Discussion 1: Managing a High-Performance Team
While surfing the Internet, you encounter this note posted in your favorite discussion group: "Help! I have just been assigned to head a new product design team at my company. The division manager has high expectations for the team and me, but I have been a technical design engineer for four years since graduating from college. I have never ‘managed' anyone, let alone led a team. The manager keeps talking about her confidence that I will create a ‘high-performance team.' Does anyone out there have any tips to help me master this challenge? Help! [signed] Galahad." As a good citizen of the Internet, you decide to answer. What message will you send out?
Discussion 2: Strategy and Influence
Identify and explain at least four strategies of managerial influence. Give examples of how each strategy may or may not work when exercising influence, both downward and upward, in organizations. Give examples of each based on experiences you have had at a job.
Assignment: Article Critique
Investigate professional journals and locate two articles pertaining to organizational behavior that are of interest to you. You are to critique each of the two articles according to the instructions below. The articles should be less than three years old. You are encouraged to use the ProQuest Database found in the Ashford Online Library.
Each one- to two- page critique (a total of two to four pages for both critiques) must include the following three parts and must be formatted according to APA style as outlined in the approved APA style guide (including title page, in text citations and reference list).
Identification of the Article - Provide the reader with enough information about your article so he/she will be able to locate the article.
Summary of the Article - List the main points that the author has tried to establish (i.e., 1, 2, 3 or first, second, third). There normally will be three to five main points. If you are summarizing a court case, you should discuss: What provision of the law was at issue? Briefly state the facts of the case. What legal tests were applied? Were there any unusual elements in the case?
Your Critique - Provide your reaction (insightful, critical, and logical) to the points that the author tried to make, or an overall critique of the entire article. A simple statement of agreement or disagreement is not sufficient. While you may make such a statement by way of introduction to your reaction, you must clearly and logically state the reasons for the position that you have taken.
Required Resources
Text: Schermerhorn, J., Osborn, R., Uhl-Bien, M., & Hunt, J. (2012). Organizational behavior. (12th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN: 9780470878200
• Chapter 8: Teamwork and Team Performance
• Chapter 9: Decision Making and Creativity
• Chapter 12: Power and Politics
Multimedia
INTELECOM (Producer). (1992). Decision-making and teamwork [Motion Picture].
• Management expert William G. Ouchi talks about the challenge of creating an environment that values teamwork, which is critical if decisions are to be reached by consensus.