BUS 311 Week 5 Final Paper

Final Paper

 

You are the manager of Acme Fireworks, a fireworks retailer who sells fireworks, puts on ground display fireworks, and large aerial display fireworks. The company started in the owner’s garage two years ago and now has 15 employees that you manage. The company started as a sole proprietorship, and the owner has never changed the entity. The owner has informed you that the company has received inquiries from several large businesses wondering if the company could create several fireworks displays on a regular basis. The owner told the inquirers that the company could fill such display orders, and a price per display was agreed upon. It was discussed that most of the cost for a fireworks display is for skilled labor, insurance, and the actual service of setting off the fireworks. No other details were discussed. The owner is anticipating that new employees will need to be hired, but he is worried that if the large orders for fireworks displays do not continue, the company will not have the funds to pay the new employees. The owner is now considering changing the business entity, but he does not know what entity to form or how to form it.

The owner has asked you to do the following:

  • Determine if the contracts with the businesses will be governed by common law or the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), and explain why.
  • Analyze whether the owner formed a contract with the businesses, and apply the five essential elements of an enforceable contract.
  • Explain the potential personal liability to Acme Fireworks if a spectator is injured by a stray firework from a fireworks display.
  • Discuss the different employment types and relationships relevant to agency law, and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of each type specific to Acme Fireworks.
  • Explain why Acme Fireworks should not operate as a sole proprietorship. Recommend a new business entity, and provide rationale to support your recommendation.

For each task, be sure to analyze the relevant law, apply the facts to the law, and make a conclusion.

Writing the Final Paper

The Final Paper:
Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length (not including the title and reference pages), and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

  1. Must include a title page with the following:
    1. Title of paper
    2. Student’s name
    3. Course name and number
    4. Instructor’s name
    5. Date submitted
  2. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
  3. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought. That is, describe what your response is to the content, either positive or negative, and defend your position. If multiple options, alternatives, and/or positions are present and are being rejected, you must also defend the reasons for rejecting an option.
  4. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
  5. Must include at least five scholarly sources, two of which must be from the Ashford University Library, in addition to the course textbook.
  6. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
  7. Must include a separate references page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

 
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Workplace Art Guidelines

2 pages APA format

 

Identify strategies for comparing, contrasting, and evaluating various art forms in their indigenous contexts.

Instructions

There has been some controversy in your workplace lately over the appropriateness of certain employee displays. You work in a large agency, so disagreements were bound to come up due to the diversity of ideas and approaches among your colleagues. To help ease the recent tension, your boss has directed you to create workplace art guidelines for the office as a whole. As a team leader in the Creative Department, you are a qualified and obvious choice for the task. The guidelines are intended to help your co-workers better understand what art is and what it is not.

Your boss has given you authority to use your discretion in generating the guidelines, provided you accomplish a few basic things. To begin, you are to include a very brief overview of art and its role in the world and workplace. Your boss calls this the preamble. Next, you are to address the core question of how to evaluate art. Your boss phrases the question this way: What instructions can you provide to help your co-workers ascertain whether their chosen exhibitions will be welcome in the office?

After your boss ends the meeting, you reflect on the tricky question your boss has posed. The one thing you’re certain of is that settling on a good answer will not be easy. Still, you agree with the idea of the project: there need to be rules in effect to minimize conflict. As your brow furrows in concentration, you begin to write down a few questions that you think are essential to answer as part of your process:

  • How should the distinction between high art and low art be explained to non-experts?
  • How does context, such as different employee roles or different times of year, affect the analysis?
  • Which displays should be unequivocally permitted/not permitted in the office?
  • What specific qualities should your co-workers look for in the “art” they want to display?

As you finish jotting down your thoughts, your boss pops back in with a final directive: “Keep in mind that what position you take in regards to various art forms is much less important than the production of concrete guidelines steeped in reasoned explanation.”

 
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BUS 434Week 2 Discussion Responses 1 & 2 And Exercise

Week 2 discussion 1 responses needed

Search the Internet for at least 3 companies in an industry in which you aspire to work.  In a table, list the benefits these firms provide that are “intrinsic” in nature.  Explain your rationale based on the theories delineated in the course text.  Evaluate why you think these benefits would attract the right talent to the organization.

Guided Response: Use the template instructions provided in the video Table of Information (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.as a guide for designing a table. Be sure to include your references, one of which should be our course text.  Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

 

Respond to Jennifer Stewart

To be motivated we have to figure out what it is that we want out of life. Does money, gifts, helping others or just finishing what we start to motivate us? The way a person thinks and what type of upbringing they had has a lot to do with the intrinsic motivations that make them do what they do. The one intrinsic motivating factor for me is working for a company that values their employees and has a family like an environment. On the other hand, the extrinsic motivators like a good salary paid leave, health benefits all help the intrinsic motivators.

Companies: Google, LinkedIn, Twitter

Benefits: Choice, Encouragement, Competence, Innovation, Meaningfulness, Progress, Teamwork

 

Benefits Google LinkedIn Twitter
Choice Y Y Y
Encouragement Y Y Y
Competence Y Y Y
Innovation Y Y Y
Meaningfulness Y Y Y
Progress Y Y Y
Teamwork Y Y Y

 

The three companies I chose provide many different benefits, and I would not mind working for any of these companies. The benefits they offer also meet my intrinsic motivational factors which are also why I would not mind being employed by any of the organization. I believe it is essential to work for an organization that will encourage me to be creative as well as innovated. I want to come to work knowing that I am getting choices, what I am doing is meaningful, and I am progressing in my career. According to Human Resources MBA, these three companies HR departments are in the top 30 companies to be employed. Google comes in at number one as “Google’s philosophy is that with the right tools, you can attract the best talent, and develop happier and more productive employees.” (HumanResourcesMBA, 2015).  Followed by Twitter at number 5 “Twitter’s innovative HR department promotes a work-life balance, causing employees to admire the company culture.” (HumanResourcesMBA, 2015).  Then LinkedIn comes in at number 6, and the sites say “What sets LinkedIn apart from its competitors are its HR innovation and team practice. The motto at LinkedIn is to work hard, play hard.” (HumanResourcesMBA, 2015).  All three of these companies share one important thing; they value their employees.

Google.com. (2018). Google Careers. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/about/careers/jobs#!t=jo&jid=/google/hr-business-partner-1600-amphitheatre-pkwy-mountain-view-ca-3500032&

HumanResourcesMBA Staff. (2015). The World’s 30 Most Innovative Corporate Human Resources Departments.  Retrieved from http://www.humanresourcesmba.net/worlds-30-innovative-corporate-human-resources-departments/

LinkedIn.com. (2018). About LinkedIn. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/company/linkedin/careers?trk=uno-reg-guest-home-careers

Twitter.com. (2018). Grow Our Business. Retrieved from https://careers.twitter.com/en/teams/people.html

Weathington, B. L. & Weathington, J. G. (2016). Compensation and benefits: Aligning rewards with strategy. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

 

Respond to Christy Moulton

In the workplace, intrinsic motivation reflects employees’ psychological mind-sets that result from performing their jobs and includes feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment (Weathington & Weathington, 2016, sec 3.3). Three companies I can imagine myself with if I choose to switch after I graduate, are JB Hunt, Wal-Mart Logistics, and Landstar.

Intrinsic reward Landstar JB Hunt Wal-Mart Logistics
Responsibility Y Y Y
Knowledge Y Y Y
Advancement Y Y Y
Recognition Y Y Y
Team work Y Y Y
Educational advancement y Y Y
Training Programs Y Y Y
Veteran Program N Y Y
Can retire from Y Y Y

 

All three of these companies can offer intrinsic rewards that are satisfying to me. JB Hunt is a huge logistics company that offers training of all areas in the logistics department. Training and advancement are very important to me as an intrinsic reward. JB hunt also helps veterans with employment Supporting Military Veterans

For eight consecutive years, G.I. Jobs placed us in the top 25 of its annual Top Military Friendly Employers list. We also received the prestigious Pro Patri Award from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) (JBHunt.com, 2018). Walmart also has programs for veterans to obtain work. I have not seen anything with Landstar that extends help for veterans.  The only issue I have with Landstar is that they are more likely to have someone work as a contract laborer instead of apply extrinsic rewards to employees. This is not something I would want to do again. I want a company that will offer the full package with intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards for employees. Wal-Mart Logistics is very appealing to me as well because they offer advancements, training, as well as relocation if needed, they also offer a tuition reimbursement plan so that I can further my education in the area of logistics. Learning for the sake of knowledge is very rewarding to me. My current career started out as self-taught from the computer programs that are used to learning the rules and regulations of the DOT, to getting certified in areas such as drug testing and hours of service to be able to advancement to safety management level. Learning and accomplishing certificates offers me with what I would think is an intrinsic reward, pride in my work. I’m not sure which way I will go when I graduate, but this discussion gives me an overview of careers, instead of just money and benefits. I think most logistic companies have to have some intrinsic value for their employees to fulfill their needs for socialization, self-esteem, and self-actualization.  According to Maslow’s theory, once basic needs are met, however, then the value of job enrichment and similar approaches increase dramatically. Challenging work fulfills self=esteem needs and provides a path towards self-actualization. At the highest need level, work for its own sake becomes rewarding. This is why people who are already wealthy may continue to work or why scientists who have won the highest award in their fields continue to spend countless hours on new research (Weathington, B. L. & Weathington, J. G. ,2016, sec 3.4).

 

 

References

https://www.jbhunt.com/jobs/office/military/

Weathington, B. L. & Weathington, J. G. (2016). Compensation and benefits: Aligning rewards with strategy [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://ashford.content.edu

 

Week 2 discussion 2 responses

Examine what technique[s] you would use to conduct a job analysis on the job you described in the exercise for this week.

Guided Response: Your post should be between 200-300 words and should contain at least two scholarly references, including the course text.  Respond to at least two classmates’ posts.

Respond to Elyse Willfong

One technique that I would use to analyze the job I described would be the interview. I think the interview would be a great place to start. It is a technique that can be open, in an orderly way. It would give me the chance to ask my own questions about the job to gain the knowledge and understanding that I would need that involves the job. I could also choose to ask a popular set of questions that would be typical across the board, and safe. I would much rather ask those that I deem important and others that may come to me along the way. After asking questions about the job, I would consider an observation. This would allow me to see, in person, what they job entails. It would then become more realistic and understandable. “It helps you get a ‘day in the life’ perspective of the job and gathers information beyond what would be provided in interviews and questionnaires” (Weathington, B.L. & Weathington, J.G. 2016). I have experienced both before on the interviewee’s side. There is a local call center here and a few years ago I put in an application and was called in for an interview. After the interview I was placed on the call center floor with some of the employees, so I could see what it was like in their line of work.

Weathington, B. L. & Weathington, J. G. (2016). Compensation and benefits: Aligning rewards with strategy  [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://ashford.content.edu

 

Respond to Katise Aiken

A job analysis “is the systematic process used to determine what a job entails, both in terms of the content and duties of the job, as well as what is required from the worker to perform the job” (Weathington & Weathington, 2016. ch.4.1). This analysis will give an idea of what this job consists of.

The position I am interested in when I graduate is Human Resources Management. One of the qualifications is a bachelor’s degree and I am very close to obtaining that. My current job is a Payroll Specialist. My job includes some Human Resources skills. Hopefully, with the little experience I do have, can help me at least get my foot in the door. There is a huge market for HR and I want to be part of that team.

Some techniques that could be used to conduct a job analysis are interviews, observation, and questionnaires. When an interview is conducted, be sure to ask questions about the job duties and responsibilities. An interview can help generate descriptive data for a job position. An observation will give you a chance to observe the individual that’s doing the job and take notes. This method is not the best; however, it can be useful. The last method is the questionnaire. There are two types of questionnaires used:

· “Open-ended questionnaire – the method produces reasonable job requirements with input from employees and managers and helps analyze many jobs with limited resources.

· Highly structured questionnaire – is helpful to define a job objectively, which also enables analysis with computer models” (Society for Human Resource Management).

Overall, a job analysis determines job duties and responsibilities as well as the qualifications and personal skills required of an employee. It also helps with the recruitment and selection process.

 

Society for Human Resource Management. Performing Job Analysis. 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/performingjobanalysis.aspx (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Weathington, B. L. & Weathington, J. G. (2016). Compensation and benefits: Aligning rewards with strategy  [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://ashford.content.edu

 

Week 2 Exercise Responses

Create a Job Description for a position that you hope to be able to attain after completion of your degree. At a minimum, the job description should include the sections of 1.) Position Description; 2.) Duties and Responsibilities; and, 3.) Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. Share the job description in this discussion area.  Evaluate the descriptions of at least two peers, citing at least two scholarly sources including the course text.

Carefully review the Exercise Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for the criteria that will be used to evaluate this Exercise.

 

Respond to Francisco Santos

Position Description: The company is looking for a knowledgeable Human Resources Manager to join their Chandler, AZ team.  The Human Resources Manager for this position will be directly responsible for the overall administration, coordination and evaluation of the human resource function and reports to the Sr. Director of Human Resources.  Sounds a little intimidating but I feel confident in my ability.

Duties and Responsibilities: If I’m hired, I will be responsible for the full gamut of human resources to include benefits, employee relations, performance management, succession planning, recruiting, and leadership development.  I will also have to develop and administer various human resources plans and procedures for a location.  My job will require me to plan, organize, and control all activities of the department and participate in developing department goals, objectives and systems.  In this job I will have to implement and annually update the compensation program with the support of corporate; rewrite job descriptions as necessary; conduct annual salary surveys and develop merit pool (salary budget); analyze compensation; monitor the performance evaluation program and revise as necessary.  Develop, recommend and implement personnel policies and procedures; prepare and maintain handbook on policies and procedures.

I’m excited to know that my job will include involvement with the recruitment effort for all exempt, nonexempt and temporary workers.  I will be tasked to write, and place ads as needed in partnership with the talent acquisition team as well as work with a supervisor to screen and interview candidates, conduct reference checking, extend job offers, conduct new-employee orientations and on-boarding.  In addition, I will have to monitor career-path program and employee relations counseling and conduct exit interviews.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: The minimum knowledge, skills and abilities required for this position are global and cultural awareness and strong verbal and written communication skills.  I must have the ability to establish trust with employees, managers, and groups at all levels in the company.  A strong sense of ethics and confidentiality regarding employee and business issues is required.  Lastly, computer skills are a must, specifically with Microsoft Office programs.

Respond to Christy Moulton

Title: Human Resource Manager for Logistics Team

Position Overview

This position requires that the eligible candidate be able to implement HR policies throughout the company that will help boost our organizational culture and staff achievements. Plan and organize staff in areas that will increase productivity and create a competitive advantage for our logistics team.

Responsibilities

The HRM will be directly responsible for recruiting and promoting based on knowledge, skills and competencies. This position requires a very high level of training investment for you as well as training your team, which may lead to long hours and weekend work.  The HRM will make sure that their team is in compliance with all federal and state regulations. Candidates must be proficient in software programs, word, excel, power point, and outlook to be able to compile data from employee’s files and customer base.

Candidate must have excellent verbal and written communication skills to be able to maintain current customer base and establish new customers.  This position requires that you have knowledge of logistics and transportation functions. HRM should be knowledgeable of the current market prices and be able to negotiate with customers to obtain new business.  The candidate should have extensive knowledge of the workflow and be able to engage and encourage team members. Candidate will plan and organize staff to create a competitive advantage over our competition.

Qualifications

Candidate must have the minimum of a BA in Human Resource Management and have at least two years’ experience in logistics.  Candidates must possess certificates from the DOT in areas of hours of service and drug and alcohol testing.

A job description is a list of the duties, responsibilities, tasks, working conditions, and other   essential elements needed to complete the job in a satisfactory manner as well as the traits,    skills,  educational background, and personality characteristics needed of the worker. The job description tells the worker what he or she will be doing and what background he or dhe needs in order to qualify for the job as well as be successfull in it (Weathington & Weathington, 2016).

 

Weathington, B. L. & Weathington, J. G. (2016). Compensation and benefits: Aligning rewards with strategy  [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://ashford.content.edu

 
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BSBHRM505 Manage Remuneration And Employee Benefits

BSBHRM505 Manage remuneration and employee benefits

 

Learner Instructions 3

(Review a remuneration strategy)

Submission details

Students Name  
Student ID  
Group  
Assessor’s Name  
Assessment Date/s  

The Assessment Task is due on the date specified by your assessor. Any variations to this arrangement must be approved in writing by your assessor.

Submit this document with any required evidence attached. See specifications below for details.

Performance objective

Demonstrate the skills and knowledge required when consulting with managers and employees to review the effectiveness of a remuneration strategy and make amendments as required.

Assessment description

Develop a plan for reviewing and amending a remuneration strategy and evaluate the effectiveness of a remuneration strategy.

Case study: Exclusive Foods
Exclusive Foods have implemented the remuneration strategy and it has now been in place for three months.

As a result of harsher than expected sales losses due to the economic downturn which impacted on Exclusive Foods to a greater degree than anticipated, the organisation has decided to close two stores.

You have been asked to make amendments to the remuneration policy to accommodate this redundancy offer to employees.

Procedure

1. Research methods of reviewing a remuneration strategy.

2. Write a report on the purpose and methodology for reviewing a remunerations and benefits strategy covering the following areas:

a. Why is it important to review and amend remuneration and benefits strategies?

b. Who would you consult? How and why?

c. What methodology could you use? Include quantitative and qualitative measures.

d. What would you measure the effectiveness of the remuneration strategy against?

3. Develop a format and questions for a focus group or individual interview to determine the effectiveness of a remuneration strategy. Questions for the focus group or individual interviews should aim to determine:

a. the remuneration strategy for the person or group

b. employee satisfaction levels

c. market competitiveness

d. how effectively the remuneration strategy supports organisational goals.

4. Conduct the focus group/interviews using the questions designed in step 3. Write down the feedback obtained and use these responses as part of your written report.

5. Develop a written report outlining the amendments you would make to the remuneration and benefits strategy based on your research, interviews and analysis of the case study information provided.

Specifications

You must provide:

· a written report based on the questions in step 2 of the above procedure

· a list of questions used for the focus group or individual interviews

· a written report on what changes you would recommend to the remuneration strategy based on the research you conducted.

Your assessor will be looking for:

· a variety of methods for evaluating the effectiveness of a remuneration strategy

· explanation of how each method would be used and why you have included that method

· evidence of the following considerations:

· Which stakeholders of the organisation would you consult with? How and why?

· What will you be measuring your strategy against:

· organisational strategic and operational goals

· employee satisfaction levels

· management satisfaction levels

· legal requirements

· questions for the meeting or individual interviews that determine:

· the remuneration strategy for the person or group

· employee satisfaction levels

· market competitiveness

· how effectively the remuneration strategy supports organisational goals

· the written report includes arrangements for those employees affected by the change to the remuneration policy (redundancy) in regards to:

· award requirements (where applicable)

· ethical practices relating to remuneration and benefits strategies

· requirements of the Australian Taxation Office in regards to income tax, superannuation, fringe benefits tax and bonus payments

· summary of the research conducted into relevant legislation, for example, equal employment opportunity, diversity and anti-discrimination legislation

Candidate: I declare that this work has been completed by me honestly and with integrity and that I have been assessed in a fair and flexible manner. I understand that the Institute’s Student Assessment, Reassessment and Repeating Units of Competency Guidelines apply to these assessment tasks.  

Signature: ___________________

 

Date: ____/_____/_____

 

 

 

 

BSBHRM505 Learner Instructions 3

Version 1.0 Page 1 of 3

 
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300 Words – Chapter 10

Course Objective:  Gain an understanding of the role ethical issues play in setting boundaries within which businesses operate.

Question posed: Can you identify and comment on personal experiences where some activity fell outside the “mission” of what you were doing. It might be that you and your colleagues took some action and realized after the fact that the action fell outside the mission. On the other hand, you might have been planning to do something and someone in leadership said no because it fell outside the mission.
b. If Enron had a lengthy code of ethics, which it did, exactly what happened to ruin their reputation?

c. Share your thoughts on the below link on the “World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2017”. Are you surprised by the list?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2017/03/14/the-worlds-most-ethical-companies-2017/#206abe307bc3

Proof read your post, prior to submittal, to catch grammatical errors.

 
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SMIRKY ONLY-Responses

Week Three Overview

Assignment Due Date Format Grading Percent
Situational Variables Day 3 (1st post) Discussion Forum 3
Leadership Styles Day 3 (1st post) Discussion Forum 3
Path-Goal Style Day 7 Written Assignment 5

Learning Outcomes This week students will:

1. Explain how situational variables affect task and relationship-motivated leaders and identify three factors that have the most impact on your situation.

2. Identify four path-goal leadership styles and explain how these styles compare to styles described in other theories.

3. Analyze the path-goal style being used by a leader with whom you are familiar and evaluate this leader’s effectiveness.

 

Readings

1. Read. the following chapters in your text, Leadership:

· Chapter 6: Contingency Theory

· Chapter 7: Path Goal Theory

· Chapter 8: Leader Member Exchange Theory

 

Recommended Readings

1. It is highly recommended that you read the following articles to gain a better understanding of leadership:

· Tse, H. & Mitchell, R. (2010). A theoretical model of transformational leadership and knowledge creation: The role of open-mindedness norms and leader-member exchange .  Journal of Management and Organization, 16(1), 83-99.

· Whitener, J.K. (2007).  Year of wonders: The wonder of leadership . Advances in Developing Human Resources, 9(2), 214-235

 

Discussions

To participate in the following Discussion Forums, go to this week’s Discussion link in the left navigation:

1. Situational Variables

Explain what/how situational variables affect task motivated and relationship-motivated leaders. Apply these factors to a work situation in which you were involved as a worker or a leader. Which of the 3 factors had the greatest impact on your situation and why? What category does this situation fall into? Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

2. Leadership Styles

Identify four leadership styles associated with path-goal theory. Explain each style and relate it to styles described in other theories. Can leaders exhibit more than one style? Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

 

Assignments

To complete this assignment, go to this week’s Assignment link in the left navigation:

Path-Goal Style

 

Write a three to four page paper (not including the title and reference pages) about a contemporary leadership situation that is familiar to you.  You may use the same situation from the week two assignment.  Your paper needs to:

 

· Define path-goal leadership.

· Identify the path-goal leadership style used in this situation; provide the tasks, and the subordinates’ characteristics.

· Support your position with specific examples.

· Explain whether the action taken was appropriate and effective.

· Discuss if the path-goal leadership approach would be useful in understanding the leadership applied to the situation.

 

In addition to the requirements above, your paper:

 

· Must be double-spaced and 12 point font

· Must be formatted according to APA style

· Must include an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement

· Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph

· Must reference at least two scholarly resources

· Must include a reference page written in APA format

Carefully review the  Grading Rubric  for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

Ashford 4: – Week 3 – Instructor Guidance

 

Are Leaders Born or Made?    Leadership’s Essential Function in Society Leadership is essentially a description of an observation. An observation in reference to an individual’s ability to inspire others to act in a unified manner towards the attainment of a common goal. In The Leader WithinZigarmi (2005) suggests that leadership is “the act of arousing, engaging, and satisfying the motives of followers in an environment of conflict, competition, or change that results in the followers taking a course of action towards a mutually shared vision”(p. 174). According to Drucker,” Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations “(“Drucker quotes,” n. d.). Leadership is the driving force in societal change.

Martin (1998) suggests without a recognized leader, status quo becomes acceptable and the desire to grow and achieve higher goals never develops. Strong compelling leadership is at the root of all great accomplishments. Leaders create follower attitudes that motivate them to trust and follow them (Martin, 1998, p.1). Leaders also have the ability to make an impact in terms of changes in an organization and in a society (Martin, 1998, p.1). Does this imply that leaders have a unique ability to do what others are unable to do?

Do Circumstances Reveal Leadership Abilities?

“Great necessities call forth great leaders.” Abigail Adams

My Family Leadership Story In response to increasing crime in the Orlando Metro area area, my brother, Mr. N. Smith answered the leadership call to become a grass roots community organizer. His decision to act was in response to a 300% increase in crime, a decrease in police patrols and a significant increase in home invasions in the Orlando Metro area. In response to these community issues Mr. Smith organized community members to become proactively involved in ridding the neighborhood of crime.  Mr. Smith’s leadership call to action was in response to a leadership vacuum and a need for a unified community effort. Subsequently, he enlisted the aid of community members in establishing a fact- finding committee and presenting these findings to elected city officials. As a result of these efforts, he was able to establish a productive working relationship with elected city officials.

Mr. Smith’s leadership was built on the foundation of strong community ties, trust, credibility, and sacrifice. This trust was implied by his proactivity. He spends a significant amount of his personal time conducting community meetings, gathering crime data, and meeting with city officials. Accordingly, he has been able to garner community support by demonstrating his sincere care and concern for the safety and welfare of its members. He clearly understands that without trust, an individual has no power in relationships. Trust is central to cultural ideas of empowerment, expectation, and predictability (Fairholm, 1994, p. 97). To this end he enjoys a reciprocal trust relationship with members of his community and elected officials.

Mr. Smith has faced significant challenges as a community leader. Initially some community members were reluctant to become involved in neighbor watch activities in fear of reprisals. However, he was able to convince community members that their unified efforts in combating the neighborhood crime problem would be successful. As a leader, he demonstrates the traits of pioneering, organizing, integrity, encouraging and supporting. Most importantly, he has demonstrated vision, commitment, and sacrifice. He has also demonstrated a willingness to challenge the status quo and demand accountability of city leaders. In spite of his demanding career as a fire fighter, he daily checks on the welfare of elderly community members.

Mr. Smith could have chosen to relocate his family. When asked why he chose to take up the leadership responsibilities of a community organizer he replied “This is something that needed to be done. I love my community; this is where I grew up” (N. Smith, personal communication, April 5, 2007). In his opinion, he is merely filling a leadership responsibility by building a collaborative social network in a neighborhood where one previously did not exist. He is merely filling a leadership void. Is this situation unique? How often have we seen leaders emerge without recognizing what was occurring? What is needed in a leader in terms of traits and character is the same as it has always been. Leaders need to be individuals of integrity and vision. As stated by a Zen Master over 2000 years age ago; there is nothing special to leadership; essentially, it is a matter of controlling the evils of biased information and autocracy. (Cleary, 1993:p. 159) .Leaders emerge, flourish, and grow in situations where there is a leadership void and they and their followers share unifying values, ideals, and goals.

References:

Cleary, T. (1993). ZEN LESSONS: The Art of Leadership. Boston and London:Shambala Pocket Classics

Fairholm, G. W. (1994). Leadership and the Culture of Trust. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.

Martin, M. M. (1998). Trust Leadership. Journal of Leadership Studies, 5(41), 3.

Peter F. Drucker Quotes. (n.d.) retrieved April 5, 2007 from

http://www.inspirationalquotes4u.com./druckerquotes/index html Zigarmi, D., Blanchard, K., Edeburn, C., & O’Connor, M. (2005). The leader within: Learning enough about yourself to lead others. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall

DISCUSSIONS

Situational Variables

Explain what/how situational variables affect task motivated and relationship-motivated leaders. Apply these factors to a work situation in which you were involved as a worker or a leader. Which of the 3 factors had the greatest impact on your situation and why? What category does this situation fall into? Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

Leadership Styles

Identify four leadership styles associated with path-goal theory. Explain each style and relate it to styles described in other theories. Can leaders exhibit more than one style? Respond to at least two of your fellow students’ postings.

Path-Goal Style

Write a three to four page paper (not including the title and reference pages) about a contemporary leadership situation that is familiar to you.  You may use the same situation from the week two assignment.  Your paper needs to:

· Define path-goal leadership.

· Identify the path-goal leadership style used in this situation; provide the tasks, and the subordinates’ characteristics.

· Support your position with specific examples.

· Explain whether the action taken was appropriate and effective.

· Discuss if the path-goal leadership approach would be useful in understanding the leadership applied to the situation.

In addition to the requirements above, your paper:

· Must be double-spaced and 12 point font

· Must be formatted according to APA style

· Must include an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement

· Must conclude with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph

· Must reference at least two scholarly resources

· Must include a reference page written in APA format

 

 

 

Situational Variables

 

Explain what/how situational variables affect task motivated and relationship-motivated leaders. Apply these factors to a work situation in which you were involved as a worker or a leader. Which of the 3 factors had the greatest impact on your situation and why? What category does this situation fall into?

Discussion 1 – Situational Variables

According to contingency theory, leadership style can be described as task motivated and relationship motivated. Task motivated leaders emphasizes on attaining set goals whereas the relationship motivated leaders focuses on building a friendly atmosphere. As per the contingency theory, a situation can be described on the basis of three variables: leader-followers relationship, task structure and position power. Leader-follower relationship refers to loyalty, trust, and confidence felt by a follower for the leader (Gill, 2011). Task structure refers to structure and clearness of tasks that need to be executed by followers. Position power shows the power of the leader to reward and punish his followers.

All three variables influence performance of leaders in different situations. Below in the given chart is showing how situations becomes favorable and unfavorable due to these three variables.

Leader-follower relationship Good Poor
Task structure High Low High Low
Position power Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak Strong Weak
Situation Favorable Situation Intermediate Situation Very unfavorable Situation

 

Task motivated leaders are very clear about their goals and objectives; hence they show good performance even in a situation that have a weak relationship, unstructured goals, and low power. Task leaders also show good performance if all three variables are strong. Whereas, relationship motivated leaders perform good in moderate situations where goals are not properly structured and the leader does not have full power (Northouse, 2010).

Work Situation: I was working as sales manager in a retail store and my jobs involved taking care of in-store sales activities and achieving desired sales targets in all product categories. The job profile was task motivated and the tasks of my subordinates were highly structured. The position of power was very strong as I was entitled to take any decision related with changes in reward and recognition of my subordinates. The relationship I shared with my subordinates was very strong and they had full confidence on me despite of our high sales targets.

This situation was a very favorable situation as a Leader-follower relationship was good, tasks were structured, and the sales manager had authority to take major decisions. In such a situation the leader-follower relationship variable has a great impact; good relationships would develop into a friendly working environment that enables employees to handle the stress of high sales targets smoothly.

References

Gill, R. (2011). Theory and Practice of Leadership. London: SAGE.

Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and Practice. California: SAGE.

Leadership Styles

Identify four leadership styles associated with path-goal theory. Explain each style and relate it to styles described in other theories. Can leaders exhibit more than one style?

Discussion 2 – Leadership Styles

Path-goal theory describes behavior of a leader towards his subordinates and followers. According to this theory, leaders reflect different behaviors to motivate and support their subordinates in accomplishing goals by adopting a clear path. The leader shows behaviors that compliment capabilities and compensate deficiencies of their followers. According to this theory:

· Leader shows clearly a path that should be followed by followers.

· Leader removes obstructions that create any hurdles for followers.

· Leader motivates followers by rewarding them along the path.

The approach adopted by the leader while supporting and motivating his followers could vary. It depends on that leader whether he wants to adopt a strong approach or very limited. According to the path-goal theory, four styles depicted by a leader are:

· Supportive Leadership: this leadership style emphasizes on developing a healthy working environment by considering the welfare and different needs of followers. This style is very suitable for some boring and stressful jobs (House, 1971). This style is similar with the relationship behavior of the style approach where a leader emphasizes on a comfortable and relaxed working environment.

· Directive Leadership: this leadership style focuses on telling things that need to be executed along with providing appropriate guidance. It involves proper schedule of tasks and respective timeliness for task completion. Directive leadership style is very effective if the assigned task is difficult and unstructured. This leadership style is similar to the telling style of the effective leadership theory where a leader instructs his followers on things that need to be executed and in what manner they need to be executed.

· Participative Leadership: this style emphasizes on considering their followers ideas at the time of decision making. This approach is suitable if followers are well experienced and willing to perform their job. This leadership style is similar to the participating style of effective leadership and transformational style of contemporary leadership (House, 1996).

· Achievement-Oriented Leadership: in this leadership style, the leader establishes difficult task related and self-development related goals. The task oriented behavior of style approach also emphasizes on achieving desired goals.

The leader also designed the reward system according to the motivation level of followers and requirement of situation. The leadership style is a dependent variable that changes as per demand of situation, task, complexities, individual personalities, performance pressure, etc. Thereby a leader may exhibit more than one style as per the demand of tasks.

References

House, R. (1971). A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly ,

321-339.

House, R. J. (1996). Path-goal theory of leadership: Lessons, legacy, and a reformulated theory.

Leadership Quarterly , 323–352.

 

 

Path-Goal Leadership

Student Name

BUS 691

Discussion 2 – Leadership Styles

Path-goal theory describes behavior of a leader towards his subordinates and followers. According to the theory, leaders reflect different behaviors to motivate and support their subordinates in accomplishing goals by adopting clear path. Leader shows behaviors that complement capabilities and compensate deficiencies of followers. According to the theory:

· Leader shows clear path that should be followed by followers.

· Leader removes obstructions that create hurdle for followers.

· Leader motivates followers by rewarding them along with the path.

The approach adopted by leader while supporting and motivating his followers could vary. It depends on leader whether he wants to adopt strong approach or very limited. According to path-goal theory, four styles depicted by a leader are:

· Supportive Leadership: this leadership style emphasizes on developing healthy working environment by considering welfare and different needs of followers. This style is very suitable for boring and stressful jobs (House, 1971). This style is similar with the relationship behavior of style approach where leader emphasizes on comfortable and relaxed working environment.

· Directive Leadership: this leadership style focuses on telling things that need to be executed along with providing appropriate guidance. It involves proper schedule of tasks and respective timeliness for task completion. Directive leadership style is very effective if assigned task is difficult and unstructured. This leadership style is similar to telling style of effective leadership theory where leader instruct his followers on things that need to be executed and in what manner they need to be executed.

· Participative Leadership: this style emphasizes on considering followers ideas at the time of decision making. This approach is suitable if followers are well experienced and willing to perform the job. This leadership style is similar to participating style of effective leadership and transformational style of contemporary leadership (House, 1996).

· Achievement-Oriented Leadership: in this leadership style, leader establishes difficult task related and self-development related goals. Task oriented behavior of style approach also emphasize on achieving desired goals.

Leader also designed reward system according to the motivation level of followers and requirement of situation. Leadership style is a dependent variable that changes as per demand of situation, task, complexities, individual personalities, performance pressure etc. Thereby a leader may exhibit re than one style as per demand of tasks.

 

References House, R. (1971). A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly , 321-339. House, R. J. (1996). Path-goal theory of leadership: Lessons, legacy, and a reformulated theory. Leadership Quarterly , 323–352.

Path-Goal Leadership

Leaders provide support and motivation to their team members to achieve desired results. In present scenario when competition is continuously increasing and organizations are more focused on generating calculative results, performance pressure on employees has raised significantly. Effective leaders provide all types of desired support to motivate employees and make them more productive as well as result oriented. Good leaders help in maintaining healthy and friendly working environment to facilitate processes. Path-goal leadership emphasizes on motivating team members by clearly defining goals and directions to achieve those goals. This paper intends to discuss path-goal leadership and analysis of one situation where path-goal leadership was used.

Path-goal leadership theory describes how a leader can support his team members in designing path to achieve desired goals. Leader support his team members by specifying certain behaviors that are most suitable according to the situation and environment. Path-goal leadership theory focuses on:

· Defining goals and objectives

· Defining path to achieve goals

· Removal of obstacles

· Extending desired support

Path-goal leadership theory is complex theory that consist leadership behaviors, team members characteristics, motivation and job characteristics (Northouse, 2010). Path-goal theory depicts four styles of leadership:

· Supportive Leadership: According to supportive leadership style, healthy working environment and consideration of different needs of team members is essential to generate desired results.

· Directive Leadership: this style emphasizes on telling processes and tasks that need to be performed along with appropriate guidance. Directive leadership involves appropriate scheduling of tasks and formed timeliness for each task completion.

· Participative Leadership: this style emphasizes on involving followers in decision making process. This style is appropriate if team members are experienced (House, 1971).

· Achievement-Oriented Leadership: this leadership style emphasizes on establishing complicated tasks related and self-development related goals.

Situation: GNC Live Well is an American based retail outlet. The retail store deals in retailing broad range of health supplement products. Last year the company has decided to launch a new category of fitness equipments products to maintain its competitive advantages and to respond to increasing competition. Company, instead of hiring new employees to promote and sale new range of fitness equipments products, it directed its store managers to look after promotion and sales with available workforce. This decision created confusion in mind of employees as they were not clear how they will handle this new category along with meeting higher expectations of management (GNC Live Well).

Store manager decided to handle this situation very effectively without de-motivating his sales staff. Store manager formed sub-categories of fitness products and assigned different sub-categories to individual staff. According to new work allocation, each sales person will be responsible for sales of assigned sub-category. Sales manager evaluated knowledge of each staff member on the assigned sub-category and organized customized training sessions accordingly. Store manager informed sales staff on how to deal with new customer base and how to handle client’s queries related with new product range. Store manager also decided not to establish sales target for category as a whole but for each sub-category. Appropriate reward program also designed after taking all concerns of sales staff into consideration. Initiatives taken by store manager generated good results and realized sales targets.

In the above situation the task is ambiguous because employees do not have desired knowledge and prior experience to sale new product range. Subordinates are not clear how to perform the task and how to handle new customer base. In the situation store manager reflected participative leadership style. Store manager shown participative leadership style by understanding different needs of sales staff in terms of skills, knowledge, and incentives required to perform the job effectively (Hein, 1998). Store manager designed the tasks very effectively to increase the motivation level of sales staff and maintain healthy working environment. Store manager depicted participative leadership style by forming sub-categories and establishing sales target for each sub-category that provided clarity to the staff members. Store manager informed staff members on how to perform their tasks in an effective manner. Store manager also shown participative style of leadership by involving sales staff in designing incentive programs.

Actions taken by store manager were very effective and generated desired results. Store manger designed tasks in a manner that it cleared confusion and motivated sales staff. Initially sales staff was confused, de-motivated and shown their resistance towards the management decision of introducing new product category. Store manager created healthy environment, understand the needs of staff members, and designated clear responsibilities by adopting participative leadership style.

Path-goal leadership style is very useful in understanding the style adopted by store manager in the situation. Store manager was able to designed clear tasks, shown appropriate path to his sales team members and removed confusion. The decision taken by management created confusion in the mind of sales staff as they were aware how to perform the tasks. Store manager removed that confusion and motivated sales staff by implementing appropriate reward program. Store manager very evaluated requirements of sales team members and provided all desired support.

From the above analysis it can be concluded that path-goal leadership style is very effective when tasks are ambiguous, employees are not clear about their goals and how to achieve those goals. Path-goal leadership style helps in managing situation by clearing describing the goals and path to achieve those goals along with providing desired support.

 

References GNC Live Well. (n.d.). Retrieved August 15, 2013, from www.gnc.com: http://www.gnc.com/home/index.jsp Hein, E. C. (1998). Contemporary leadership behavior. USA: Lippincott. House, R. (1971). A path-goal theory of leader effectiveness. Administrative Science Quarterly , 321-339. Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and Practice. California: SAGE.

Discussion 1

  Michael Hargrave Email this Author 8/13/2013 4:29:12 PM

 

  “Contingency theory suggests that situations can be characterized in terms of three factors: leader-member relations, task structure, and positional power.” Northouse, P. pg. 124) In the case of relationship-motivated leaders their primary concern is to preserve the state of the relationship regardless of the task. Their outlook is people oriented so their focus on the task is really secondary to the relationship they developed with their followers. In a task motivated situation the leader is much more focused on the task and could really care less about the interpersonal relationships that might be developed as the result of the team properties. In my 20 years in the Navy and now my 8 years working in the oil and gas industry I have seen both systems and traits at work. In certain situations each of these leadership styles have their place in each of the systems at play.

Early on in my Navy career I met up with a total task based leader who really didn’t care much about his personnel and was so focused on the mission that he failed to recognize he was causing mental issues with several sailors onboard the ship. Since I worked for the people he drove over the edge I was not as directly affected by his tactics as the supervisors who were appointed to report to him. His lack of personal skills came to a head when one member tried to commit suicide during a deployment. The member was removed from the ship and sent ashore for mental health treatment. It was only then that he decided he needed to become more of a people person. There were several factors at play in his attitude towards his sailors namely he was recently promoted to CPO and we felt that this went to his head until the suicide attempt. That made him realize he had to not only be the task master but he needed to take better care of his personnel.

My next example is my last supervisor while I as assigned to the High Island II drilling rig in Saudi Arabia. My boss there was a relationship motivated leader who would do everything to support and back his people. Often times he could be heard telling the rig manager that he would not implement a policy because it would affect the morale of his people. Being assigned to a rig in Saudi Arabia was a challenge all in itself but when corporate would implement a policy that just didn’t fit out personnel model he would submit the required paperwork o not institute the policy he knew would fail his people.

While both are extremes of each model, they have both impacted my life and affected my leadership style immensely. I have become both a task master and a people person. My personal leadership style is to develop those relationships with my people but also hold them accountable for timelines and project production.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA

 

 

Respond

 

 

Collapse Mark as Unread RE: Situational Variables Instructor Smith Email this Author 8/14/2013 8:26:56 PM

 

  Hello Michael, Thank you for sharing, “Early on in my Navy career I met up with a total task based leader who really didn’t care much about his personnel and was so focused on the mission that he failed to recognize he was causing mental issues with several sailors onboard the ship. Since I worked for the people he drove over the edge I was not as directly affected by his tactics as the supervisors who were appointed to report to him. His lack of personal skills came to a head when one member tried to commit suicide during a deployment. The member was removed from the ship and sent ashore for mental health treatment. It was only then that he decided he needed to become more of a people person. There were several factors at play in his attitude towards his sailors namely he was recently promoted to CPO and we felt that this went to his head until the suicide attempt. That made him realize he had to not only be the task master but he needed to take better care of his personnel.”  I am certain his poor leadership style was exacerbated by being confined to a ship for long periods of time. Good example.. All the best, Dr. Mel

 

 

JOHN NEAL

Explain what/how situational variables affect task motivated and relationship-motivated leaders. Situational variables are characterized by three main factors.  These factors are: leader-member relations, task structure, and position power.  In the leader-member relations, the group sets the atmosphere and the degree of confidence, loyalty, and attraction for the leader.  This can result in a range from positive and good, to unfriendly and poor.  Task structure is determined by how clear and structured the tasks are.  This ultimately determines the leaders’ ability, control and influence upon the group.  The third factor is position power.  This pertains to the amount of power that the leader has when it comes to rewarding or punishing his followers.  Its strength is in the leaders’ ability to hire, fire, give raises, or promote.  If the leader does not have the power or authority to do these things it is weak (Northouse, 2013).Apply these factors to a work situation in which you were involved as a worker or a leader. The variable of leader-member relations is prominent in my organization.  As a group my employees are treated fairly and not expected to do anything that I would not do myself.  We treat each other as family because we spend more time together than each of us does with our own family and therefore, share personal things that do not always relate to work.  This has resulted in incredible loyalty towards me.  When I was planning on quitting, several planned to leave when I did.  When I realized they were serious, I chose to stay longer as I knew they really needed their jobs.  As a result, there have been times when overtime was not allowed that they clocked out and helped clean at night.  While this is illegal, they insisted that they were willing to work on their own time to help. When it comes to task structure, each of my employees know what their job requirements are and have great job performance.  I have worked hard to cross-train my employees so they can each help out where needed if they are not busy.  They also voluntarily offer to help each other with their tasks if they are not busy at the time.

Position power is needed in every business; however, I don’t really like the word power as it relates to tight control in my mind.  I have the ability to hire, fire, promote, and give raises to my employees.  While I enjoy these things for the most part, I never like to fire anyone.  I believe in second chances and sometimes even third.  However, there comes a time when I do have to let people go. Which of the 3 factors had the greatest impact on your siutation and why?

In my position, I feel that all three factors impact my role as manager in a given situation.  I feel that if I lack in any of these areas in a negative way then I am failing my employees as well as the business that I manage.  I feel that in any given situation that presents itself to me it is important that I am able to utilize these variables as necessary.  This will maintain the relationship that I have with my employees and their desire to go the extra mile for the business and myself. Reference: Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

Scott Richardson Email this Author 8/14/2013 5:19:25 PM

 

  Situational variables include leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. Leader-member relations center on the cultural relationship between the leader and members (atmosphere, confidence in leader, loyalty, and mutual attraction between leader and members (Northouse, 2013). Task structure centers on the clarity of the requirements for the task; clear, concise task requirements equal more leader control. Position power centers on the amount of reward/punishment power the leader has. “Together, these three situational factors determine the favorableness of various situations in organizations”(Northouse, 2013, p. 125).

My position as a lieutenant of a tower ladder company of a fire department typically spans two of the three variables. The reason is there are two distinct leadership venues a fire officer (at the station level) deals with on a daily basis. The two venues are emergency response venues and non-emergency response venues.

Emergency response venues include any incident that the company responds to from medical assists, to auto accidents or structure fires. These incidents require clear, concise communication and emphasize task structure. For obvious reasons my crew and I must be on the exact same page under all circumstances in emergency response.

Non-emergency response venues include station management, public interaction, and professional development. Typically members of a career fire department spend approximately 1/3 of their lives at the fire station, living together. We eat meals, work out, study, and interact with each other and the public on a regular basis. This situation requires leader-member relations to be solid. When they are not, the entire crew suffers, as do the other two shifts at the station. This requires a lot of empathy, understanding, patience, and personal development.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication

 

  Instructor Smith Email this Author 8/14/2013 8:33:09 PM

 

  Hello Scott, I agree, I worked with IAFF members around the country. Firefighters appear to have close bonds. Good example, “Typically members of a career fire department spend approximately 1/3 of their lives at the fire station, living together. We eat meals, work out, study, and interact with each other and the public on a regular basis. This situation requires leader-member relations to be solid. When they are not, the entire crew suffers, as do the other two shifts at the station. This requires a lot of empathy, understanding, patience, and personal development.” Keep up the good work, All the best, Dr. Mel

 

  Tammy Braswell Email this Author 8/14/2013 8:28:26 PM

 

  Explain what/how situational variables affect task motivated and relationship-motivated leaders.

The task-motivated leaders are mostly concern with reaching a goal, whereas the relationship-motivated leaders are concerned with developing close interpersonal relationships. The contingency theory, suggest, the leader may be characterized in three factors: leader-member relations, task structure, and position power and the leader can fall within any one of these three factors (Northouse, 2013, p. 123-24). The Least Preferred Coworker (LPC) scale was developed by Fiedler to score leaders. Leaders who score high on the scale are considered as relationship motivated and leaders who score low on the scale are considered task motivated (Northouse, 2013, p. 123- 24). The leader-member relations situational variables consist of a group atmosphere and the degree of confidence, loyalty, and attraction that followers feel for their leader. The second situational variable, task structure, is where the tasks are clear and spelled out. The final situational variable is position power, is the amount of authority a leader has to reward or to punish followers (Northouse, 2013, p. 125).

Apply these factors to a work situation in which you were involved as a worker or a leader. Which of the 3 factors had the greatest impact on your situation and why? What category does this situation fall into?

In my past supervisory experience, I had a tough group of employees that was rebellious to any suggestions or recommendation that I made. I was just entering the world of supervisory and did not know much about how to leading a team; more so, dealing with unhappy employees. Being the new supervisor on board, I had was classified in the relationship-motivated role, more so than task-motivated. In this position, it was my responsibility to get everyone to function as a cohesive team to work together as a unit. As a new supervisor, I did a lot of team building exercises with the group, too reduce the tension in the group atmosphere and so that employees would build trust and confidence in me as their leader. After several exercises in team building, the groups began to trust my judgment and became loyal and committed to getting along with one another. In completing these tasks, I had to articulate team-building exercises in writing on how the team would work together and identify issues for quick resolutions. The position power given was to hire and write employees up, but it is weaken because I did not have the power to fire anyone nor increase or decrease pay. In my opinion, all three situational variables had a great impact, but relationship-motivated had the greatest impact because it scored high on the LPC making it very unfavorable.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Saga Publications

 

 

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Collapse Mark as Unread RE: Situational Variables Instructor Smith Email this Author 8/14/2013 8:35:37 PM

 

  Hello Tammy, Excellent example, “As a new supervisor, I did a lot of team building exercises with the group, too reduce the tension in the group atmosphere and so that employees would build trust and confidence in me as their leader. After several exercises in team building, the groups began to trust my judgment and became loyal and committed to getting along with one another.” Remember, trust is earned.. it takes time.. Good example. All the best, Dr.  Mel

 

Robert Leighton Email this Author 8/15/2013 2:13:50 PM

 

  Explain what/how situational variables affect task motivated and relationship-motivated leaders.

Contingency theory suggests that situations can be characterized in terms of three factors: leader-member relations, task structure and position power (Northouse, 2013, p. 124). Leader-member relations involve the relationship between the leader and the member. Task structure refers to how well a leader can communicate the duties necessary to complete an assignment. Position power refers to the ability of the leader to be able to reward or punish the members of the team.

Apply these factors to a work situation in which you were involved as a worker or a leader.

As a member of a public safety forces, different personalities emerge throughout your career. The advancement of personnel into supervisory positions is assigned leadership in the way of promotional exams. The leaders who excelled in their positions were the ones who “never forgot where they came from.” These leaders realized that being in the position of a leader meant more responsibility, to not only themselves but also to the people assigned to their station. These leaders who became successful were most often respected as firefighters in the way they conducted themselves in performing the functions of the job. The ones who had the most difficulty were the supervisors who believed that the position made them more than they really were. They were the supervisors who were constantly bringing up the fact they were the leader. This most often changed over time as the culture of the organization worked to help change the behavior of the leader.

Which of the 3 factors had the greatest impact on your situation and why?

Leader – member relations are the most important. If a leader has the respect from those who follow them, the tasks assigned are easily accomplished and the cohesiveness of the organization is apparent in the performance of their duties.

What category does this situation fall into?

The category of this situation falls into the low to middle LPC’s. The leader-member relations are good and structure is high due to the framework of the organization. The position power is weak, at least in my experience due to the fact we were civil service employees and we were union firefighters. The likelihood of being fire required substantial proof of lack of performance or other malicious intent.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 9781421974882.

 

 

 

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Collapse Mark as Unread RE: Week 3 Discussion 1 Instructor Smith Email this Author 8/16/2013 6:42:22 PM

 

  Hello Robert, Excellent observations and assertions, “As a member of a public safety forces, different personalities emerge throughout your career. The advancement of personnel into supervisory positions is assigned leadership in the way of promotional exams. The leaders who excelled in their positions were the ones who “never forgot where they came from.” These leaders realized that being in the position of a leader meant more responsibility, to not only themselves but also to the people assigned to their station.’ As a newly promoted sergeant my police chief gave me some information that I never forgot, ” people will do anything for you if they know that you care about them.” I enjoyed a successful career, because I cared about the people I supervised and managed and I deliberated , knowing the decisions I made affected them and their families, especially when hard choices, were made. ” Caring mean being vulnerable, connecting and being human… Keep up the good work. All the best, Dr. Mel

 

Jason Harper Email this Author 8/15/2013 8:10:24 PM

 

  Three situational variables affect task motivated and relationship motivated leaders. They are task structure, leader-member relations and position power. Task structure involves “assessing whether there were detailed descriptions of work products, standard operating procedures or objective indicators of how well the task is being accomplished”. (Hughes, Ginnett & Curphy, 2002, p. 372) Leader-member relations describes the relationship between the leader and followers. If it is cooperative and friendly interaction or challenging and resistant. Position power involves the degree of authority on the part of leader with the official title, right to give rewards or punishment compared to the leader without the official title or rank. I worked for a cleaning service a few years ago as a house cleaner. In my position I felt that I needed to do a large portion of the work my boss should have been doing. I had to handle the customer service portion of the business. This included speaking with my assigned clients and other workers clients. In this position each time that I tried to take a leadership role it was faced with resistance. I was primarily the only one who had an overall understanding of the business and the clients needs. My boss would eventually listen to my suggestions and then relay them to the other workers. Essentially I was doing his job but didn’t have the title. Over time he realized my commitment and I was promoted to a position of assistant manager. With this position I was seen as an employee on the same level. The workers were more willing to listen to my suggestions and instructions. The position power explains the relationship in both positions. Though I was leading the business I didn’t have the formal title. I was given the title and continued doing the same things but now I had a title. Hughes, R., Ginnett, R. & Curphy, G. (2002). Pp. 371-2. Leadership Enhancing the Lessons of Experience. The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc

 

 

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Collapse Mark as Unread RE: Situational Variables Instructor Smith Email this Author 8/16/2013 6:49:34 PM

 

  Hello Jason, Thank you for sharing… good example of expert power, respect for knowledge and experience,’ Over time he realized my commitment and I was promoted to a position of assistant manager. With this position I was seen as an employee on the same level. The workers were more willing to listen to my suggestions and instructions. The position power explains the relationship in both positions. Though I was leading the business I didn’t have the formal title. I was given the title and continued doing the same things but now I had a title.’ Keep up the good work, All the best, Dr. Mel

 

 

 

 

 

DISCUSSION 2

Matthias B

The four leadership styles associated with path goal theory are directive, supportive, participative, and achievement oriented. The “directive leadership is similar to the “initiating structure” concept described in the Ohio State studies and the “telling” style described in situational leadership” (pg. 139).  “Supportive Leadership consists of being friendly and approachable as a leader and includes attending to the well being and human needs of subordinates” … “Participative leadership consist of inviting subordinates to share in the decision making”… “Achievement-oriented leadership is characterized by a leader who challenges subordinates to perform work at the highest level possible” (pg. 140). Each one of the leadership has its own definition that take apart of the path goal theory. Directive leadership are considered to be the demanding type of leader. Many people dislike these kind of leaders because they are typically bossy and have a very low level of empathy. The supportive leaders are the leaders that make sure that subordinates understand their process in which they are directing them to do. Participative leadership is considered the soft and sensitive about their subordinates’ feelings. Most of them are taken advantage of unless they are directive as well. The Achieve oriented leader are leader that make employees and subordinates develop character on their own through motivation and giving them job assignments without explaining in details of what to do. Many people want to work under those kind of conditions.

Northouse, P.G. 2013. Leadership: theory and practice. Sixth Edition. SAGE Publications, Inc.

 

Michael H

Leaders can always exhibit more than one style of leadership trait or characteristic. As part of the path-goal leadership theory there are four basic types of leadership styles that were examined. While there can be any number of leadership styles attributed to the leader the theory is based on the followers needs rather than the leader’s style. “Path-Goal theory emphasizes the relationship between the leader’s style and the characteristics of the subordinates in the work setting.” (Northouse, P. pg. 137) Under this theory leaders must establish and communicate the path to the goal and tailor their leadership style to help the subordinates reach that goal.

“For the leader, the challenge is to use a leadership style that best meets the subordinate’s motivational needs.” (Northouse, P. pg. 137) While there are four styles to this leadership style each could be broken down into a separate and distinct leadership mantra. The directive approach stylizes that a leader give clear and concise direction to subordinates. Some followers require that this approach be used in order to reach their peak performance under normal circumstances. Some followers like the idea that they are directed to do and not have to think about any variables in the job situation. While this approach is essentially a do as I say approach people do respond to this path to the goal.

The supportive approach would be used when a follower requires some form of support to reach the goals of the organization. This leadership style would require the leader to “support” the subordinate in their endeavors. The leader needs to be well mannered and friendly towards their subordinates and attend to their human needs. “Leaders using supportive behaviors go out of their way to make work pleasant for subordinates.” (Northouse, P. pg. 140) this is different that the supportive method of leadership which essentially mandates that all personnel be involved in the decision making process within the organization. Supportive leaders allow followers to feel like they have a viable input to the ultimate decisions in the direction of the organization. This is very similar to participative leadership in that leaders invite subordinates to participate in the decision making process of the organization. The primary difference in the two are that supportive leaders make the actual decisions where in the participative model everyone gets a say in the organizations direction.

The final aspect of the path-goal theory is the achievement-oriented leader. In this case the leader inspires their subordinates with rewards for obtaining goals established by the leader. “A leader challenge their subordinates to perform work at the highest level possible.” (Northouse, P. pg. 140) in my case I was working as a maintenance Supervisor with Coca-Cola in Houston, Texas and I inspired my personnel with rewards for achieving the line performance goals for a month. These were cash rewards distributed in the fashion of allowing personnel to purchase goods from any of the company of vendor catalogs for achieving the goal. In my current role as a rig asset manager we do much the same for safety performance. When a rig reaches one year with no recordable incidents the entire crew gets rewarded with a certificate that allows them to purchase a gift from the safety incentive catalog. All of these are very good examples of a leadership structure that is achievement oriented.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA

 

Tammy Braswell Email this Author 8/14/2013 9:27:22 PM

 

  Identify four leadership styles associated with path-goal theory.

According to Norhouse (2013), “Path-goal theory suggests that each type of leader behavior has a different kind of impact on subordinates’ motivation. The four leadership styles that leaders can use with subordinates are directive, supportive, participative, or achievement oriented” (p. 138-39).

Explain each style and relate it to styles described in other theories.

Directive Leadership – “is similar to the “initiating structure” concept described in the Ohio State studies (Halpin & Winer, 1957) and the “telling” style described in situational leadership. This style of leadership gives explanation about task, what’s expected of the subordinates, how it is to be done, and the time frame in which it is to be completed. The leader sets clear standards of performance and makes clear rules and regulations for subordinates” (Northouse, 2013, p. 139).

Supportive Leadership – “resembles the consideration behavior construct that was identified by the Ohio State studies. The leader in this leadership role demonstrates being friendly and approachable as well as tending to the well-being and human needs of subordinates. It is also stated that the supportive leaders treat subordinates as equals and give them respect for their status” (Northouse, 2013, 140).

Participative Leadership – This leadership has not been related to other styles described; however, the leadership style consists of “inviting subordinates to share in the decision making” (Northouse, 2013, p.140). In this style, the subordinates ideas and opinions matter.

Achievement-Oriented leadership – “is characterized by a leader who challenges subordinates to perform work at the highest level possible. The leaders show a high degree of confidence that subordinates are capable of establishing and accomplishing challenging goals” (Northouse, 2013, p. 140).

Can leaders exhibit more than one style?

Yes. Leaders can exhibit more than one style of leadership because the leader must adopt to the styles of leadership for the situations or the motivational needs of the subordinate. The leader must conform to the call of different types of leadership behavior. For example, if subordinates need participative leadership at one point in a task and directive leadership at another, the leader can change her or his style as needed” (Northouse, 2013, p. 140). However, switching from one leadership to another leadership may not always be appropriate; it depends on the task, and the subordinate. Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Saga Publications

 

  Robert Leighton Email this Author 8/15/2013 2:54:10 PM

 

  Identify four leadership styles associated with path-goal theory.

The four leadership styles associated with path-goal theory are: directive, supportive, participative and achievement-oriented (Northouse, 2013, p. 139).

Explain each style and relate it to styles described in other theories.

Directive leadership – Characterizes a leader who gives subordinates instructions about their task, including what is expected of them, how it is to be done, and the time line for when it should be completed. A directive leader sets clear standards of performance and makes the rules and regulations clear to the subordinates (Northouse, 2013, p. 139).

Directive leadership is similar to the “initiating structure” described in the Ohio State studies on Style approach and the “telling” style described in situational leadership (Northouse, 2013, p. 139).

Supportive Leadership – consists of being friendly and approachable as a leader and includes attending to the well-being and human needs of subordinates (Northouse, 2013, p. 140)

Supportive leadership is similar to the consideration behavior in the Ohio State Study on Style approach (Northouse, 2013, p. 140)

Participative Leadership – consists of inviting subordinates to share in the decision making by consulting with subordinates, obtains their ideas and opinions and integrates their suggestions into the decision making process (Northouse, 2013, p. 140).

Participative Leadership is similar to the S2 style of situational leadership. This style is the coaching style is high-directive –high supportive style. The leader focuses communication on both achieving goals and meeting subordinate’s socioemotional needs. This coaching style requires the leader involve himself or herself with subordinates by giving encouragement and soliciting input (Northouse, 2013, p. 101)

Achievement-oriented Leadership – characterized by a leader who challenges subordinates to perform work at the highest level possible (Northouse, 2013, p. 140).

Achievement-oriented leadership is similar to Team Management (9,9) of the Blake and Mouton’s Managerial (Leadership) Grid  in the style approach of leadership. Team management places a strong emphasis on both tasks and interpersonal relationships. It promotes a high degree of participation and teamwork in the organization and satisfies a basic need in employees to be involved and committed to their work (Northouse, 2013, p. 81).

Can leaders exhibit more than one style?

Path-goal theory is about how leaders motivate subordinates to accomplish designated goals. The underlying assumption of path-goal theory is derived from expectancy theory, which suggests that subordinates will be motivated if they think they are capable of performing their work, if they believe their efforts will result in a certain outcome, and if they believe that the payoffs for doing their work are worthwhile (Northouse, 2013, p. 137).

The success of this style is the leaders understanding of the workforce and the motivating factors for the workers. Each worker may have their own motivation f to be successful and the key of a good leader is to understand the motivation and continue to provide opportunities which will encourage and drive the motivation of the worker.

 

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. ISBN: 9781421974882.

 

 

Scott Richardson Email this Author 8/15/2013 5:48:01 PM

 

  Identify four leadership styles associated with path-goal theory.

Four leadership styles associated with path-goal theory that leaders can use with subordinates are directive, supportive, participative, or achievement oriented (Northouse, 2013, p. 138-39).

Explain each style and relate it to styles described in other theories.

        Directive Leadership:

Directive leadership provides explanation about the task including what’s expected of the subordinates, how it is to be done, and the time frame in which it is to be completed. According to the text the leader sets clear standards of performance and makes clear rules and regulations for subordinates” (Northouse, 2013, p. 139).

        Supportive Leadership:

Supportive leadership provides the follower with an approachable leader whose main concern is the people the leader works with.  Further, supportive leadership is similar to the consideration behavior in the Ohio State Study on Style approach (Northouse, 2013, p. 140)

        Participative Leadership:

Participative leadership provides a collaborative approach that encourages leader-subordinates decision making by consulting with subordinates in this style, leaders obtain subordinates’ ideas and opinions and consider their suggestions in the decision making process (Northouse, 2013, p. 140).

        Achievement-oriented Leadership:

Achievement-oriented leadership provides a leader who has high expectations of subordinates. Additionally, an achievement-oriented leader has confidence in the abilities of those on their team (Northouse, 2013, p. 140). Achievement-oriented leadership is similar to Team Management in so much as team management places a strong emphasis on both tasks and interpersonal relationships. That is, like team management, Leaders expect a lot of their team members and they place the same expectation on taking care of their team members (Northouse, 2013, p. 81).

Can leaders exhibit more than one style?

Strong leaders DO exhibit more than one style. I believe that is a large part of the definition of a strong leader; one who exhibits the right leadership style based on the situation, team members, and goals. The key, in my opinion is consistency. Meaning that a leader must fully understand leadership situations and styles in order to match the best styles with the situation and use that refine their skills set in the styles they use from their leadership toolbox.

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Saga Publications

 

Jason Harper Email this Author 8/15/2013 10:00:22 PM

 

  Four leadership styles associated with path goal theory are directive, participative, supportive and achievement oriented leadership behaviors. There is not one leadership style that works in all situations. Leadership styles can be utilized in conjunction with another in order to meet the requirements of an effective leader/member relationship. Robert House’s path goal theory deals with expectancy that effort leads to effective performance; expectancy that performance leads to reward; intrinsic job satisfaction; performance and overall satisfaction. Directive: Leader tells subordinates what their tasks are, how they should be done and closely monitors subordinates activities and practices constant follow-ups until execution of tasks Participative: Leaders believe in more democratic system within the delegation process. Subordinates are allowed to offer suggestions or opinions. They can create ways in which to meet the needs of their tasks and duties.  In cases where suggestions or opinions aren’t used, leaders explain to subordinates the reasoning behind their final decision. Supportive: Leaders focus on being courteous and friendly, “expressing genuine concern for followers well being, individuals needs and remaining approachable and open to followers”. (Hughes, R., Ginnett, R. & Curphy, G. (2002) Achievement-oriented: Leaders are a combination of supportive and demanding. They set higher goals for followers to reach; yet provide the support needed to accomplish goals. They show subordinates they can succeed, will succeed and will look to enhance their behavior in the future. Romeo, D. & Carter, C. (1992). A test of path goal theory: The effects of leadership and faculty satisfaction. Retrieved August 15, 2013 from: http://search.proquest.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/docview/304028652/13FEAA646A57EA7BD97/3?accountid=32521 Muczyk, J.P. & Reimann, B.C. (1987). The Case for Directive Leadership. Retrieved August 15, 2013 from: http://search.proquest.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/docview/210523044/13FEAAB28F77FECBE33/3?accountid=32521 Hughes, R., Ginnett, R. & Curphy, G. (2002). Leadership: Enhancing The Lessons of Experience. p. 377. The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.
 
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I Am Qualified, Why Not Me? Incident Analysis

INCIDENT 2 I Am Qualified, Why Not Me?

Five years ago, when Bobby Bret joined Crystal Productions as a junior accountant, he felt that he was on his way up. He had just graduated with a B+B+ average from college where he was well liked by his peers and by the faculty, and had been an officer in several student organizations. Bobby had shown a natural ability to get along with people as well as to get things done. He remembered what Roger Friedman, the controller at Crystal, had told him when he was hired, “I think you will do well here, Bobby. You’ve come highly recommended. You are the kind of guy that can expect to move right on up the ladder.”

Bobby felt that he had done a good job at Crystal, and everybody seemed to like him. In addition, his performance appraisals had been excellent. However, after five years he was still a junior accountant. He had applied for two senior accountant positions that had opened, but they were both filled by people hired from outside the firm. When the accounting supervisor’s job came open two years ago, Bobby had not applied. He was surprised when his new boss turned out to be a hotshot graduate of State University whose only experience was three years with a large accounting firm. Bobby had hoped that Ron Greene, a senior accountant he particularly respected, would get the job.

On the fifth anniversary of his employment at Crystal, Bobby decided it was time to do something. He made an appointment with the controller. At that meeting, Bobby explained to Mr. Friedman that he had worked hard to obtain a promotion and shared his frustration about having been in the same job for so long. “Well,” said Mr. Friedman, “you don’t think that you were all that much better qualified than the people that we have hired, do you?” “No,” said Bobby, “but I think I could have handled the senior accountant job. Of course, the people you have hired are doing a great job too.” The controller responded, “We just look at the qualifications of all the applicants for each job, and considering everything, try to make a reasonable decision.”

 
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HR Competency Journal

ORG/535 v1

HR Competency Journal

ORG/535 v1

Page 2 of 2

 

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Wk 1 – Apply: HR Competency Journal

Instructions

Review Figure 1.3, Competencies and Behaviors for HR Professionals, in your textbook, and refer to the HR Competencies tutorial.

Throughout the week, identify 3 to 5 examples of the HR competencies-in-action by HR professionals or by others in your everyday life. Journal about each example below. In each entry, complete the following:

· Identify which of the 9 competencies you observed in action

· Describe who was doing what

· Explain how that behavior is an example of the identified competency.

Look for examples of any of the following competencies:

· Relationship management

· Consultation

· Organizational leadership and navigation

· Communications

· Global and cultural effectiveness

· Ethical practice

· Critical evaluation

· Business acumen

Journal

HR Competency Observed Behavior How the behavior demonstrates the competency
     
     
     
     
     

 

 

Copyright 2020 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2020 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved.

 
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Case Study- 2 Part Assignment-Negotiation At Work -Conduct A Negotiation For A Workplace Conflict/Issue

Planning Guide

1. What are the issues to be negotiated?

2. What are the priorities among the issues in the bargaining mix?

3. What are the primary underlying interests?

4. What are my limits on each issue-walkaway points and BATNAs?

5. What are my target points and openings requests on these issues?

6. Who are the important constituencies to whom I am accountable?

7. What do I know about the other negotiator’s interests, negotiating style, and personal reputation?

8. What overall strategy do I want to pursue?

9. What do I need to assemble-research, documents, charts and graphs, and so on- to make the most effective presentation on what I want to achieve? What tactics will I use to present my arguments or defend against the other negotiator’s arguments?

10. What protocol is important for this negotiation: where we negotiate, when we negotiate, who is present for the negotiation, agenda to be followed, note taking? Also, what is our backup plan if this negotiation fails?

 
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Can You Do My Assessment Questions

Course Textbook

Bennett-Alexander, D. D., & Hartman, L. P. (2009). Employment law for business (6th ed.).

New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

 

Question 1

1. Which of the following is not covered by the EEOC’s definition of contingent worker?

Answer

    an employee hired through a staffing firm.
    a temporary, seasonal, or part-time worker.
    an applicant.
    an independent contractor.

4 points

Question 2

1. The employment-at-will doctrine means that

Answer

    An actor must agree to follow the instructions by the play’s director in order to be cast in a play by William Shakespeare.
    Highly paid skilled workers in the building trades can pass their jobs on to a relative when they die.
    An employer can terminate an employee for any reason as long as the reason is not a violation of public policy or against the law.
    Government employees lose their constitutional rights when on the job.

4 points

Question 3

1. Marilyn was employed at the Quick Stop. She was fired for allegedly stealing from the cash draw. Marilyn denied taking the money. She applied for another position at the local Food Mart. When asked why she left her last job, she explained that her manager fired her for stealing; however, she continued to deny stealing the money. Marilyn did not get the job at the Quick Mart. She contacted a lawyer to discuss her options.

Answer

    Marilyn does not have a cause of action against Quick Stop for defamation because her reputation has not been harmed.
    Marilyn does not have a cause of action against Quick Stop for defamation because she told the manager at Food Mart about the allegations.
    Marilyn has a cause of action for defamation against Quick Stop because she was forced to repeat the defamatory remarks to her prospective new employer.
    Marilyn has a cause of action for defamation because the manager at Quick Stop would have provided the information if he had been asked for a reference.

4 points

Question 4

1. Ms. Lee was employed as a secretary at Burton Trucking. She was fired from her job when she refused to perjure herself at a trial where her employer was the defendant. She filed a wrongful discharge lawsuit against her former employer. Ms. Lee will:

Answer

    prevail if the state where the lawsuit was filed recognizes a public policy exception to the employment-at-will doctrine.
    prevail only if she proves she was telling the truth.
    will lose because the employment-at-will doctrine completely insulates the employer from liability.
    will lose because her testimony provided the basis for a defamation lawsuit by her former employer.

4 points

Question 5

1. An employer seeks applicants for entry-level jobs from among those with experience in a segment of her industry that has typically exhibited hostility toward groups defined by certain protected traits. This form of recruitment is:

Answer

    probably wrongful, because it is illegal to limit applicants to those with experience, unless the experience sought is experience in the precise industry segment in which the employer operates.
    perfectly legal.
    probably wrongful, because the applicant pool will be virtually devoid of members of these groups.
    perfectly legal, as long as the employer hires the most experienced applicants.

4 points

Question 6

1. An effective method to minimize the possibility that a prior employer of a prospective employee will refuse to provide a reference on the grounds that a reference can give rise to defamation liability is

Answer

    to require all prospective employees to sign a document releasing former employers from liability for providing references, and providing a copy of the release to prior employers from whom references are sought.
    conduct reference checks secretly.
    have the references checked by an unrelated third party.
    check only references that are adequately insured against defamation.

4 points

 

Question 7

1. Which factor is not part of the economic realities test used by the courts to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor?

Answer

    the degree of control exerted by the alleged employer over the worker.
    how integral the work is to the alleged employer’s business.
    the degree of skill required by the worker.
    whether the alleged employer withholds payroll taxes or provides worker’s compensation

4 points

 

Question 8

1. Davis Hosiery Mills has each new employee sign a form acknowledging receipt of the company’s handbook. The handbook states that employees will be terminated for good cause only. It also contains a disclaimer, in small print, which informs the employee that the employment relationship is “at will.” An employee of Davis Hosiery sues for wrongful termination.

Answer

    The employee cannot sue because termination for good cause is not generally recognized as a limitation to employment-at-will, even when placed in an employee handbook.
    Davis Hosiery will win the case because the employee signed a form acknowledging that the employment relationship at Davis Hosiery is “at will.”
    Depending on the statutes or court decisions in the state where Davis Hosiery is located, the employee can proceed with the lawsuit because the disclaimer was neither prominent nor conspicuous.
    The employee cannot sue if she lost her copy of the handbook.

4 points

Question 9

1. Mr. Jones was employed by Barker Sock Company as a sewing machine repairman in Plant #5. He, along with the other 700 employees, was informed that the plant had been permanently closed by a written notice on the door when he arrived at work.

Answer

    Mr. Jones’ only recourse is to file for unemployment benefits.
    Mr. Jones has no recourse because he was an employee-at-will.
    Mr. Jones may be eligible to receive his salary and benefits for the next 60 days.
    None of the choices are correct.

4 points

 

Question 10

1. Grand Lake Bridge Builders is hiring Material Handling Laborers. The job requires the ability to lift or move objects weighing 100 pounds. Shannon Marshall, who is 5’9” tall and looks to weigh about 135 pounds applies for the job. Grand Lakes wants to ensure that she is physically capable of doing the job.

Answer

    Grand Lake can require Shannon to take a pre-employment physical examination before wasting time and money on the rest of the application process, such as an interview, drug test and background check.
    If Grand Lake makes a conditional job offer to Shannon, it can require her to take a physical examination before wasting time and money on the rest of the application process, such as the drug test and background check.
    Grand Lake cannot require Shannon to take a preemployment physical examination as a condition of employment, but can require a physical examination after a job offer has been made, provided that all of the non-medical aspects of the application process are completed before the physical examination.
    Grand Lake can avoid this problem by keeping a set of 100 pound weights in the office and requiring all applicants to lift them at the time of the interview.

 

Question 1

1. In the workplace of the private sector employer:

Answer

    employee rights under the Privacy Protection Act of 1974 are stronger than the rights of the employer under the Act.
    employees have no legitimate expectation to any privacy rights.
    employees have limited rights to privacy in the workplace.
    employees have an absolute right to privacy in the workplace.

4 points

Question 2

1. Kay Poplin was employed as a dental hygienist for Dr. Clark Smith. Dr. Smith rubbed up against her body during working hours and asked for sex. Dr. Smith called her home at all hours of the night making lewd sexual comments. He would drop by her home unannounced 3 to 4 times a week, exposing himself and asking for sex when she opened the door. Kay quit her job.

Answer

    Kay has a cause of action for violation of the Privacy Act.
    Kay has a cause of action for intrusion into seclusion.
    Kay does not have a cause of action because she did not call the police.
    Kay does not have a cause of action because the outrageous conduct took place outside the workplace.

4 points

 

Question 3

1. Andrew was employed by the Emerald City in the accounting department. David, the head of the department, stormed into Andrew’s office demanding to search the files and all records of payments made by Emerald City to Holland Construction. David accused Andrew of getting “kick backs” from Holland Construction. Andrew attempted to leave the office during the search and David closed the door and told him to stay until all of the files had been reviewed.

Answer

    Andrew’s 4thAmendment rights have been violated because the search was per se unreasonable.
    Andrew has a claim for defamation.
    Andrew has a cause of action for false imprisonment.
    Andrew has no recourse because the search was reasonable.

4 points

Question 4

1. An employer cannot be held liable to an employee for the tort of intrusion into seclusion unless, among other things:

Answer

    the employee was entitled to privacy in the area into which the employer is alleged to have improperly intruded.
    the employee failed to waive his privacy interest.
    the employee waived his privacy interest.
    the employee can demonstrate that the seclusion was rationally related to a legitimate employer interest.

4 points

Question 5

1. Lane was employed by the county as the public assistance coordinator. She was fired after her office was searched by her supervisor. Her supervisor claimed that she searched the office looking for evidence that Lane was engaged in food stamp fraud.

Answer

    Lane’s 4thAmendment rights have been violated because the search was per se unreasonable.
    Lane has no recourse because her employer had reasonable grounds to suspect the search would reveal that she was engaged in food stamp fraud.
    Lane can file an action based on the Privacy Act.
    Lane can file a claim based invasion of privacy.

4 points

 

Question 6

1. A private employer’s regulation of off-work activities may be limited by:

Answer

    common law privacy protections.
    the Privacy Act of 1974.
    the Fourth Amendment.
    a complaint to the Privacy Protection Study Commission.

4 points

Question 7

1. For which of the following does Josh, an employee, generally have the greatest expectation of privacy?

Answer

    Josh’s desk drawers in his office.
    Josh’s briefcase that he carries to and from the office and home.
    Josh’s business use company car.
    Josh’s locker at work.

4 points

Question 8

1. An employee unreasonably detained during a search by a private employer may have a viable cause of action against the employer for:

Answer

    defamation.
    false imprisonment.
    assault.
    battery.

4 points

 

Question 9

1. Someone claiming to be an employee of the employer for whom Bernie works has been handing out flyers denigrating the employer at a local shopping mall. Bernie’s employer had its security force search all of the employees’ lockers to see if they had any of the flyers.

Bernie can file an action against his employer under the 4th amendment if

I. His employer is a private company that has a government contract. II. His employer is a state or local government. III. His employer is the federal government. IV. His employer is a non-profit organization.

Answer

    I, II and IV.
    I, III and IV
    II and III.
    III and IV.

4 points

Question 10

1. Under the Privacy Act of 1974:

Answer

    an employee can seek both civil and criminal remedies for violations of the act by private sector employers only.
    an employee can seek both civil and criminal remedies for violations of the act by private sector employers and federal government employers.
    an employee can seek both civil and criminal remedies for violations of the act by federal government employers.
    an employee is barred from legal remedies unless they can demonstrate interference with the orderly functioning of the government.

 

 

Question 1

1. Mandatory Arbitration Agreements wherein the employee agrees to arbitrate all disputes arising out of his/her employment relationship

Answer

    do not interfere with the employee’s right to file a claim for discrimination with the EEOC.
    prevent an employee from pursuing a claim for discrimination with the EEOC.
    are enforceable except when the employer violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
    are not enforceable unless authorized by the EEOC.

4 points

 

 

 

Question 2

1. Carrie Farini, a white woman, applies for a job as a waitress at the Redbone Cajun and Soul Food Restaurant. Although she has prior experience as a server at other dining establishments, she is not hired because she is white. All of the waiters at the Redbone are black men.

Answer

    Carrie can bring a complaint of discrimination under Title VII based on race.
    Redbone can defend the case on the basis that race is a bona fide occupational qualification to work in the dining room at Redbone because it is presenting a soul food dining experience.
    Carrie can reapply to work at the Redbone if she is willing to work wearing “black face” make-up.
    Carrie can bring a complaint of discrimination under section 1983.

4 points

Question 3

1. Nemo Gill was hired by the Spectacular Tropical Aquarium and agreed to submit any disputes arising out of his employment to binding arbitration. Nemo was fired when he became a “Rastafarian” and urged his co-workers to become vegetarians and smoke ganja. Without waiting for the results of the arbitration, Nemo filed a complaint alleging religious discrimination with the EEOC. The EEOC quickly filed a lawsuit on his behalf. Spectacular moved to have the EEOC’s lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that Nemo signed a valid arbitration agreement.

Answer

    The EEOC cannot bring a lawsuit enforcement action against Spectacular because Nemo signed the mandatory arbitration agreement.
    The EEOC can bring a lawsuit enforcement action against Spectacular despite Nemo’s agreeing to arbitration.
    The EEOC cannot bring a lawsuit enforcement action against Spectacular because Nemo did not wait for the results of the arbitration.
    The EEOC cannot bring a lawsuit enforcement action against Spectacular because Nemo’s urging his co-workers to smoke ganja and become vegetarians had nothing to do with his job.

4 points

 

Question 4

1. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination

Answer

    relating to employment, women in sports and housing.
    relating to employment only.
    relating to employment, women in sports, housing, education, and public accommodations.
    relating to employment, education, and public accommodations.

4 points

Question 5

1. Every successful claimant in a Title VII case is eligible to receive

Answer

    back pay, front pay and liquidated damages.
    back pay, front pay, attorney fees and punitive damages
    back pay, front pay, attorney fees, punitive damages, and compensatory damages
    back pay, front pay, and compensatory damages

4 points

Question 6

1. Actionable racial harassment:

Answer

    must be either severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment.
    exists only where the victim is not a member of a majority race.
    exists only where the victim is not a member of the race that is the majority in the workplace.
    must be both severe and pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment.

4 points

Question 7

1. Marc Brown is a chemical engineer with a graduate degree from MIT. Mr. Brown is African American. He applied for a chemical engineering position with Kincaid Paper Company. Although he was qualified for the job, he was not offered the position. Mr. Brown happened to see the job advertised in the newspaper 2 weeks after he had been rejected.

Answer

    Mr. Brown does not have a cause of action for discrimination.
    Mr. Brown can offer evidence to satisfy the elements of a prima facie case.
    Mr. Brown cannot offer evidence to satisfy the elements of a prima facie case.
    Mr. Brown is not eligible to file a claim under Title VII.

4 points

 

Question 8

1. When an employee has complained to his/her employer about racial harassment, the employer should

Answer

    not investigate if there has only been one isolated incident of misconduct because one incident does not rise to the level of racial harassment.
    investigate and take immediate corrective action.
    avoid future communications with the employee in order to prevent a complaint with EEOC for reprisal because the employee complained about the harassment.
    eliminate any future harassment problems by terminating all employees involved, including the employee that complained.

4 points

Question 9

1. A person who brings a claim of employment discrimination under 42 U.S.C section 1981 must show that

Answer

    there was a conspiracy to cause discrimination by other persons at the workplace.
    that the person who discriminated was acting under color of state law.
    that the discrimination occurred in connection with an employment contract.
    that the discrimination was based on a disparate impact.

4 points

Question 10

1. Sally Landon is employed by Kent Electronics, Inc. in its London facility. Kent Electronics, Inc. is a U.S. corporation. Sally is not a U.S. citizen. Sally’s job was eliminated in a recent reduction in force. She noticed that only women were laid off. She contacted EEOC in Washington, D.C. to file a claim for discrimination.

Answer

    Sally’s claim will be investigated by EEOC.
    Sally’s claim cannot be filed with EEOC because the discrimination did not occur in the United States.
    Sally’s claim cannot be filed with EEOC because she is not a U.S. citizen and she does not live in the United States.
    Sally’s claim will be investigated by EEOC, but not all remedies available to U.S. citizens will be available to Sally.

 

Question 1

1. White Swan Motors practice of hiring only applicants recommended by its employees has been found to have an adverse impact on non-White applicants. White Swan plans to implement a voluntary affirmative action plan. Which of the following actions is not available to White Swan as part of its plan?

Answer

    Training and programs, including on-the-job training, for minorities to enable them to develop the skills and experience necessary to perform jobs at White Swan.
    Recruiting activity that is extensive and focused on identifying minority applicants for jobs at White Swan.
    Designate certain positions at White Swan to be filled by minority applicants.
    Training of existing employees on the elements of the affirmative action plan.

4 points

Question 2

1. Judicial Affirmative Action is a remedy imposed by the courts when:

Answer

    workplace discrimination has been found in violation of Title VII and an affirmative action plan is the appropriate remedy.
    federal contractors fail to comply with Executive Order 11246.
    voluntary affirmative action plans result in reverse discrimination.
    voluntary affirmative action plans fail to eliminate workplace discrimination.

4 points

Question 3

1. Reverse discrimination cases are approximately:

Answer

    12 percent of the EEOC’s case load and are rarely found to be meritorious.
    3 percent of the EEOC’s case load and are often found to be meritorious.
    3 percent of the EEOC’s case load and are rarely found to be meritorious.
    12 percent of the EEOC’s case load and are often found to be meritorious.

4 points

Question 4

1. Research has shown that the group that has made the most gains under affirmative action is:

Answer

    African-American men.
    African-American women.
    White women.
    Asian men.

4 points

 

Question 5

1. Executive Order 11246:

Answer

    regulates federal government contractors and lawsuits by private employees.
    allows private employees to sue the Secretary of Labor to compel federal contractors to comply with the provisions of the Order.
    is administered by the Secretary of Labor and the Office of Special Counsel.
    prohibits the use of affirmative action plans.

4 points

Question 6

1. A “corporate management compliance evaluation” is:

Answer

    an evaluation used to determine if federal contractors have developed the required affirmative action plan.
    an evaluation used to determine whether there are artificial barriers preventing women and minorities from being promoted to mid and senior level management positions.
    an evaluation used to determine if the federal contractor has achieved the placement goals set by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
    an evaluation of the federal contractor’s report addressing the under representation of women and minorities as it relates to availability in the workforce.

4 points

Question 7

1. Ace Incorporated is a government contractor and has a single manufacturing facility located in Newark, Delaware, a small college town. Ace has 65 employees with all of them living within 20 miles of the facility. Of the employees, 64 of them are native Delawareans. Ace must do an availability analysis. Ace must therefore compare the percentage of female and minority employees regarding:

Answer

    the workforce percentages available in the entire United States.
    the workforce available within a 20 mile radius of Newark, DE.
    the workforce available in Delaware and the closest surrounding states.
    the workforce available in Newark, DE.

4 points

 

Question 8

1. The Glass Ceiling Commission found that:

Answer

    Women make up close to half of the labor force in the United States and held 5% of senior level jobs in corporations.
    It is easier for women and minorities to enter at the mid- and senior-level corporate management than to advance from the entry level.
    Women and minorities are frequently routed into career paths like customer relations and human resources, which do not lead to top level jobs.
    All of the above are correct

4 points

Question 9

1. Title VII allows an employer to develop a voluntary affirmative action program:

Answer

    to redress chronic under representation of a group in an industry.
    to redress chronic under representation of a group in society.
    to redress chronic under representation of a group in that employer’s workplace.
    only if ordered by a federal judge.

4 points

Question 10

1. Segregation in the workplace was legal in many parts of the United States until:

Answer

    the 1954 Supreme Court case of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.
    the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
    the 1979 Supreme Court case of United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO v. Weber.
    the 1971 Supreme Court case of Griggs v. Duke Power.
 
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