dedicate more time to assignments, I tend to over-think it, and my scores tend to be lower than if I spend a solid hour or so working on that one assignment that is due soon. I am not proud of this personality trait but it has given me good results for the most part.

            Moving forward with the report, it also provides information about INFPs communication skills.  Although, it mentions that individual like myself tend to prefer to have notions as just or unjust and right or wrong. I find that this trait is not completely accurate about my persona or believes. I have had problems in the past, as I tend to find the good in everything and I incline to be more of a “gray” person. I would rather be more flexible with things for as long as I know, I am doing what is correct. I do not have black or white decisions because I think there is always more to it than what I can see. Therefore, I try not to judge people and provide the opportunity to prove themselves differently. In addition, it is said that INFP are, “capable of seeing deep into the other party's motives and sensing what the other party is concerned about the most. INFPs are capable of inspiring people to develop their abilities and talents” (16 personalities, n.d.). I am not sure if this is something I am good at, but I really work hard so others can see their own potential and shoot for the moon. There are really no limits for what someone can do except those in their mind.

            When it comes to communicating at work, I have no problem doing so, as I can relate to different types of personalities according to the assessment report. INFPs tend to have a wide circle of acquaintance, however, our inner circle is to whom we communicate more often is limited and for the most part those consist of close friends and like-minded individual. “NFPs tend to have a large number of business contacts, and their communication routine can be rather intense. Their colleagues (or others who work in the same field) are often reliant on, or interested in, their expert opinion of counsel on professional subjects” (16 personalities, n.d.). This section really provided me with feedback on how truly I behave at work. And thinking back, this really is me.

            After taking this assessment, I feel this will have an even greater impact in my future leadership development and capacity. I can now understand why I rather do something more than others and hopefully find a happy medium ground where I can exceed and challenge myself to do it. Additionally, I should try to be more open to other different personalities when it comes to having them closer to my inner circle. Interestingly, at the end of the report, the assessment provided names of famous people with the same characteristics such as:

• Homer
• Mary, mother of Jesus
• William Shakespeare, bard of Avon
• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Evangeline)
• Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie)
• Helen Keller, deaf and blind author
• Carl Rogers, reflective psychologist, counselor
• Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood)
• Dick Clark (American Bandstand)
• Donna Reed, actor (It's a Wonderful Life)
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis
• Neil Diamond, vocalist
• Tom Brokaw, news anchor
• James Herriot (All Creatures Great and Small)
• Annie Dillard (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek)
• James Taylor, vocalist
• Julia Roberts, actor (Conspiracy Theory, Pretty Woman)
• Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap)
• Terri Gross (PBS's "Fresh Air")
• John F. Kennedy, Jr.

References

16 personalities. (n.d.). INFP Strengths and weaknesses.  Retrieved from http://www.16personalities.com

            

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A631.7.4.RB – Future of OD

            Throughout the two courses in leadership, learning about organizational development has shown me how important it is to have the opportunity to place this vision with the success of any organization. Today, with our generation it is an obvious need to apply organizational development specially when we live in a fast paced world. While some leaders need some degree of guidance and be told how to do “thing” to successfully lead and make the company grow; others, show some degree of criticism in disagreement or disbelieve about the OD discipline being a trend or an ongoing resource to organization leaders. Nevertheless, it is very clear that organizational development is a growing approached that will continue to do so and will in fact make organizations better in the long run.

            Therefore, how can we define organizational development? Donald R. Brown suggested that OD encompasses a variety of efforts and programs, which are focused on improving the overall company’s ability to resist challenging situations where change is inevitable and renewal is an expected process. The OD system consists of moving forward to an adaptive organization and achieving corporate excellence by mixing and integrating development with organizational goals and individual’s desires (Brown, 2011, p. 4). Having this in mind, in order to produce a positive growth, organizations are in need goals, strategies, resources, and people with the necessary power to make such growth. With these four components, leaders can start implementing OD processes within their organizations. The OD process is based on the action research model, which begins with an identified problem and or need for change. Proceeding with the assessment, planning an intervention, implementing the intervention, gathering data to evaluate the intervention results, and determining a positive progress has been reached or if further intervention is needed. The process is cyclical and ends when the desired developmental result is obtain (HRpeople, 2014).

            The implementation of organizational development can also bring challenges as the leaders lack of knowledge or time to do these implementations. However, assistance can be reached from experts OD practitioners. According to Brown, people who do organizational development, OD practitioners come primarily from two areas. The first area consists of organizational development specialists, who are professionals that have specialized and trained in organization development and related areas, such as organization behavior, applied social sciences, interpersonal communications, and decision-making. These specialists are often referred to as OD practitioners or consultants. They may be members of the organization, internal practitioner, or come from outside the organization, external practitioners (2011, p. 9). Organizations from all sizes can very well benefit from the use of OD practitioners since plans and process can be tailor made to fit the goals and strategy of the individual organization. Additionally, experienced OD practitioners can apply several methods, which are available and can vary from inner office team meetings, organizational and individual goal setting to outer office retreats that foster team building and trust within the organizational members. 

            Furthermore, it is very likely to hear good ending stories on how organizational development has helped these organization reach successful growth but there will always be criticism regarding OD practices being another industry trend or gimmick that will turn old with time and other methods will followed as time progresses. Nonetheless, a continuing appearance of trends indicates that OD plays an imperative role among organizations as we move into the future. One of these trends is adoption of OD in many aspects of management (Worley, 2011, para. 4). Today the concept of OD development is being adopted in different organizations and in different industries. Education institutions, manufacturing organization, financial organization and other service organization are adapting the OD concept in managing their organizations (Custom Writing Tips, 2013). It is undeniable that the future of OD will continue to be a necessary component for many organizations.

            In conclusion, organizational development is an evolving process and practice that will continue to grow for years to come. When organizations are not able to maximize their opportunities, experts on this matter should be implemented to reach organizational success and facilitate opinions about the organization, make recommendations, and implement new processes. All in all, OD even with some critics, is an implementation that will and could save many organizations from failing.

References

Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th edition.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Customwritingtips.com (2013). Is OD an Emerging Discipline or Only a Passing Fad? Retrieved from http://customwritingtips.com/component/k2/item/12292-is-od-an-emerging-discipline-or-only-a-passing-fad

HRpeople.com (2014). The Organizational Development Process. Retrieved from http://hrpeople.monster.com/training/articles/142-the-organization-development-process

Worley C. (2011). A Positive Vision of OD’s Future. Retrieved from http://odcanada.org/site/future_of_OD.pdf/

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A631.6.4.RB – Transformational Strategies

            According to Brown (2011), organizational transformation can be defined as “drastic, abrupt change to total structures, managerial processes, and corporate culture. It requires a redesign of everything in the organization, including the norms, and the culture, the very soul of the organization” (p. 399). Gallery Furniture, a company in business for over thirty years, faced economic downturn and a warehouse fire that forced them into an organizational transformation that enabled the business to not only stay afloat but thrive. In order to re-inspire his sales force, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale had his entire team attend Influencer Training so they could change their behavior in order to positively impact the company’s bottom line. After watching both videos the “Influencer” and the “Listen, learn and the lead,” I believe that both Jim McIngvale and Stanley McChrystal have something in common; both leaders have had to deal with organizational changes beyond their control. 

            Brown (2011) suggested that, “cultural change efforts include activities designed to improve the skills, ability, structure, or motivation of organization members” (p.399).  McIngvale’s approach was to focus on strengthening the motivation of his workforce to innovate the way they did business. He concentrated on several areas including revamping the sales approach, reducing delivery reworks, improving safety and employee wellness, and reducing inventory (Gallery Furniture, n.d.). After the training was completed, he provided his sales force iPad’s to keep in contact with the customers. As soon as a customer left the building he’d have his salesmen send them an e-mail thanking them for coming in the store. He estimates this customer follow up added several hundred thousand dollars in sales each month that they would not have gotten otherwise. He taught them to love what they hated and provided performance data to keep them focused and engaged.  When someone made a sale they would ring a bell and celebrate with the whole team. By going through an organizational transformation process the results were astounding.  Sales increased, expenses decreased, on-the-job accidents were reduced, but most importantly the transformation yielded healthier and happier employees who were committed to establishing happy customers for life (Gallery Furniture, n.d.).

            On the other hand, Gen. Stanley McChrystal faced just as drastic change as McIngvale, but yet it was completely different. McChrystal’s workforce was highly motivated. They had the best in technology available to them. However their challenge was to change the organizations orientation from fighting a classic land battle to small groups of insurgent forces. The environment had changed. McChrystal faced an environment where his workforce was physically fragmented into smaller self-sufficient teams. Their relative strength of corporate culture was a “Strong Culture” (fig, 15.4), but the environment made for a need to change the command and control system governing their actions. This placed the organization in Quadrant 1 of Browns figure 15.5 “Manage the Change”. Each small team, rather than consisting of pure active duty Army personnel of the basic same age and training, now consisted of personnel from several of the uniformed services, civilian organizations like the CIA, and civilian contractors. Each member of a team came with their own value system, vision, and power system. This gave each team its own unique sociotechnical system that McChrystal had to deal with.

            Both McIngvale and McChrystal faced organizational threats that would make or break their respective organizations. Both responded with winning approaches and strategies, but approached the task from a unique point of view. Both provide us with an excellent example of how leaders can respond to the modern business environment.

References

Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th edition.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Gallery Furniture: Case Study. (n.d.). Vital Smarts. Retrieved from  http://www.vitalsmarts.com/casestudies/gallery-furniture/

McChrysta, S. (2011, March 1). Listen, learn ... then lead. Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal

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A631.5.4.RB – Leading System Wide Change

No Respect for “Status-Quo”

            It is not a surprise or secret how difficult it is for a leader to grow into an individual with the sufficient skills to lead a system-wide change effectively. There are so many obstacles that will always try to be on the way and interrupt the progress. And only a few, very few, will defied the odds and will push forward into the impossible. One of the greatest examples that tried to over come those difficult times and failed and then succeed again after many attempts is Mr. Steve Jobs. He truly wanted to be unique in every single way possible. His ambition pushed others into striving for the impossible. Nevertheless, his strict demanding persona pushed others to hate him and even have his on company fired him.

            A successful leader can transmit many different things, but a successful organization is ultimately linked to monetary performance. The level of impact coming from a person can determine leadership. Impact is the amount of change coming from an influence. In this case a leader can be measured by the amount of change that happens in an organization. Without change, what is the benefit of a good leader? Therefore, leaders may climb to their positions during periods of poor performance. Striking out in new ways, a bold leader may make a good name for themselves and provide many good reasons why they are the leader, but the application of change management in a struggle is significantly different than using an organizational intervention to improve efficiencies.

            Changes in a learning organization, for example, are constantly occurring as the organization constantly observes and corrects where it lacked good performance. Also predicting where problems can possibly arise, learning organizations improve where it is not apparently necessary. In cases where a major struggle is not apparent, bold leadership means implementing change processes when they are not obviously needed. A good sign of leadership also means conducting surveys and providing feedback. Constant evaluation allows for problems below the surface to become apparent where something can be done about it. This means assessing the state of the organization, policies and procedures, job satisfaction and morale, and problems that hinder people from doing their jobs and satisfying customers (Brown, 2011, p. 374).

            Reengineering is a change process implemented system-wide and involves radical change to processes that hinder top performance. This is a behavior and change process that can be easier to come to bold leadership. It is, knowing when to use the appropriate intervention that counts. Rensis Likert provides that a leader can use a system of survey questionnaires to identify the type of leadership in the organization (Brown, 2011, p. 380). Working toward empowered employees in the organization improves their effectively.

            As the apple commercial mentioned, those who are misfit and different, the outcastes; those are the true leaders. Those who have “no respect for status quo” (1997). In order to proceed with change processes, one must be fearless. The leader who is in the constant lookout for the next new “thing” or innovation will find him or her self turning the impossible into something very possible. Paul Arnold (2015) suggested that, “To be effective, organizational change must be able to genuinely transform the business. Yet in the relentless search for new techniques to revolutionize the way things are done, and in the haste to manage technological discontinuities, many organizations fail to adequately develop, communicate and execute their vision for the change” (para. 10). Leading system wide changes it’s not about knowing what to do in every situation, but knowing that working a as team would lead to better successes as a whole.

References

Apple - Think Different (1997) (YouTube). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmwXdGm89Tk

Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th edition.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Arnold, P. (2015) "Evidence and leading indicators of change success", Strategic Direction, Vol. 31 Iss: 10, pp.1 – 5 DOI http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/10.1108/SD-08-2015-0128