Organizations Review

One of the main topics that I enjoyed learning about the most revolved around the conflicts we studied in organization. A lot of the aspects of conflict we studied were common sense, but from an academic point of view, it was interesting to learn about what can cause management. Taking a look at the behaviors of employees and employers was a great way to demonstrate the way problems occur. And leading to the “One Word Theory of Management” helped in understanding how we learn from each others’ behaviors and actions. Additionally, the information provided on how to best resolve the kinds of conflict caused by single-loop learning was very helpful.

What worked best in my point of view was going over the mathematical models and content after we finished the excel sheet homework. This approach to learning the concepts involved with the subject really helped provide a deeper understanding to why we were learning the math and how it applied to the topics in class. The trial-and-error that came along with the excel homework really motivated me to figure it out on my own until I got it correct. That way, when I did get the correct answer, I knew and understood the steps I took to lead me there. And I knew and understood which ones to not take next time and why it was wrong. I found that completing the excel homework assignments took about one to two hours in one sitting.

Another aspect of the course that I enjoyed was the online learning. In all honesty, I am not a blogger. I have never really been appealed by blogging, so it was more of a struggle for me. I am not an active individual online. However, I am sure the other students benefited more than I did and it was a tool that worked for them. While the blogging assisted with getting my thoughts and experiences down for the class, I really gained more from watching the YouTube videos provided. It was easier to rewind and replay the concepts that I did not understand, and when I could not figure out a mathematical problem or model, I could pause the video and attempt to work it out on my own.

Overall, this course was very different than others I have had. I enjoyed the lectures that really talked about the problems of organizations from a real-world point of view. The subject itself was very enjoyable and I feel that I have gained a more grounded understanding of the economic issues within a firm.

Strong Reputations

One’s reputation goes hand in hand with their identity. Individuals have several identities. They are students, employees, daughters and sons, friends, roommates, etc. These identities help us develop our reputations, and these reputations in turn affect the way we behave. I believe I have developed the strongest reputation within the domain of my family because of the length of time I have maintained this relationship (not by choice, of course) as well as the quality of this relationship that’s been cultivated.

Naturally, I began my relationship with my family when I was born to my mother. As a baby, I don’t really believe I had control over the kind of reputation I was developing for myself. And if I did, I certainly don’t remember it. The circumstances of me being a baby sort of unfolded and took on a life of its own. It was when I began making more rational choices with a riper memory that allowed me to determine what kind of reputation I was going to have with them. My family began to know me and began to see me in a certain way through my decisions and actions. For example, the kind of food I would eat, or what I asked for Christmas, or the toys I played with, or the books I read.

Growing older, I found that I was beginning to gain more control over my actions and decisions. I did well in school and received good grades. I was always well behaved for the most part, and even on the quiet side sometimes. I was very respectful to my elders. I hated vegetables. I was very creative. I was also sort of a tomboy. For some reason, everyone believed I was going to become a doctor when I was growing up. I don’t quite remember if that was my fault for being an overachieving child, or my parents’ fault for setting that path up for me.

Everyone was a different person than they were ten years ago. I have learned a lot about what aspects of my reputation I wanted to drop and what aspects I wanted to keep. For example, going to college helped maintain and enhanced the characteristic of smartness that my family saw in me. However, I am certainly no longer a tomboy. I am certainly still very respectful of my elders. But, one of the more amusing childhood features I’ve dropped was my hatred of vegetables. I believe when I came home for Thanksgiving after my first year in college and ate a salad in front of my family that the whole world collapsed in awe. It was difficult to convince my family that I didn’t hate vegetables as much anymore. My godmother thought I was physically ill.

I don’t believe I have ever cashed my reputation in, or abandoned it altogether in favor of some immediate gain. I have never been put in that sort of situation before. The closest I have been to that sort of position was probably when I failed my first course and began to consider dropping out of school. My education is a large part of my reputation in my family right now, because I am the first in my generation to attend a university (I’m the oldest of all my cousins). But other than that, there’s never been an occasion for me to do anything of the sort.

Principal-Agent

I knew an employee for student and academic affairs who acted as an agent for the professional staff of the hub and the student body, both principals in this example. As an agent, the triangular arrangement for this individual involved the representation of hub management, while appealing to the student clients, in addition to pursing their own self-interests.

Conflict ensued when my friend began lacking in her representation of the hub while in front of members of the student body.  I knew my friend to be a shirker, it was actually well known amongst our overlapping friend groups. There was nothing wrong with my friends’ personality; he was always nice and pleasant to be around. However, when it came to being responsible, he tended to avoid anything that required too much effort.

Apparently, a few students and professors who were present during one of his outreach presentations were complaining of how uninterested and apathetic he appeared. Of course, this negatively impacts the hub and the staff, who he acts on their behalf.

The situation was resolved when his main principal had pulled him to the side to speak with him about him performance. It was clear that if more effort were not put into his work, they would not be able to keep him and would need to find another individual to replace him. His disconnection from the student clients did not maximize the staff’s utility and created problems between the goals of the hub.

Eventually, after some one-on-one training and a couple extra meetings, my friend was able to work on resolving his issues with handling his responsibilities maturely. The principal had made clear what “good performance” they expected from him. This resulted in a good performance that appealed to the secondary principal as well, satisfying both.

Group Interactions

I probably had the most ideal group situation in the course, which has never happened before, despite the dozens of group projects I have participated in. It was a course I was taking as an elective for my minor. The topics themselves were interesting, but I knew the content of the course would not help if I were the only one doing all of the work. I know many others in the same boat. Typically, there is a leader of the group that assigns themselves to keep the project from ultimately failing. Collaboratively, everyone else decides what part of the project he or she wants to do. Sometimes, individuals get lucky with the “easy” part while others get suck with doing the part they were hoping they wouldn’t have to do. But for my first example in this parallel comparison, the difficulties of group work were almost non-existent.

I don’t know if it was just because I liked the people I was grouped with, or if we understood each other and were floating in the same boat, or even if our skills just perfectly balanced. Maybe it was a hint of each. I have never participated in a more efficient and supportive group of individuals, and honestly I probably never will again. The group dynamics were incredible in my situation. Even as we sat together for the first time to discuss our goal and the steps we would to achieve it, there was no tension or stress. It was very comfortable working with them and the smoothness we experienced throughout the entire process demonstrated that they felt the same as well. We were all a part of a well-oiled machine and the way we interacted with each other ultimately drove us to achieve the highest grade in the class. Of course, like any other group, there was conflict between information, communication, and the project content, but issues were resolved soundly without negatively affecting performance or hindering the ability to complete the tasks at hand.

On a completely different world and in a completely different situation, I had a more traumatic experience with a group project. For this second example, I was enrolled in a required class for my major. We needed to complete a project that required a lot of collaboration since quantitative content was necessary to complete it. The subject matter we were dealing with was more difficult than a typical project, and required more math and analysis, which I believe are attributes that need to be fully understood in order to incorporate them into a project. For this group, there were individuals who knew the matter, and others who did not, making it more difficult for the entire group to be on the same page. While I do not blame the couple that did not know the material as well, since it was certainly difficult, it made our group situation more off balance. Additionally, this caused frustration, as we were more focused on trying to get concepts down rather than accomplishing the project.

A lot of times, from my experience, when individuals do not have the commitment to learn the content and count on free-riding from others, it puts a stress on the group that can hinder it from accomplishing the goals at hand. While people don’t need to be the most talented or the smartest, the way they work and handle their own assignments affects their group performance. In my first example, each individual was responsible for his or her own actions. If someone did not understand anything, they would first try and look through their notes or do their own research before asking the group. In my second example, those who did not understand relied heavily on their group members. While it’s not terrible to ask for help, when participating in group projects it can be assumed that you have the ability to work individually and you know what you are doing. When you don’t, and others have to baby you through the process, the overall quality and effectiveness of working in a group decreases.

Team Production vs Individual Production

At one of my previous job positions, the contribution of a group of individuals produced more effective and efficient output than the contribution of the individuals themselves. There was 10-12 of us working identical, front-line positions in the office earning the same hourly wage. With the type of substantial projects our managers assigned in order to offer services to a diverse population, we needed each other’s help. Typically, our team progressed towards a common goal with each project, all the while completing our own individual, specialized tasks. Cooperation and communication were the two most important elements in completing the larger, collective duties. Weekly meetings, e-mail updates, and an understanding on how to collaborate aided in fulfilling deadlines and objectives.

The main endeavors that required the most collective work revolved around large events and programs where everyone needed to contribute in order for the organization to pull it off. Particular tasks did not need any sort of specialized skills to complete; therefore, since everyone had the ability to accomplish the bulk of the preparations it was easy to hand off responsibilities. This sometimes created problems of tracking who did what. Organization of which employee contributed to what task was probably the most difficult endeavor to pinpoint for our managers, as monitoring us was not always possible. This also allowed certain individuals to be credited for some projects they only worked an hour on. On the other hand, others working on the same project contributed their entire shifts to try and complete it. Unless the managers specifically assigned an individual to finish the assignment, whoever is in the office at the time and completes it is usually credited, despite the number of people working on it before.

This also gets complicated when something goes wrong or there are mistakes found in the work. Sometimes we cannot backtrack unless responsibility is taken and another individual who was doing a majority of the project mistake-free has to go back and fix what was messed up. Not being able to distinguish individual contributions can make motivation for completing large tasks difficult. But being able to filter certain decisions down to all the employees, allowing us to participate in the decision-making process. This enables us to feel that our opinions actually matter.

In regards to the opinion article, “How to Get the Rick to Share the Marbles,” there were a few concepts that I believed coincided with my experience. While my co-workers and I are not monetarily compensated based on our performance, as we are contracted to an hourly-wage, our version of “share-the-spoils” is employee recognition. If everyone does their “fair share” and pulls on the rope just as hard as everyone else, everyone deserves credit and recognition.

Managing Income Risk

Until I began my undergraduate career, I never realized how important the significant decisions I have made in the past would impact my future. I came into the University of Illinois with very strong intentions on going to medical school. I had experience in the hospital while I was in high school. I was a part of a junior’s medical program. I worked in and volunteered my time to the industry. Originally, I believed my familiarity with medicine, in combination with the pre-requisite coursework, would cushion my prospective medical career. However, I quickly realized that I had made the wrong decisions in picking a major I was unable to maintain a high GPA for, thus forcing me to accept a rather disappointing fallout.

I felt like my low GPA was a high debt I accumulated after just one year into college (my grades were bankrupt, if you will). And low GPAs come with a lot of risks that can create a snowball effect. There was the risk of Academic Probation, ineligibility for financial aid, and of course disqualification from jobs and professional programs from being unable to graduate. My future in medicine was slowly crumbling before me because I was enrolled in a degree program that did not match my interests and strengths. At this point, my future income risk was high and I needed to adjust certain aspects of my education to pay off my “academic debt.”

My GPA was only a factor that contributed to how gradually I reduced my income risk. I additionally took on a part-time job on campus, which helped repair some of the damage. I was able to invest my earnings and gain marketable skills for potential employment opportunities. While I had the my overarching goal of getting my GPA back up to more profitable numbers, I needed to accomplish the baby steps in order to get there. One of the major stepping-stones that helped boost my GPA the most was switching majors and adding a minor I was passionate about. Through trial and error, I finally was able to capitalize on the courses I excelled in, ultimately guiding my decision to pursue an Economics Major. Economics and business is obviously a completely different career path than science and medicine, but I needed to base my decisions on what would positively impact me both in the now and future. Eventually, summers in hospitals and medical centers turned into summers in banks and corporate offices.

On the actual financial side of my university career, I have accumulated debt (like the average college student), but not a significant quantity. My parents are in charge of a substantial amount of my educational finances, and I have lent a helping hand seeing my future is the one being affected the most. With payments over the minimum, my refunds and part-time paychecks going into my housing and basic living expenses, and my mother being eligible for having a majority of her loan forgiven, I firmly believe I am in a good position for the future.

Un-opportunistically

The practice of opportunism largely portrays individuals who take advantage of an opportunity to achieve an end, many times with no regard for the great risk of negative consequences. Typically, those acting on opportunism lack honor in principle. That is, their behavior in the situation attempts to selfishly gain some sort of power or benefit. A quote that I have always thought about related to this policy is from former NBA player Michael Jordan:

“To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish.”

His claim basically says to first be selfish until you get on top, and then once you are on top be humble and grounded.

Of course, not everyone has the same grain of wisdom as the NBA superstar. I feel that nowadays, it’s changed to:

“To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be even more selfish so you can stay there.”

But there have been certain situations where I have witnessed ethical behavior as a Good Samaritan shines through. One in particular was a story that a former mentor told me. This woman was a doctor at a nationally ranked medical center hospital located in downtown Chicago. She was speaking of her career track from undergraduate school, to medical school, to residency, and then finally opening her own practice. In her story, she described the difficulties of medical school. She went on about one of the biggest incidents that could have destroyed her entire medical career.

In one of her courses, they had to conduct an experiment and produce a liquid solution perfectly to pass. She was an intelligent African-American woman and one of the top students in her class. Many saw her as competition.

She completed her project in the classroom, walked a way for a second, and then returned. When she came back, one of her classmates pulled her aside. She was confused, thinking she did the experiment wrong. But he, instead, whispered to her saying one of the other male students put something in her solution, so she would fail the project. She was in complete shock.

Immediately, she approached her professor, not wanting to confront her perpetrator. In the end, he was kicked out of his medical program, she got another opportunity to re-do the experiment, and she passed.

The opportunism here does not focus on the cheating culprit who took advantage of the opportunity of her stepping away from her experiment. The chance for opportunistic behavior is when her classmate chose to tell her that another student tampered with the results of her experiment. The competition involved in medical school motivates individuals to be extremely selfish. But her classmate chose the ethical path. He could have changed the circumstances for his own gains by letting the incident slip, but he didn’t, and told her the truth instead.

Organization Structure and Transaction Costs

This past summer 2013, I interned at the headquarters for Marriott International, Inc. in Bethesda, MD. Marriott is a large organization, mainly known for their thousands of lodging properties both in the United States and internationally as well. This company operates, franchises, and manages 19 brands, some of which include The Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, and Renaissance Hotels.

As a Fortune 200 company, the organizational structure was bureaucratic. Everyone had a specific job function, meaning their roles and responsibilities were defined and followed. There was also a clear hierarchal structure. I was part of a large overall team, the department of Public Relations and Global Communications. And within that overall team, there were several different branches dividing our roles.

I was a part of Multicultural Markets and Alliances, while the other intern I worked with was a part of Social Media. Of course, there were several other branches, including Internal and External Communication, Branding, PR, Government Affairs, and Corporate Social Responsibility. As the Multicultural Markets and Alliances Intern, my Manager was my direct report. The Vice President of Multicultural Markets and Alliances was my Mangers' direct report. And the Senior Vice President of PR and Global Communications was the Vice President of MMA's direct report.

According to Ronald Coase (1937), "every company will expand as long as the company's activities can be performed cheaper within the company, than by e.g. outsourcing the activities to external providers in the market." I was in-sourced by my manager into the company because it was more economic to contract an Intern, rather than to contract a third-party and utilize unnecessary resources to do what I already specialized in. The benefits of hiring me were high enough to cover the company's transaction costs. Had they outsourced, the transaction costs of that service would have been much higher than the benefits.