Two Heads are better than one
Tiffany Krafton
MGT 415
Instructor: Kim Marshall
January 10, 2011
There are many factors that play into making a company successful. Decision making is one of the biggest of them all. The decisions/choices we make can determine the success/failure of a company. For this reason, today I will prove that “two heads are better than one”. I will provide you with studies that have proven this to be true. I will also explain that although group work is ideal, you must have the right group in order to function correctly.
Our lives consist of constant streams of decision making and choices. There are so many things that occur in our lives daily that can affect our thought process. Sometimes we are distracted and cannot fully focus. This does not make us bad employees. For this reason, I believe that groups are important. Each person in a group adds value. Not one person is exactly the same. We each carry a skill that would be useful in a group.
Group Dynamics play an important part of group Success. Only a dream team will work together, without deterring from the project’s goals. An important element of group dynamics is allowing team member to develop as a unit and that takes time (Scheid, 1).
According to BrianMach Sports Coach, one way that groups learn to work well together is through a “cohesion” process. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.”
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Critical Thinking and Decision Making Critical thinking and decision-making are two valuable issues, which enable us to address our concerns in our daily lives in a more practical fashion. Critical thinking can be understood as a way of becoming aware of, and taking control of our own thinking processes in order to think more effectively. Critical Thinking is about becoming a better thinker in ...
How does the cohesive process work when everyone is different on a team? Basically, there elements to the cohesive process that help align groups without the harmful groupthink dilemma (Scheid, 2).
There different things that must be looked at when forming a group. For example, you can look at the culture or lifestyle of an individual. You can look at there religion, or upbringing. These all play in the formation of a functional group.
Although group work has been used in teaching for thousands of years, it really wasn’t until the 1970’s
Some may attribute this gentleman’s raise as being based on his work performance. You would think that would be the fair way to do it. This is not the situation in this case. This assistant scored lower on his ratings then I did, but received a higher percentage. While I scored higher, and received more positive comments from co-workers, he received the ultimate prize. This in my oppinion, was a definite cause of Gender discrimination.
Sometimes companies fear placing female’s in leadership roles. A big reason, is based on pregnancy. When women get pregnant they tend to leave or take an absence from their position, to nurture and bond with their newborm. Men tend to continue working and providing for their families. Many companies fear this, and tend to choose a male instead. The Pregnancy Discrimination act of 1978 “prohibits employers from discriminating against workers based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions” (McKay,1).
This act only comes into play when the company has 15 or more employees.
A company is not allowed to discrimante against pregnant females. They are required to look solely at their qualifications. Unfortunitely, this is not a followed law. Companies definitely discriminate against this. Because of companies failing to abide by this law, several complaints and lawsuits have been formed. During the year of 2006, the EEOC received 4,901 charges of pregnancy-based discrimination (McKay, 1).
The Term Paper on Age Discrimination Older Work
No matter how talented or experienced one employee may be over another, workplace history has demonstrated more than just a few times that the younger candidate is often the one to win the promotion. Age discrimination has become more than a minor inconvenience throughout the twentieth century; indeed, the issue has become such a hot potato within the workplace that laws have been forced into ...
Based on this information, it is clear to see that there is a definite gender discrimination issue still occurring in our workforce. The problem is that companies are getting away with this, and women are struggling harder to prove themselves.
It can sometimes feel like we are defeated. At times it feels hopeless. I know in my own personal experience, I have wanted to give up many times. I have fought with myself to not give up on my goals. The constant preasure of proving yourself strictly based on your gender is exhausting. I work twice as hard, get paid two times less, devote myself more than many, and am still fighting to move up from the very bottom. I have seen many men come and go from their position in less than a year. Some are truly talented and work extremely hard, while others don’t deserve to even have their job.
So what can we do to stop gender discrimination? How do we show others that women are equally talented and can accomplish the same? This is where true leadership comes into play. A leader is someone who look up to. You soak up their knowledge and learn their ways. You develop a level of trust and admiration. The more true leaders we have, the more knowledge can be passed. It takes one leader to share there values and beliefs. Just one leader can make a huge difference.
For a very long time, people thought that the roles of an effective leader, were all masculine based characteristics. However, there are many female roles that are an absolute necessity. Some of these roles are: strong interpersonal skills, concern for building cooperative, trusting relationships, and use of behaviors. These are feminine based characteristics and are an absolute must in order to be an effective leader.
I personally have encountered gender discrimination in the workforce. I have encountered this on more then one occasion in my current position. My current Manager is not a very effective manager. He is extremely angry and demeening. I have been told by him on several occasions, that a male is much smarter then a female in a technical field. He has informed me on numerous occasions, that I a, not capable of doing more then what I currently do. So how do I handle this? How do I not get defeated? I fight with myself every day. Many days, I want to give up and just settle for what he feels I am capable of. There are many moments where I dout myself. Am I really capable of more. Is he right? Unfortunitely I am not the only person encountering this obstacle.
The Essay on Argumentative Death Penalty Feel Crime Time
Quinte n Robles Melinda Campbell Ph. D. Philosophy August 14, 2003 Argumentative Essay: Death Penalty The death penalty is a very emotional and controversial subject in today's society. Almost anywhere you go in the world, you will find many opponents and proponents on this subject. Many families of victims feel an emotional response to the loss of a loved one or friend that has been killed or ...
It is because of managers like my current one, that people give up on there hopes and dreams. If you get emotionally beat down enough many quit. They settle for less and are never truly happy. This happens every day in our workforce. Managers get away with this behavior far to much. They intimidate you. They humiliate you and make you doubt your self worth. I myself have fallen into this trap far too often.
So what is a good Manager? To be honest there is no right answer. Every human thinks differently. We may agree on some things, but never everything. We view things our own way. Because of this, a good manager is in the eyes of each person. For me, a good manager must poses good communication skills. If a manager cannot communicate, how can they have everyone on the same page? If everyone is not on the same page, how can a company expand?
Another trait that I feel is a must in a manager is trust. When a manager micro-manages a group on a daily basis, it sets a low morale. Employees will feel very un-comfortable. They will doubt themselves and in return are apt to making more errors. The manager needs to feel confident in their team. They need to allow them to decide certain things for themselves and feel comfortable allowing them to do so. This will allow the employees to feel like part of the team.
Sometimes when you have never been in a leadership role, we tend to think that there is no need to be an assertive manager. I disagree. I believe that managers have to be assertive in certain situations. Theres a time to be a Participative leader, and a time to be assertive. Certain decisions cannot be decided as a group. That’s the purpose of a manager. They must make those decisions. As employees we need to understand this.
Finding the middle gorund as a manager is probably the hardest part of their job. IF they are too assertive people fear them. If they are to much of a participative leader people expect to be included in everything. It’s finding that middle ground that turns a manager into a leader. Employees need to know that regardless of the great boss they have, there are times when decisions must be made without their voice being heard.
The Term Paper on A Good Manager Will Always Be A Good Leader
In this essay I will demonstrate how a good manager _can_ often be a good leader, but why I also believe that explicit differences in characteristics; attitudes and methods prove them to be unique. I will do this by firstly, defining what I feel a good manager is, and what I feel a good leader is. In doing this, I will compare and contrast the two concepts in order to finally draw conclusive ...
I have encountered this problem in a previous position. I was in a leadership role. I found myself having to justify every decision to my employees. I would feel bad when they were not included. If I did make a decision without a discussion first, I would get the silent treatment. I realized that they did not respect my position. I had the fault for this.
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1. Powell, G., & Graves, L. (2003).
Women and men in management (3rd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication, Inc.
2. McKay, Dawn. ” The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.” How the Law Protects You From Pregnancy Discrimination at Work. Career Planing, Web. 22 Nov 2009. http://careerplanning.about.com/cs/legalissues/a/pregnancy.htm.
3. Grohol, John M. “Gender Discrimination in the Workplace.” Psych Central. John M Grohol, 09 Oct. 2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2009.
http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/10/09/gender-discrimination-in-the-workplace/8868.html
