PSYC305 Motivation and Leadership
Week 1 Discussion
Ohio State and Michigan Studies
Consider the findings from the Ohio State and Michigan studies: Good leadership requires effectiveness on two dimensions – initiating structure, commonly called task orientation, and showing consideration, commonly called employee orientation. Evaluate a leader you know using those two dimensions of good leadership. Describe how well that leader manages both those dimensions. What is the outcome of their strengths or weaknesses in those dimensions?
1. Describe a situation that would call for a more task oriented leader.
2. In what situations would a more employee oriented leader be more successful?
Which orientation do you reflect in your style of leadership? Why do you tend to lean toward that style?
PSYC305 Motivation and Leadership
Week 2 Discussion
Communication & Power
Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, respond to one of the following options:
Option 1: It has been said that communication controls, motivates, provides release, and facilitates decision-making. What happens in an organization when communication is limited? How does downward and upward communication affect the functions mentioned above?
Option 2: TS Eliot wrote, “Half of the harm that is done in this world is caused by people who have power and want to feel important. They do not mean to do harm… they are simply absorbed in the useless struggle to think well of themselves.” (Manning & Curtis , p. 167)
Please do Exercise 8-1, p. 169. What kind of power does your supervisor commonly use, and what has been the outcome of their behavior…on the employees, on the company?
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least two peers or one peer and the instructor. Respond to one peer who chose the option different from the one you chose. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Writing Requirements
Minimum of 3 posts (1 initial & 2 follow-up)
APA format for in-text citations and list of references
PSYC305 Motivation and Leadership
Week 3 Discussion
Personality, Values, & Ethics
Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, respond to one of the following options:
Option 1: Values may be self-governing, but they do change with time. The link between personality, values, and work ethic is difficult to decipher. Your basic makeup is with you in every situation, especially in your organization. Have your values changed as you have matured, or have they stayed the same? Do you have different values than your parents or siblings? How do values affect the cohesiveness of the workplace?
Option 2: A student who worked for Chipotle stated: “I love the Chipotle standard that what’s best for the people (employees) is best for the company and vice versa, so I always strive to do my best.” It sounds simple, but in reality, that is a difficult culture to enact. Why do you suppose that it isn’t common in most organizations? What is difficult about the implementation of such a policy? Does everyone have the same definition of “doing your best”? Will slackers perceive their best in a different light? Can you count on most managers to model the appropriate behavior? Who supervises the managers, and how are they held accountable, not only for product, but for cultural expectations?
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least two peers or one peer and the instructor. If possible, respond to one peer who chose the option different from the one you chose. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Writing Requirements
Minimum of 3 posts (1 initial & 2 follow-up)
APA format for in-text citations and list of references
PSYC305 Motivation and Leadership
Week 4 Discussion
Employee Needs
Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, respond to one of the following options:
Option 1: Please take a look at the bulleted needs described on page 286: survival, security, belonging, respect, and fulfillment. Then, describe how your organization meets those needs, and explain what they could do differently to better meet the fulfillment needs.
Option 2: To kick off this discussion, remember what we were discussing this week about happy employees. Our lecture talked about making employees number one. How prevalent do you find this to be? Do you think it is common? Why or why not? Is it a lack of knowledge, ignorance, or arrogance? You would think that this concept was easy to understand. Do you think today’s managers and leaders forgot to read the handbook on effective employee management?
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least two peers or one peer and the instructor. If possible, respond to one peer who chose the option different from the one you chose. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Writing Requirements
Minimum of 3 posts (1 initial & 2 follow-up)
APA format for in-text citations and list of references
PSYC305 Motivation and Leadership
Week 5 Discussion
Organizational Climate
Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, respond to one of the following options:
Option 1: Our text discusses the conclusion of research: Diverse teams utilize diverse opinions and approaches and are generally more effective in their accomplishment of tasks. Yet, the text states “diversity appears to increase group conflict.”
In what ways does diversity make conflict into a positive result? How can the appreciation and encouragement of people to be themselves and share their thoughts result in cohesiveness and effectiveness?
What are some specific things you could do or say in any group to decrease the conflict inherent in diversity and increase the productivity inherent in many minds and styles working together?
How does dealing with diversity in teams help in avoiding groupthink? Think about the forces of groupthink and how they can be dealt with when diversity of opinions, ideas, strategies, is allowed to function in teams.
Option 2: As stated in Chapter 5, organizational climate is the hallmark of integrated purpose, strong focus on the advancement of the individual, and respect for all members. Discuss any situations you have encountered in your vocational experiences where this cohesiveness was evident. How did you feel? How do you think this climate affected turnover?
If you have not experienced this type of corporation, what kinds of expectations would you have when you join it? How do you think the employees feel about their situation?
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least two peers or one peer and the instructor. If possible, respond to one peer who chose the option different from the one you chose. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Writing Requirements
Minimum of 3 posts (1 initial & 2 follow-up)
PSYC305 Motivation and Leadership
Week 6 Discussion
Successful Change Management & Burnout
Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, respond to one of the following options:
Option 1: Since change in the workplace is constant, a good leader knows how to implement and lead effective change. A description on p. 418 and 419 explains how change affects top management, middle management, and frontline employees. Read this section, and consider a time when you experienced change in your organization.
Describe how people at those three levels in the organization initiated or responded to the change. Did top management help his or her middle managers prepare employees for and implement the change? Did management understand the “losses” experienced by employees? Were employees resistant to the change? How did management overcome that resistance?
Option 2: What is burnout? Who gets burned-out? Read the stories about Joe in “We Buried Joe Today” and the “A tragic story” about ambulance attendants on pages 432 and 433. Comment on the stories and similar ones you may have heard about.
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least two peers or one peer and the instructor. If possible, respond to one peer who chose the option different from the one you chose. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Writing Requirements
Minimum of 3 posts (1 initial & 2 follow-up)
APA format for in-text citations and list of references
PSYC305 Motivation and Leadership
Week 7 Discussion
Beneficial Conflict & Cultural Sensitivity
Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, respond to one of the following options:
Option 1: Conflict can be beneficial to organizations, stimulating cohesiveness and creativity if managed correctly.. Based on this week’s reading, what are some ways that employees can effectively manage conflict in the workplace? Provide any examples of your experience(s) with conflict in the workplace and support your statement to fix the problem with the textbook.
Option 2: Cultural sensitivity is crucial to local and global success. It is very difficult to be aware of and sensitive to issues and traditions we are ignorant about. How can we decrease our own ignorance? Can we be proactive about it, or do we just have to wait until someone alerts us that we are being insensitive?
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least two peers or one peer and the instructor. If possible, respond to one peer who chose the option different from the one you chose. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Writing Requirements
Minimum of 3 posts (1 initial & 2 follow-up)
APA format for in-text citations and list of references
PSYC305 Motivation and Leadership
Week 8 Discussion
Looking Ahead
Initial Post Instructions
Take a moment to review again our learning objectives for this course listed below. Identify one of the course learning outcomes and share with the class how you feel you have mastered that learning objective. What new skills or knowledge have you gained throughout the class that relate to that objective? What activities, resources or experiences in class helped you to gain that knowledge or skill? What strengths or weaknesses have you identified in yourself as a team member and leader that relate to that objective? What do you still have questions about or wish to explore further?
Given the need to design an effective strategy for the leader of a short-term academic or workplace team project, describe how team members with varying personalities and communication styles can be led collaboratively in the successful completion of the project. (Covered in Week 2)
Given a work scenario where an important organizational change has recently occurred, design strategies a leader can use to establish quality leadership in that new work setting, considering effective leadership variables, leadership qualities, and situational work factors. (Covered in Week 1)
Given a competition-driven workplace where the leader is aware of important changes that may affect the market and alter the structure of the organization, assess the need for a vision, and factors contributing to organizational climate and power while considering the importance of values and ethics in the workplace. (Covered in Weeks 3 & 5)
Given a work-group situation such as a team’s discrepancy about performance, where the supervisor/manager has been asked by the members to intervene, generate possible relevant resolutions that will increase worker morale, acknowledge variables that define human relations in the workplace, and account for team development processes, placing emphasis on the leader/supervisor/manager role as team developer and facilitator. (Covered in Week 5)
Given that a newcomer to an organization is promoted to leader of an existing work group that has gone through a period of negative business transactions, low work quality, and low morale, demonstrate how the new leader can gain authority, establish quality as an imperative, and also empower subordinates. (Covered in Week 4)
Given that a relatively new leader is asked to appraise his or her subordinates, evaluate the different appraisal tools that could be used, the possible consequences of performance appraisal, and the effects of performance appraisals on discipline, compensation, behavior modification, and professional development.(Covered in Week 6)
Given that a group is assigned to a completely new work venue (or project) under the responsibility of a new but highly technically trained supervisor, determine the different strategies that can be used to ensure effective work assignment and work delegation and specifically analyze the role of personality and job fit. (Covered in Week 3)
Given that in a group with strong ethnic or cultural identity the supervisor/manager hires two new individuals who differ from the existing group, assess the variables that would affect the resulting work team, such as personality, sources of diversity, emotional intelligence, motivational levels, and conflict resolution skills of all stakeholders. (Covered in Week 7)
Given a chosen business sector where new technologies are being introduced, determine the different training and human resource development strategies that could be used, the consequences of ineffective change management practices, and the possible effects of, and ways of preventing, stress and burnout. (Covered in Week 6)
Given an individual who has leadership experience or aspirations, generate a proposal for the development and/or evaluation of a leadership development plan, based on leadership and situational variables such as team processes, sources and effects of diversity, organizational change factors, ethics, personal and interpersonal psychological factors, hiring, training, and performance appraisal procedures, power relationships, and motivational factors. (Covered in Week 2)
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least two peers or one peer and the instructor. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Writing Requirements
Minimum of 3 posts (1 initial & 2 follow-up)
APA format for in-text citations and list of references
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