BUS520 All Week Discussions Latest 2019 January Question # 00598519 Subject: Education Due on: 02/23/2019 Posted On: 02/23/2019 09:48 AM Tutorials: 1 Rating: 4.6/5
BUS520
Leadership and Organizational
Week 1
Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Organizational behavior is really the combination of four
areas of study – psychology, social psychology, sociology, and anthropology.
While each of these areas involves an examination of people and their
interactions, the focuses are quite different:
Psychology – studies the mind and how people make decisions.
Social Psychology – examines how people work in groups.
Sociology – explores how systems work within the organization.
Anthropology – examines how culture works within the
organization.
Now, assume that you are an organizational consultant and
have been asked by a new CEO to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the
organization.
Of the four areas of study listed above, which would you
focus on first?
Make sure to explain why you chose this area, and why it
would take precedence over the other areas.
View this short video for guidance.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.
BUS520
Leadership and Organizational
Week 2
Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
After watching the video, make your case for diversity, and
respond to the questions below.
Click here to watch the video
What benefits can a diverse workforce provide to an
organization?
What are the possible negative consequences for an
organization that does not embrace diversity?
What strategies can managers implement to enhance cultural
awareness and overcome preconceived biases or stereotypes?
If you have examples from your own experience, or from
recent examples in the news, please make sure to include those in your
response.
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.
BUS520
Leadership and Organizational
Week 3
Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Daniel Goleman, a psychologist, was the first to popularize
the trait Emotional Intelligence, sometimes referred to as EI. Emotional
Intelligence is a person’s capacity to be aware of her or his emotions and
feelings towards others to influence their thinking and actions. The four
components of EI are:
Self-awareness – This is your ability to read your own
emotions accurately to know how your actions or lack thereof affect others.
Self-management – This is your ability to control or
regulate your emotions and act with integrity.
Social-awareness – Gives you the ability to understand the
needs of others and show empathy towards them.
Relationship management – this is your ability to
communicate clearly and convincingly, reduce conflict and build strong bonds.
After viewing the video, respond to the following questions
for this weeks discussion on Emotional Intelligence.
Click here to watch the video
How has your emotional intelligence, or lack of emotional
intelligence, positively or negatively impacted your professional or personal
relationships?
Choose ONE of the components of EI and explain how it
contributes to job satisfaction.
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.
BUS520
Leadership and Organizational
Week 4
Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Motivation is the psychological process that arouses and
directs behavior. There are three theories that will help us understand the
motivation of employees in the workplace.
Goal-setting theory – Suggests behavior can be motivated
with specific, challenging goals that are obtainable. The key to goal-setting
theory is ensuring employees understand what is expected and accept the goals.
Self-efficacy – Is the belief “I Can/Can’t Do this Task.”
Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s personal ability to do a task. There is a
lot to be said to scoring high in this trait. People who are confident about
their ability tend to succeed, whereas those who doubt their ability tend to
fail.
Reinforcement theory – Explains how behavior can be altered
by administering positive or negative consequences to actions of employees.
Behavior with positive consequences tends to be repeated, and behavior with
negative consequences tends not to be repeated.
For this week’s discussion, I want you to take a moment to
think about what it would take to motivate you to achieve your goals at work,
and what it would take to motivate people that you’ve worked with, or your
family or friends, to achieve their goals.
Of the four areas of study listed above, which would you
focus on first?
Make sure to explain why you chose this area, and why it
would take precedence over the other areas.
View this short video for guidance.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.
BUS520
Leadership and Organizational
Week 5
Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
We have all worked in a group or team at some point in our
careers. A team is brought together to achieve a common goal. The team needs to
have members who have complementary skills and who are committed to a common
purpose to achieve performance goals. However, teams don’t move immediately
toward performing, but instead evolve over time. There are five stages of group
and team development.
Forming – Getting oriented and getting acquainted. High degree
of uncertainty as members as they try to figure out who is in charge.
Storming – Personalities start to emerge, along with roles
and conflicts within the group.
Norming – In the third stage conflicts are resolved,
relationships developed, harmony and unity surfaces.
Performing – The members concentrate on solving problems and
completing the assigned task.
Adjourning – Members prepare to disband. Some members may be
reassigned, terminated from the group or the group is resolved.
Think about a time when you joined a new group . . . it
could be at work, in a family setting or with a social group.
Which of the five stages was the most challenging for the
group to work through, and why?
How might you have helped the group work through that stage
differently based upon what you know now about the five stages of group and
team development?
View my video for a better understanding.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.
BUS520
Leadership and Organizational
Week 6
Discussion
Decision making is the process of identifying and choosing
alternative courses of action. While we want to make rational decisions,
sometimes we don’t . . . sometimes we make non-rational decisions.
There are four steps in rational decision-making:
Recognize and define the problem or opportunity-In business
the problem can come in the form of customer complaints, supplier breakdowns,
staff turnover, sales decline, etc. Organizations proactively seek
opportunities to exceed goals, surpass the industry expectations and to expand
and grow the business.
Identify and analyze alternative courses of action-Leaders
should seek input from multiple sources to interpret and analyze the
problem/opportunity to come up with as many options as possible to solve the
issue.
Choose a preferred course of action-The group want to answer
the following: (1) Is the action ethical?; (2) Is it feasible? (costs,
technology availability; (3) Is it effective? If your answer to this question
is the resolution is “good enough” you want to rethink this solution it will
cause more harm than good.
Implement the preferred course of action-You need to the participation
from all teams to successfully implement the action.
On the other hand, non-rational decisions are generally the
result of either Satisficing (going with the first available option without
much research) or Intuition (using your “gut” or just your own feelings to make
decisions).
For this week’s discussion, think about a time when you made
a non-rational decision on the job or in your personal life.
Was it the result of satisficing or intuition?
How would your decision have been different using the four
steps for rational decision-making?
How would the steps have helped you to make a better, or
more sound, decision?
Don’t forget to view my video for clarity on this weeks
topic!
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.
BUS520
Leadership and Organizational
Week 7
Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Managers spend 1/3 of their time communicating up and down
the organizational hierarchy. Communication is the transfer and understanding
of information from one person to another. The communication model comprises of
several parts.
We want to examine the Communication Pathway or medium in
which communication is delivered. The Communication Pathway is the pathway
messages are sent, including:
face-to-face meetings,
electronic mail and online discussions,
written letters or memorandums, and
telephone or voice-mail, among others.
While some people may be better at using certain mediums
over others, certain mediums can be better suited for the specific message
being conveyed.
For this week’s discussion, suppose you are a manager who
needs to communicate several messages to employees of the company.
Messages
1. The CEO abruptly resigns after the news media reported,
the CEO embezzles millions of dollars
2. A plan to relocate the company
3. The death of an employee
4. The reassignment of one division to a new location
For each of the messages above:
List the medium (telephone, email, text, face-to-face
meeting, etc.) you would use to communicate the message.
Explain why you choose that medium over the other possible
mediums.
Then, look at the messages from a general sense and explain
how your choices affect trust and credibility among the employees.
View the video below for guidance.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.
BUS520
Leadership and Organizational
Week 8
Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Leadership is the ability to influence others to achieve
organizational goals. Organizations spend billions of dollars each year to
improve the leadership skills of its employees. Leadership skills are needed
within organizations to execute the vision, mission and strategic goals of the
organization.
Visit the mind tools website and complete the short
Leadership Skills exercise
(https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_50.htm). After you explore your
strengths and areas for growth, address the following items in your response:
What are your strengths?
Where do you have opportunities to grow your leadership
skills?
Based on your assessment results, propose three things you
can do to improve your leadership skills.
Watch me walk through my assessment with the video below.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.
BUS520
Leadership and Organizational
Week 9
Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Organizations from time to time must make hard decisions
(expand, layoff employees or close a facility). As a manager you will have to
use work experiences, advice from supervisors and the organizational culture to
support your decision. Organizational culture is the sum of the values and
beliefs shared among employees.
Suppose you are a manager who is faced with having to reduce
headcount (layoff one of your two employees) in your unit. Sales within the
company have declined due to the downward spiral of the economy each department
within the organization is faced with making the same decision. Fortunately,
you only have to cut one job; others are reducing more.
Mary is in her mid-20s, single, college graduate, she is
very hard working and was in the top 10% of the performance ratings this year,
she constantly volunteers to travel, work weekends and evenings. However, she
supports political causes that could be viewed as contrary to the goals of the
company.
Alice is in her mid-40s, has two young children, her husband
is a doctor, her performance is good, and she has above average performance
reviews. However, she has limited availability on weekends and limitations
onovernight travel due to her volunteer work with local charities.
As a manager who would you select to layoff and why?
What other factors can be used to decide who gets laid off
in organizations?
How should an organization choose between a decision that is
legal and in the best financial interests of the organization, but which could
be viewed as unethical?
View the video below for guidance.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.
BUS520
Leadership and Organizational
Week 10
Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
Organizations that fail to innovate find themselves in a
situation where they have to restructure themselves to stay afloat.
Choose 1 of the companies listed below. Use the provided
articles to support your understanding of the company’s situation.
Blockbuster Toys
R Us Circuit City
Blockbuster
View Article(s) Circuit
City
View Article(s) Toys R
Us
View Article(s)
Based on your chosen company, discuss how reorganization of
its business structure would or would not have helped them meet new market
challenges. In your response, address the following:
Specify at least 2 reasons why you think reorganizing was or
was not necessary, and provide an explanation for each reason.
Suggest 2 strategies you think could have improved the
company’s efforts to meet current market challenges and remain sustainable.
Watch my video for support with this weeks discussion.
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.
Leadership and Organizational
Week 11
Discussion
Part 1: Post a Response
You did it! You’ve reached the end of this course. In doing
so, you’ve developed your skills in organizational behavior and leadership.
Take what you have learned and continue to apply it, both in your MBA courses
and in your career.
In our last discussion, reflect on your experience in this
course by addressing the following items in your response:
What skills do you feel you developed most in this course?
Emotional Intelligence

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Motivation
Diversity
Leadership
Decision-Making
How do you plan to continue growing your leadership and
organizational behavior skills you identified above?
More of a feel-good message but hey you earned it!
Click here to watch the video
Part 2: Respond to a Peer
Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to
extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing
personal connections.