Exploring Leadership Styles and How Leaders can Use Social Media to Boost Employee Engagement

In today's workforce, there a many different people in leadership positions as well as many different leadership styles. In this blog post, we will explore some of the different leadership styles and social media strategies that leaders can use to boost employee engagement.

According to Robert Blake and Jane Mouton’s 1964 leadership grid, there are five types of leaders (as cited in Contingent Approaches to Leadership, n.d.) This grid features five types of leadership: impoverished leaders, country club leaders, task leaders, middle-of-the-road leaders, and team leaders.

According to Blake and Mouton (1964), impoverished leaders have “low concern for both people and production and thus exerts minimum effort to get the work done” (as cited Contingent Approaches to Leadership, n.d.). From personal experience, I can tell you this is not a leader you want to have.

Almost twenty years ago, I worked on a sales and marketing team and had the unpleasant experience of working under an impoverished leader. This individual was more concerned about things going on in the outside world than his employees and production.  He consonantly gossiped about the drama in his life, was always was in a bad mood, and he couldn’t be bothered with answering work related questions, would not expect feedback, and he did very little at work. My team members and myself had to solely rely on each other to figure out what was expected for each project and we were even left to train new employees on our team (shocker, shocker high turn-over rate). Needless to say, I only stayed at that job a little over a year before I quit. Not only was that type of leadership and work environment mentally and emotionally draining, I took the negativity home to my family.

The country club leadership style is more concerned about pleasing people than production (Blake & Mouton as cited in Contingent Approaches to Leadership, n.d.). This type of leader is more worried about being people’s friend and avoids confrontation, taking corrective action, and giving constructive criticism (Duggan, 2019). This often interferes with productivity.

The task leader is more interested in production than their employees (Blake & Mouton as cited in Contingent Approaches to Leadership, n.d.). This type of  leader is authoritative and demands quick results and views their employees as commodities to get the job done (Duggan, 2019). This type of leadership is common in factories. Jim Beam’s Sour Bathroom Break case study as discussed in an earlier blog https://organizationalcommunicationtalk.blogspot.com/2019/09/to-pee-or-not-to-pee-infamous-case-of.html, is a great example of task-oriented leaders. Jim Bean’s production leadership at their Clermont, Kentucky plant was more concerned about production than they were about their employee’s bathroom needs. If leaders only focus on the task at hand, employees’ basic needs are not being met and their morale decreases (Duggan, 2019).

The middle- of-the-road leader balances concern for employees and productivity to  get the job done (Blake & Mouton as cited in Contingent Approaches to Leadership, n.d.). This type of leader shows leniency and allows employees freedom to increase efficiency and performance (Quain, 2018).  However, this type of leadership often tolerates mediocre employee performance, which results in mediocre productivity (Quain, 2018).

Lastly, according to Blake and Mouton (1964), a  team leader “has a high regard concern for people and production and promotes commitment to the organization and to each other” (as cited in Contingent Approaches to Leadership, n.d.).  People that are team leaders hold their employees to high performance and productivity standards and have no issue with taking corrective action when necessary (Quain, 2018).  However, they also promote learning and development (Duggan, 2019; Quain, 2018), encourage performance, reward good performance, encourage employees, (Quain, 2018) and inspire commitment (Duggan, 2019). This is what great leadership is about.

Great leaders are also effective communicators. Part of being an effective communicator is encouraging open two-way communication. Many organizational leaders are using internal social media to do just this. By using an internal social media platform, organizational members at all levels are able to share information and opinions as well as form connections with colleagues (Madsen, 2018). This form of participatory communication can “democratize organizations and empower employees, which is the key to engaging employees” (Madsen, 2018).

Organizations are utilizing internal social media platforms that have similar features to popular social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, etc. (Baer, 2018). In particular, leaders are using gamification, socialization, and rewards platforms to encourage employee engagement. These social media strategies not only increase employee engagement, but also boosts employee morale, performance and productivity (Baer, 2018).

Key points to take away from this blog is that some of leadership styles are counterproductive and are not true leadership. A true leader is motivational and inspirational and leads by example. They are also someone employees can respect, trust, and follow. Moreover, great leadership requires high standards, balancing employees and production, as well as innovative ways to engage employees. When employees are happy and feel valued in their organization, performance and productivity increase.

References

Baer, S. (2018). Social media proves to boost wemployee engagement . Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/02/13/social-media-proves-to-boost-employee-engagement/#724c72ed4db5

Contingent Approaches to Leadership. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://moodle.drury.edu/pluginfile.php/937721/mod_resource/content/1/Leadership%20behaviors.pdf

Duggan, T. (2019). Examples of leadership grid styles . Retrieved from Chron: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/examples-leadership-grid-styles-11873.html

Jain, D. (2017). Leadership styles . [Image]. Retrieved from https://listovative.com/15-different-types-of-leadership-styles/

Madsen, V. (2018). Participatory communication on internal social media – A dream or reality? Retrieved from Instittute for Public Relations : https://instituteforpr.org/participatory-communication-on-internal-social-media-a-dream-or-reality/

Quain, S. (2018). Examples of leadership grid styles. Retrieved from azcenteral: https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/examples-leadership-grid-styles-15803.html

  

Managing Emotions in the Workplace and During a Time a Crisis

Every day, we express our emotions through words, intonation, body language, and other physical actions. Not only are emotions a crucial part of communication, how we manage our emotions when communicating is equally important.  In this blog post, I will discuss emotional management in the workplace and the importance of emotions in an organization’s crisis communication strategy.

We all experience a variety of positive and negative emotions in the workplace. When things go well at work, we feel positive emotions such as happiness, excitement, pride, gratitude, etc. In contrast, when things do not go well or as expected, we can feel anger, frustration, uneasiness, etc. It is perfectly acceptable to allow yourself to feel these emotions. However, we must be aware that negative emotions spread like wildfire in the workplace and can create a toxic environment.

Five emotions that can be hard to control in the workplace are: “frustration; worry or insecurity; anger;  feeling “down”; and dislike (Fisher as cited in Bakken, 2011). Learning how to control your negative emotions is key and can lead to a more positive and productive work environment. So how do we effectively manage our emotions at work?

According to the author of Emotions at Work, Elizabeth Bakken, we should handle our problems before they escalate and overpower us (2011). By not addressing issues that upset you right away, you allow your negative emotions to “to slow burn and keep festering” (Ilfeld, 2016), this can lead to uncontrolled emotional outbursts in the workplace. Some other emotion management strategies that Bakken (2011) recommends are:

• Handle hard to control feelings in work-appropriate ways. Take a moment to analyze what brought on your emotions and think of steps you can take to diffuse a situation if it happens again in the future.
•  Remember how you handle a previous issue in the workplace. Make a note of what has worked for you in the past and use it in a similar situation if necessary.
• Use your organization’s employee assistance program. Speaking to a professional will help you get an outside opinion on the issue at hand and help you with emotion management.

Emotions also play a key role in crisis communication. When an organizational crisis occurs, it can spark outrage and anger from the public (Van der Meer & Verhoven, 2014). Research by Paz-Soldan (2018) shows that “the publics’ initial emotions will be triggered or intensified by a process of online emotional contagion.”  Moreover, social media can expose an organization to a higher volume of negative dialog, and how an organization chooses to handle a crisis can help or hinder their recovery. Let us look at the crisis case studies of Fed Ex and Domino’s Pizza.

FedEx Case Study: During the busy holiday season, a Fed Ex driver threw a customer’s package containing a computer monitor over the fence instead of delivering it the right way (Capozzi & Rucci, 2013). The incident was caught on video and uploaded to YouTube causing an organizational crisis (Capozzi & Rucci, 2013).

FedEx responded swiftly, issuing both a video and a written response (Capozzi & Rucci, 2013). The video response can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOhwZHHwWng. After watching the video apology, I think the Senior VP, FedEx Express U.S. Operations, Mike Thornton III handled the response with sincerity. He conveyed emotions such as regret, disappointment, concern for the customer, and embarrassment for the employee’s actions. His body language also suggested that he was being open and honest. For example, he made direct eye contact with the video camera and his hand gestures displayed passion and conviction. Furthermore, he had good voice intonation. 

Domino’s Pizza Case Study: In 2009, one Domino’s employees filmed and narrated a YouTube video of another employee deliberately contaminating delivery orders with bodily fluids (i.e. sneezing directly on a pizza, wiping mucus on the food, etc.) (Capozzi & Rucci, 2013). Bloggers found the video online and reported to a “subsidiary of Consumer Reports, which posted the video to their website” (Capozzi & Rucci, 2013).

 Domino’s store owner and the corporate office did not find out about the video until almost two days later. Also, the response was issued one day after they found out about the video (Capozzi & Rucci, 2013). The video response can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dem6eA7-A2I. After watching the response video, I think Patrick Doyle conveyed sincerity, regret, disgust, shame. In addition, he expressed concern for public safety, the individual franchise owner, and Domino’s employees. Also, he had good voice intonation and his body language conveyed conviction and passion through his head movements and hand gestures.

There are a couple of improvements that could have been made to Domino’s crisis communication strategy. First, they should have responded the same day instead of waiting until the next to release their statement. Lastly, the angle that the video was filmed at was off-putting. Throughout the video, it looks like the Doyle is not making eye contact. However, after re-watching the video, I realized that it was being filmed off-centered, presumably to capture part of the Domino’s logo in the background.

It is important to show the authentic and sincere emotions when handling crisis communication. When an organization's crisis communicator shows emotions such as shame, and regret, it reflects positively on their reputation (Van der Meer & Verhoven, 2014). Furthermore, when a spokesperson tries to remain emotionless when delivering a message, emotions can unintentionally come out in your body language, which can alert others that you are “hiding something” (Ilfeld, 2016).

References

Bakken, E. (2011). Emotions at work. Retrieved from University of Notre Dame: https://hr.nd.edu/assets/52816/emotionsatwork.pdf

Capozzi, L., & Rucci, S. (2013). Crisis management in the age of social media. New York: Business Expert Press, LLC. Retrieved from https://moodle.drury.edu/pluginfile.php/933981/mod_resource/content/1/Case%20study%20in%20crisis%20com%20.pdf

Emotions in the workplace. (2017). [Image] Retrieved from https://www.changeboard.com/article-details/13738/being-emotional-in-the-workplace/

Ilfeld, J. (2016). Emotions at work: Needless or neccessary? . Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2016/06/06/emotions-at-work-needless-or-necessary/#37629916917b

Paz-Soldan, M. (2018). Getting emotional: Emotions' role in crisis communication. Retrieved from Institute for Public Relations: https://instituteforpr.org/getting-emotional-emotions-role-in-crisis-communication/

Van der Meer, T., & Verhoven, J. (2014). Emotional Crisis Communication. Public Relations Review, 40(3), 526-536. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.03.004

Wegmans: A Food Market That's On Top of the Food Chain with Employees and Customers

Wegmans is a successful, family-owned food market chain that is loved by customers

and employees alike. They have won numerous accolades since opening their first food market in 1930 (Lyon, 2016). Wegmans has made it on to Fortunes’ Top 100 list of the “Greatest Places to Work” since the beginning (Wegmans, 2019). They have even ranked in the top of 10 on the list for 16 years with this year ranking third (Wegmans, 2019).  Moreover, Wegmans was ranked number eight for diversity by Forbes in 2018 (Danziger, 2018). So, how has Wegmans managed to stay at the top of the food chain with customers and employees all these years?

The answer is quite simple. Wegmans takes a counter-intuitive “employees first, customer second”(Hudson, 2005 as cited in Lyon, 2016) approach to business. According to Wegmans Vice President of Media Relations Jo Natale, “in order to be a great place to shop, we must first be a great place to work” (as cited in Danziger, 2018). Wegmans employees treat each other like family from the top-down, and that sentiment reaches their customer base. 

The Wegman family’s leadership has created a culture that makes employees well-being and development a top priority and fosters innovation. Not only does Wegmans provide a traditional benefits package, they even offer adoption assistance (Walter, 2011 as cited in Lyon, 2016). They also invested fifty million dollars to help their employees learn and improve managerial and culinary skills and five million dollars toward employee scholarships in 2017 (Danziger, 2018). Moreover, Wegmans recruits employees with diverse backgrounds, which in-turn inspires innovation and builds credibility with diverse shoppers (Danziger, 2018).  

For this blog post, I conducted some informal research on Wegmans on Indeed.com. I looked at the last 20 reviews by current and former employees ranging from September 26, 2019, through October 12, 2019. Each reviewer was able to rate Wegmans on a scale of one through five, with one being the worst and five being the best. I found that the average rating for the last 20 reviews was 3.85 and the overall average for all reviews was 4.2. Most reviews gave four and five-star ratings. However, there were a few that rated the company one and two. A former cashier complained about the lack of respect, no perks, and bad hours for part-timers, whereas a former meat team leader described his/ her experience as being terrible due to bad management and hours, under-staffing, and no advancement opportunities (Indeed, 2019). Below, I have created a word cloud with the most common words in the last 20 reviews.

Wegmans business approach could work for other grocery stores as well as other industries that revolve around customer service and hospitality (e.g. retail, hotel chains, restaurants, banks, etc). However, implementing this type of business strategy would take time, patience, consistency, and the right employees.

References

Danziger, P. (2018). Why Wegmans Food Market gets the love of customers. Retrieved from Forbes : https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2018/03/03/why-wegmans-food-markets-gets-the-love-of-customers/#1fc43d174ce5

Indeed. (2019). Wegmans reviews. Retrieved from Indeed: https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Wegmans/reviews

Lyon, A. (2016). Wegmans food markets says "employees first, customers second". In Case studies in courageous orgizational communication (pp. 302-307). Retrieved from https://moodle.drury.edu/pluginfile.php/923860/mod_resource/content/1/Case%20study%20Wegmans.pdf

The Buffalo News . (2018). Wegmans (image). Retrieved from The Buffalo News: https://buffalonews.com/2018/04/26/two-story-wegmans-with-a-tequila-bar-to-open-in-massachusetts/

Wegmans. (2019). Great Place to Work® and Fortune Name Wegmans One of the 2019 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For®, Ranking #3. Retrieved from Wegmans: https://www.wegmans.com/news-media/press-releases/2019/great-place-to-work--and-fortune-name-wegmans-one-of-the-2019-fo.html

Embracing the Human Relations Movement: Making Employee Well-Being a Priority

In a previous blog, I talked about the origins of classical management theory and how it affected employees in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. Classical management theories were all about increasing efficiency and productivity. However, they failed to account for the emotional and physical well-being of frontline employees. Frontline employees were treated as expendable cogs in the machine, had little chance for advancement (Lyon, 2016a), and were not allowed to give input or feedback (Human Approaches to Organizational Communication, n.d.). Because employee’s well-being was not a priority, they felt dehumanized, burnout, and suffered mental anguish (Lyon, 2016b). In response to the classical approach, The Human Relations movement was born.

The Human Relations Movement

This Human Relations Movement picked up steam in the 60s and advanced the idea that employees should have a voice (Human Approaches to Organizational Communication, n.d.). The humanistic approach advanced the view that employees are not expendable an should be considered important to an organization.  When employees have the power to openly express their feelings, grievances, opinions, and make suggestions, productivity, and happiness increases (Human Approaches to Organizational Communication n.d.).

Two key contributors to the human relations movement were psychologist Abraham Maslow and MIT professor Douglas McGregor.                                                 

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs asserts that humans have five levels of needs. Once a person’s basic needs (physiological and safety) are met, they can then progress to meet their higher needs (love & belonging, esteem, & self-actualization) (Lyon, 2016d). Moreover, if they do not have their basic needs met, they will never reach their full potential (Lyon, 2016d).

McGregor is known for Theory X and Theory Y, which provided two sides to management. Theory X is  based on traditional managerial views and looks at employees negatively (Lyon, 2016c). Under this theory, employees are lazy and want to avoid work and responsibilities. They need constant supervision and need to be controlled, have strict policies, punishment, and rewards. This negative mindset and controlling management practices can turn in to a vicious cycle which could lead to employee resistance and poor performance.  Whereas, Theory Y views employees positive light and is based on the upper levels of Maslow’s hierarchy. When employees are happy, satisfied, appreciated, and motivated, they can achieve both personal and organizational goals simultaneously (Lyon, 2016c). Under this theory, managers should promote a collaborative working environment, open communication, and aid in the growth and development of employees. This leadership style gives employees and a sense of belonging, builds self-esteem & respect, and helps motivates employees to be the best they can be.

Employee Well-Being Should Be A Top Priority

A recent expose by Casey Newton brought to light the harsh reality of Facebook content moderators working for the company Cognizant. If you haven’t already read the story here is a brief overview:

Part of a moderators job is to weed through posts and decide whether they meet Facebook community standards (Newton, 2019). Each day, these moderators view a variety of graphic content that can range from racist posts, pornography, violence, and even murder. Because they signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement, moderators are unable to talk about work or share their thoughts and feelings with friends and family outside of work and often feel isolated, stressed, and anxious (Newton, 2019).  

Having limited outlets to express their feelings, some resorted to deviant behavior such as having sex in the workplace, smoking marijuana, and telling dark or racist jokes to help them form bonds and numb their emotions (Newton, 2019). Employees suffered from PTSD, anxiety disorders, secondary traumatic stress, insomnia, and some even embraced conspiracy theories. Some employees feared for their life from angry Facebook users and disgruntled employees. Cognizant did not have security cameras in the parking lot and had only a few security guards. Moreover, a single counselor was only available for moderators for part of the day (Newton, 2019).

Adding to their problems, Cognizant managers enforced strict break policies that barely allow for bathroom use, much less time to collect oneself after seeing disturbing content (Newton, 2019). Also, content-coding accuracy is only judged based on moderator coding the content, and one quality assurance employee. Additionally, when breaking news stories are released, managers often provide conflicting information on how to code these events (Newton, 2019). Furthermore, employees are terminated for making a minimal amount of mistakes.

I don’t know about you, but considering what these moderators had to endure daily, I think Cognizant’s policies and management are out of line. With that being said, we can learn from this story. This story serves as a prime example of classical management approaches and why organizations need to adopt a more humanistic approach and make their employees well-being a priority.

The classical management approach is evident in the strick break policies, harsh punishment for minimal mistakes, closed communication (i.e. conflicting information), and limited concern for moderators well-being (i.e. counselor only available part-time). If breaks are short and strictly monitored, how did they find the time to visit a counselor who was only there for part of the day?

Applying Maslow’s hierarchy to this story, moderators basic needs were not being met. For example, some employees suffered from insomnia (physiological), feared for their life (safety), and Cognizant provided limited resources to address their mental health (safety).  Because their physiological and safety needs were not satisfied, moderators did not have the opportunity to progress and meet their higher needs. They felt isolated from friends and family outside of work (love & belonging), they had little freedom due to strict rules, and an NDA prevented them from free speech (esteem). Moderators were to busy trying to cope with or numb their emotions that they could not aim higher and be the best they could be (self-actualization). 

Key Takeaways

1) Happy and healthy employees are more efficient and productive.  

2) Trust, collaboration, open communication, and skill development is essential for employee growth.

References

(n.d.). Facebook Moderators. [Image]. Retrieved from https://animal-human-relationship.pictures-of-cats.org/?p=1390

Human approaches to organizational communication. (n.d.). Retrieved from /mod_resource/content/1/Human%20approaches%20to%20organizational%20communication.pdf

Lyon, A. (2016a). [Organizational Communication Channel]. Retrieved from Max Weber Bureaucracy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp554tcdWO8&list=PLvkPI8QIE9MKnF4CH0XqvKgSaHUE0K9-4&index=4

Lyon, A. (2016b). [Orgnizational Communication Channel]. Retrieved from Frederick Taylor scientific management: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNfy_AHG-MU

Lyon, A. (2016c). Organizational Communication Channel. Retrieved from Douglas McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXAzZRnJo2o&list=PLvkPI8QIE9MKnF4CH0XqvKgSaHUE0K9-4&index=13

Lyon, A. (2016d). Organizational Communication Channel. Retrieved from Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in the Workplace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nASV5I_WG3k

(n.d.). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. [Image]. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Newton, C. (2019). The Trauma Floor. Retrieved from The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18229714/cognizant-facebook-content-moderator-interviews-trauma-working-conditions-arizona?fbclid=IwAR19G9kk6Li8bsPW5rxHoi4QMlDQDaOT2_9AMzaEVcQZiOzwlv1_wKUyLjE

(n.d.). You have a voice. [Image].  Retrieved from https://www.fresh-voices.com/index.php/blog/9-articles-interviews/18-what-is-a-fresh-voice-why-it-matters-to-your-screenwriting-career-part-1-the-screenwriter-s-voice

To Pee or Not to Pee? The Infamous Case of Jim Bean’s Bathroom Policy through the lenses of Critical Theory & Systems Theory

Most of us have had to hold our bladder at some point whether waiting in line for a public restroom, on a long car ride, having an ultrasound, etc. Do you remember how uncomfortable it felt?  Now, imagine what it would feel like to hold your bladder every day. Some of Jim Beam’s frontline employees didn’t have to imagine what it would feel like because they lived it after the plant managers passed a strict bathroom break policy.

                                                                                                                                                               

A lot of us already know the case, however, here is a brief recap: In late 2001, managers at one of Jim Bean’s Kentucky plants implemented a new policy which limited production line workers to only three bathroom breaks per shift, unless they provided a medical wavier (Jim Beam’s Sour Bathroom Break Policy, n.d.).

Mangers disciplined workers for taking extra bathroom breaks, and after six violations, workers were terminated. In fear of disciplinary action, some workers held their bladder, wore adult diapers, and even soiled themselves (Jim Beam’s Sour Bathroom Break Policy, n.d.).

The Critical Approach

The critical approach is based on oppression, imbalance, power, control, resistance, and liberation (System and critical approaches to organizational communication, n.d.).

Under the critical theory, organizations in a capitalist society oppress their employees through hierarchy which in turn promotes an imbalance of power between management and employees, and liberation comes when employees resist and free themselves from dominate restraints.

Jim Beam’s managers asserted power over their employees by implementing a stricter bathroom policy to re-establish dominance and to regain control over employee’s bathroom breaks to increase production.

Managers did not openly communicate with their employees about the reasoning behind the new bathroom policy. Also, management did not follow the new bathroom break rules. This created a negative work culture and further created an imbalance of power between management and employees.

Employees resisted the policy by calling in sick, obtaining medical waivers, and getting their union representative involved. Through the help of their union representatives, the case reached the Kentucky Labor Cabinet and the public got wind of the policy. After receiving public backlash for the policy, Jim Beam retracted their bathroom policy.  Because the employees resisted were liberated. 

The Systems Approach

The systems theory looks at an organization as a system (System and critical approaches to organizational communication, n.d.). Each organization is comprised of multiple parts including employees, departments, resources, materials, products, services, etc. that are interdependent. 

For example, Jim Beam’s organization is dependent on their employees to produce bourbon and provide services (distillery tours, tastings, etc.) whereas, employees rely on Jim Bean for employment, paychecks, health benefits, etc. Also, distillery employees depend on management to order corn, rye, barely malt, etc. to make the bourbon. The bottling and shipping department rely on the distillery department to provide the bourbon and management to supply bottles, lids, boxes, etc. The point is, every part of an organization is mutually reliant on each other.

So, how does interdependence become weak? What happens when it does? Interdependence becomes weak when a part or parts become isolated from the rest of the system (System and critical approaches to organizational communication, n.d.). This, in turn, causes a part or parts to fail, which can lead to a total system failure. Jim Beam managers closed the system of communication to employees when they did not explain why the new bathroom policy was being implemented, ask for input, or listen to feedback. Also, managers took as many bathroom breaks as they needed but forced employees to abide by the degrading, embarrassing, and demoralizing policy. Employees felt isolated from the mangers and the organization. Isolation then led to entropy. When employees acted against Jim Beam, employee productivity declined because they were more focused on fighting the bathroom policy.

If Jim Beams management would have openly communicated with their employees, they could have likely achieved their goals and avoided disgruntled employees, legal repercussions, and negative press. Below is a systems concept map of Jim Beam’s organization when their system is open. Below is a systems concept map of Jim Beam’s organization when their system is open and functioning the way it should be.

System theory can be applied to a variety of organizations. Two more real-world examples include restaurants and the movie industry. In restaurants, input would include employees (labor), food, condiments, alcohol, garnishes, etc., ovens, stoves, pots & pans, dishes, utensils, sinks, dishwasher, refrigerator, money invested into the restaurant, etc. Throughputs is the process of making the food, the process of marketing the restaurant, menu item, or a special promotion, the process of selling the food, and the process of making restaurant rules and regulations. Outputs are the food that’s served, the cocktails that are created, private dining at the chef’s table, private reservations, etc.  In the movie industry some inputs are actors, producers, writers, crew, make-up artists, cameras, props, money invested into the movie, etc. Some throughputs include the process of playing a character, writing and revising the script, filming a scene, editing a scene, distributing the film, marketing the film, etc. Outputs include, the finished movie, movie released in movie theaters & on dvd, private screenings, etc.                                  

References

Jim Beam's sour bathroom break policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://moodle.drury.edu/pluginfile.php/915610/mod_resource/content/1/Case%20study%20week%203.pdf

System and critical approaches to organizational communication. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://moodle.drury.edu/pluginfile.php/915609/mod_resource/content/1/System%20and%20critical%20approaches%20to%20organizational%20communication.pdf

Cogs in a Well-Oiled Machine

Many of us have heard the metaphor that an organization runs like a well-oiled machine. Well, that was exactly what factory owners were striving for in the wake of the Industrial Revolution.

With the Industrial boom, business owners needed to increase efficiency and productivity to keep up with supply and demand. Frederick Taylor's Scientific Management theory, Max Weber’s Bureaucracy theory, and Henri Fayol’s Administrative theory tried to solve these issues.

These theories share some of the same principles such as “hierarchy, division of labor, standardized approach to work, centralization of authority, separation of personal and work life, and selecting the best employees for the job” (Lyon, 2017a). However, there are some major differences in approach and application. The differences are as follows:

1. Taylor looked at organizations at the micro-level (Lyon, 2016a). He focused on how long and how many movements it took to complete small jobs and used the average time and number of movements to establish a standard for all workers (Lyon, 2016b).
2. Weber studied organizations at a macro-level (Lyon, 2017a). He was all about formality and rules. He believed that formal leadership was needed, work rules and regulations should emulate societal ones, power should come from the position and not the person, jobs should be filled by qualified people, and tenure should be in place to protect employees from being fired without cause (Lyon, 2016a).  
3. Fayol studied organizations on an administrative level (Lyon, 2017a). He believed that all managers needed to able to plan, organize, command, coordinate, and control (Lyon, 2017b).

The classical management approaches increased efficiency and productivity; however, workers were dehumanized and treated as cogs in a machine with little to no regard for their emotional and physical well-being.

 In contrast to classical theory, Mary Parker Follet’s dismissed the cog in the machine mentality in favor of a more humanized approach to management. Her theory focused on integration, group collaboration, sharing control, and “using conflict to understand” and resolve issues (Mary Parker Follet, n.d.).

Both classical and human relations management approaches are still alive in today’s workforce. Taylor’s application of time and motion studies to work is present in fast-food restaurants and factories to improve efficiency and productivity (Lyon, 2016b). Bureaucracy is seen in governmental agencies, universities, and factories (Lyon, 2016b). Moreover, organizations such as Facebook and Google use Follet’s principles of management to foster an open, collaborative, and community environment in the workplace (Byrd, Perry, Waldon, Bhasin, & Davis, 2018).

Recommendations:

• Do not treat employees as simple cogs in the machine; it can be detrimental to their emotional and physical well-being.
• Invest in your employees by listening and providing continual training and benefits. Happy and healthy employees are more loyal and productive.
• Leaders need to integrate and collaborate with their employees. Integration and collaboration create a sense of community and makes employees feel understood and valued.
• Promote a group mentality. Leaders should put the best interest of the group before an individual’s interests.
• Do not show favoritism in the workplace. Hire and promote based on qualifications and do not discriminate based, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion, or disability.

References

    Byrd, B., Perry, V., Waldon, M., Bhasin, A., & Davis, S. (2018). Mary Parker Follett - managing communication USC (500) fall 2018. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYtEjn4v1Qs

    Lyon, A. (2016a). [Organizational Communication Channel]. Retrieved from Max Weber Bureaucracy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp554tcdWO8&list=PLvkPI8QIE9MKnF4CH0XqvKgSaHUE0K9-4&index=4

   Lyon, A. (2016b). [Organizational Communication Channel]. Retrieved from Frederick Taylor scientific management: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNfy_AHG-MU

   Lyon, A. (2017a). [Organizational Communication Channel]. Retrieved from Classical management theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1jOwD-CTLI

   Lyon, A. (2017b). [Organizational Communication Channel]. Retrieved from Henri Fayol's principles of management: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90qpziPNRnY&list=PLvkPI8QIE9MKnF4CH0XqvKgSaHUE0K9-4&index=2

   Mary Parker Follet. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://moodle.drury.edu/pluginfile.php/912743/mod_resource/content/1/Classical%20approaches%20and%20org%20structure%20.pdf

Organizational Communication

When I think about organizational communication the first five words that come to mind are language (verbal & non-verbal), messages, interpretation, internal & external. So, what exactly is organizational communication? In practical terms, I would define organizational communication as all communication between an organization and its stakeholders.

Effective communication is essential for organizational success. “Effective internal communication helps increase employee engagement, productivity, commitment, trust and revenues” (Institute for Public Relations, 2019). Whereas, effective external communication can help organizations build strong relationships with customers/clients, other organizations, and the public.

Being able to effectively communicate is also key for individual success in the workplace. For example, my success in sales is dependent on my ability to build rapport, understand my client’s needs, and recommend the appropriate products and services. To communicate effectively, I must really listen (not hear) to what my client is saying. By listening, asking the right questions, and empathizing with my clients, I can build rapport because they feel valued and understood. This in turn increases their receptiveness to my recommendations.

As technology has become increasing complex, more communication problems have developed. (Koschmann, 2012). For example, social media is a double-edged sword. On one hand, social media can increase organizational visibility and make it easier for organizations to communicate and with others. On the other hand, if an employee shares inappropriate content on social media or if negative information is shared about an organization or one of its members, the organization is at risk of developing a bad reputation.

Two examples of damaging communication on social media are the Justine Sacco case study and more recently the resurfacing of controversial “trophy hunting” photos of Jimmy Johns. Justine Sacco was a senior level employee at IAC. On her way to Africa, she tweeted a culturally and racially insensitive message that could have damaged IAC’s public image; instead, she ended damaging her own. Not only did she receive worldwide backlash on Twitter, she was immediately fired.

In the case of Jimmy Johns, some controversial old photos resurfaced on Twitter of the founder of Jimmy Johns posing with “trophy kills” of exotic animals (Van Hagen, 2019). Even though the photos were old, re-posting them rekindled the anger of some Twitter users and the hashtag #BoycottJimmyJohns quickly spread.

Because we live in a digital world, a lot of our personal and professional interactions are on public display and are highly scrutinized by others. When you choose to join an organization you automatically become a representative of the organization. Your actions both on and off the clock, have the power to help or hurt your career and damage the public image of an organization. As a professional, it is important to think about how your words and interactions could affect others. 

References

Institute for Public Relations. (2019). Retrieved from Organizational Communication Research Center: https://instituteforpr.org/organizational-communication-research/about/

Koschmann, M. (2012). What is Organizational  Communication? [Video File]. Retrieved from

           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5oXygLGMuY

Van Hagen, I. (2019, August 8). Jimmy John's trends after old photo of owner with elephant he killed goes viral again. Retrieved from Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/jimmy-johns-trends-after-old-photo-owner-elephant-he-killed-goes-viral-again-1455872