MGMT11109 Introduction to Business

Identify a difficult conversation that you had with a friend or work colleague involving a problem that you tried to resolve. The conversation may focus on a problem that has since been solved or one that still does not have a usable solution. The key is to find a problem that you were unable to resolve at that time. Try to identify a difficult problem that involved interpersonal difficulties, such as a conflict about how to do an assignment or a disagreement about who should perform different parts of a task.

2. Write down the approach that you initially took to resolve the problem about 200 words.

• What did you talk about
• What ideas did you have
• What were the interpersonal communication barriers that hindered your ability to resolve the issue For example, did one of you have a hidden agenda
• Were there status differences that created problems
• Were there distractions that kept you from being focused on the conversation

3. Draw a two column table in MS Word in your Learning and Research Book and type the actual conversation that occurred in the right-hand column. You will need to provide this table as part of your Learning and Research Book. You should focus on the words that were actuallyspoken. If you cannot remember the conversation verbatim, try to remember the key issues that were raised. It should look like this accept your conversation will not be about the weather:
4. • What was it about the situation that led you to feel the way you felt
   • What was it about you or the situation that kept you from expressing your thoughts and feelings
   • What assumptions did you make about the other person
   • What did you lose from keeping certain thoughts and feelings to yourself
   6. Consider how you might move some of your thoughts and feelings from the left-hand column to the right-hand column. Write down one or two specific ideas.

   Sometimes we don’t express our thoughts and feelings because we don’t feel that we have sufficient grounds for the claims that we would like to make—we don’t trust our intuition. But often our reticence is based on a desire to avoid conflict, rather than a lack of solid arguments. Feelings that are not expressed, however, do not simply disappear. In addition to being willing to express our own thoughts and feelings, we need to encourage others to express their thoughts and feelings and we need to listen carefully when they do. Often the best way to minimize conflict is to raise potentially contentious issues early, before they escalate.

People hold different views on various issues but fail to understand the criteria on which to base arguments and limit their expression of opinion in public. Dimensions of perception take different angles and demand that one must make a critical judgment of their feelings and opinion on issues to be able to convince others who have a different line of thought. It is necessary to highlight ways that people should embrace while analyzing issues and expressing ideas in public for their opinion to count.

Upsetting issue and argument

      It is frustrating for organizations to announce job vacancies yet some existing employees can be promoted to occupy those positions. New people come in to perform duties that could be done by long serving and experienced employees, a tendency that in a real sense limits the growth and development of employees.

      Employee promotion at the workplace is suitable and efficient in ensuring productivity and performance. First, Retention of employees is increased when the well deserving promotion is done to avoid some being lured by competitors with better opportunities (Kosteas, 2010). Internal promotions enhance cohesion and motivation among employees because they feel rewarded for their loyalty, hard work, and commitment towards work. Having promotions saves costs and the time that new employees would take to understand the organization’s processes and systems, reduces employee resistance and improves the company image because satisfied employees always appraise and recommend others to join the organization (Day, 2015).

      Discussing this issue with a friend, the key aspect that emerges and is worth consideration before making public opinion is that there are instances when the position to be filled requires technical skills that existing employees lack. Even though the arguments for internal promotions are reasonable enough, it is also worth noting that this practice can be excluded in the circumstance that the organization has no skilled person who can take on the new role and perform to the expectation (Fisher, J. & Fisher, J. 2008).

Citation of peer reviewed journal articles

      In the article titled Enhancing critical thinking by teaching two distinct approaches to management. Dyck, Walker, Starke and Krista (2012), highlight the importance of teaching students both the conventional and alternative approach to enhance critical thinking and management skills because students learn to balance between competitiveness, the productivity of the organization and the welfare of other partners.

      Managerial decision-making requires in-depth analysis of situations to make the right decision (Powell, Scholes, & Sharman, 2012).The whole process should be free from bias which is caused by stress or fatigue. A common source of bias can result in a bad decision making because of wrong intuition. Soll, Milkman, and Payne (2015) outlined the essence of applying good skills in the interview process to recruit competent staff.

      The judgment of current issues and decision making based on experience could lead to misguided decisions because of biased interpretation of the past. According to Soyer and Hogarth (2015), the focus should be put on both successes and failures to help people learn from failures because, by unmasking failures, room for learning from the past is created. Decision makers face the challenge of getting advice and feedback from insincere from people whose aim is to settle personal scores at the expense of other people’s interests. Reality might not be reflected in the process because even the most loyal employees might only conform to an opinion without a critical thought on issues. When individuals depend on their past experiences to make decisions, it limits their creativity and ability to solve problems, only teamwork and sharing of perspectives can open up new ideas and reality (Kahneman, 2008).

      Organizational performance is based on how competent management is when engaging employees through effective communication channels. I t is the role of managers to build a foundation of values to compete and achieve organizational goals (Quinn, Clair, Faerman, & Tho, 2015).

Communication

      During a homecoming ceremony of one of our friends who had joined the navy, there were roles for us take in either serving or ushering in the guests. My friend, Kelvin was adamant that he was to do ushering and wanted me to help, but I was not willing, so we had to argue for a while before deciding on what role to take. To me, I felt I could do well in ushering in the visitors because I was outspoken and knew some of the visitors who were expected, for Kelvin, he felt I could as well talk to them as they are served food. The hidden bit on my side was that I felt serving would taint my image as a gentleman because of the perception that those who serve food are often the cooks. Instead of focusing on the problem at hand to allocate roles, my focus was on what people could say if they saw me serve food.

The conversation

      My worry was associating myself with cooking and the kitchen because visitors could end up having negative thought and image about me. However, I never wanted to share this feeling because Kelvin could take it as looking down upon him by suggesting he should take the role of serving which to me was inferior. Assuming that Kelvin was comfortable with serving was a mistake, I should have shared the fact that I knew most of the guests and I wanted to make the first impression as they arrived. Failure to open up caused miscommunication and taking the role I never wished to have. Problem-solving should involve both parties expressing their fears and though for a solution to be reached (Greiff, Holt, & Funke, 2013).

     The activities people engage in determine their reaction and behavior towards situations. Change is unpredictable, and tasks always have different dimensions. It is important to accept and embrace situations as they are to accomplish the required tasks. Strengths and weaknesses are a common aspect that people consider before deciding want they want to undertake, however, it is also worth to note that one must be flexible to fit in the ever changing environment. In teamwork and group assignments, the tastes and preferences that people hold should be sidelined for the team to achieve their goals. In my case with Kelvin, it was necessary to accept that although our status and interests were different, the situation at hand did not require expertise to handle it, so the best solution was to take on any of the duties without much consideration of our interests.

     Individual expressions in a conversation should be made upon so that the mindset and line of thought of different people can be shared. Openness and telling out the ideas we hold is necessary when solving problems. If we had opened up at once, the hidden ideas could be addressed and a solution that both of us were comfortable with provided. Speaking up on what we think provides alternative approaches to reach a solution within a short time to minimize time wastage.   

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References

Fisher, J., & Fisher, J. (2008). How to run successful employee incentive schemes (1st

ed.). London: Kogan Page.

KOSTEAS, V. (2010). Job Satisfaction and Promotions. Industrial Relations: A Journal

Of Economy And Society, 50(1), 174-194. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-232x.2010.00630.x

Day, J. (2015). Transitions to the Top. Work And Occupations, 42(4), 408-446.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0730888415580651

Dyck, B., Walker, K., Starke, F., & Uggerslev, K. (2012). Enhancing Critical Thinking by

Teaching Two Distinct Approaches to Management. Journal Of Education For Business, 87(6), 343-357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2011.627891

Kahneman, D. (2008). Judgment under uncertainty (1st ed.). Cambridge [u.a.]:

Cambridge Univ. Press.

Powell, M., Hughes-Scholes, C., & Sharman, S. (2012). Skill in Interviewing Reduces

Confirmation Bias. J. Investig. Psych. Offender Profil., 9(2), 126-134. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jip.1357

Soll, J., Milkman, K., & Payne, J. (2016). Outsmart Your Biases. Harvard Business

Review, 1-9. Retrieved from https://services.hbsp.harvard.edu/services/proxy/content/51010864/51010875/6f243dae7f228707bfed563a5795a9bd

Swider, B., Barrick, M., Harris, T., & Stoverink, A. (2011). Managing and creating an

image in the interview: The role of initial interviewee impressions. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 96(6), 1275-1288. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0024005

Soyer, E., & Hogarth, R. (2015). Fooled by experience. Havard Business Review, 81,

48-73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cogpsych.2015.08.002

Greiff, S., Holt, D., & Funke, J. (2013). Perspectives on Problem Solving in Educational

Assessment: Analytical, Interactive, and Collaborative Problem Solving. The Journal Of Problem Solving, 5(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.7771/1932-6246.1153

Bachkirov, A. (2015). Managerial decision making under specific emotions. Journal Of

Managerial Psychology, 30(7), 861-874. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/jmp-02-2013-0071

Quinn, R., Clair, L., Faerman, S., & Tho., (2015). Becoming a Master Manager: A

Competing Values Approach, 6th Edition (1st ed.). John Wiley & Sons.