The Manager's Desk Reference

SECOND EDITION

Cynthia Berryman-Fink
and Charles B. Fink

American Management Association

New York Atlanta · Boston Chicago · Kansas City · San Francisco ·
 Washington, D.C.
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title: The Manager's Desk Reference

Berryman-Fink, Cynthia.; Fink, Charles
author:
B.
publisher: AMACOM Books
isbn10 | asin: 0814403425
print isbn13: 9780814403426
ebook isbn13: 9780585000497
language: English
Management--Handbooks, manuals, etc,
subject Personnel management--Handbooks,
manuals, etc.
publication date: 1996
lcc: HD38.15.B47 1996eb
ddc: 658.3
Management--Handbooks, manuals, etc,
subject: Personnel management--Handbooks,
manuals, etc.
This book is available at a
special
discount when ordered in bulk
quantities.
For information, contact
Special Sales Department,
AMACOM, a division of
American Management
Association,
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This publication is designed to provide accurate and

authoritative information in regard to the subject matter
covered. It is sold with the understanding that the
publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting,
or other professional service. If legal advice or other
expert assistance is required, the services of a competent
professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Berryman-Fink, Cynthia, 1952-
The manager's desk reference / Cynthia Berryman-Fink &
Charles B. Fink.2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8144-0342-5
1. ManagementHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Personnel
management
Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Fink, Charles B. II. Title.
HD38.15.B47 1996
658.3dc20
96-12325
CIP
© 1989, 1996 AMACOM, a division of American
Management Association, New York.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of AMACOM, a division of American
Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY
10019.
Printing number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
 Page v

Contents
Preface vii
AIDS in the Workplace 1
Assertiveness 6
Business Writing 13
Career Development 24
Change Management 33
Coaching Employees 38
Conflict Management 45
Consultants 52
Customer Service 60
Delegation and Empowerment 68
Disabled Employees 76
Disciplining Employees 81
Diversity in Organizations 89
Employee Assistance Programs 97
Ethics in the Workplace 105
Family-Friendly Management 110
Feedback 116
Innovation and Creativity 123
Intercultural Communication 130
Interviewing 138
Listening 146
 Page vi
Meetings 151
Mentoring 161
Motivation 165
Negotiation 173
Networking 185
Organizational Culture 192
Orienting New Employees 199
Part-Time, Temporary, and Contingent 205
Workers
Performance Appraisal 212
Politics in Organizations 226
Presentations 232
Project Management 244
Public Relations 250
Quality 259
Recruiting and Selecting New Employees 269
Sexual Harassment 280
Stress Management 287
Substance Abuse 297
Team Building 302
Terminating Employees and Downsizing 314
Time Management 323
Training 331
Turnover 341
Violence in the Workplace 351
Index 357
 Page vii

Preface
Organizations of all types need good supervisors,
managers, administrators, and executives in order to
survive and thrive in a competitive world. Even though
management is a vital function in any organization, many
people holding management positions have little or no
formal training in managing others. Even those with
degrees in management or human behavior have difficulty
obtaining all of the information and skills needed to
manage effectively in today's complex organizations.
Because organizations are changing so rapidly, it is
increasingly difficult for managers to stay abreast of the
latest developments in information technology, human
resources, legal mandates, globalization, and specialized
issues affecting the workplace. The role of the manager is
a diverse and demanding one, requiring skills of
communication, counseling, advocacy, diplomacy,
sensitivity, judgment, integrity, organization, risk taking,
and insight, to name a few.
The business-information industry has responded to the
need for management advice. Indeed, managers are
bombarded with information and advice on a variety of
management issues, presented in current best-sellers,
popular magazines, professional and trade journals,
newsletters, newspapers, seminars, audio and video tapes,
on-line formats, and television and radio talk shows. Busy
managers may be overwhelmed and find it difficult to
digest the massive amounts of information on new issues
and methods of managing people.
The Manager's Desk Reference was written to provide
managers with a concise yet comprehensive source of
management information. The first edition was published
in 1989. This new edition updates the earlier material and
adds sections on vital, contemporary topics such as AIDS;
change management; managing disabled employees;
substance abuse; preventing and responding to workplace
violence; managing part-time, temporary, and contin
 Page viii
gent workers; organizational diversity; and family-friendly
management. It offers new information and discusses new
management practices related to teams, quality,
innovation, and ethics. And it provides selected resources
for additional reading on relevant management topics.
This book has grown out of our experiences as
management consultants in manufacturing and service
organizations. For over fifteen years, clients have asked
for practical yet substantive sources of information that
they could consult on numerous management issues. We
have sorted through the massive management literature;
culled from it the most important theories, concepts,
strategies, and advice; and presented that information in an
easy and practical format.
The Manager's Desk Reference is limited to information
on managing people. You will not find information on
accounting, budgeting, planning, forecasting, computer
programming, or other tasks that managers may encounter.
What you will find is information on most aspects of
human behavior to help you deal with peers, subordinates,
supervisors, customers, the public, the press, and others
with whom you may interact as a manager. In most cases
you will find all the information you will need on a topic,
but you can also use the cross-references and additional
sources listed at the end of each section for further
information related to that topic.
This book can be used as a starting point for new
managers becoming acquainted with the management
arena; as a reference source for supervisors, managers,
executives, or administrators who want to update their
knowledge of management issues; or as a sourcebook of
strategies for any manager handling problems or
embarking on new people-management projects.
Managers at all levels, in the full spectrum of
organizations, in the private and public sector should find
this book useful. In addition, the book may serve as a
valuable tool for students of management or management
trainees.
We are indebted to several people and organizations for
assistance, insights, and support related to this project.
First, without the invaluable interaction with hundreds of
client organizations, we would not have been able to fully
develop our theories, perspectives, and practices of
management. The second
 Page ix
author extends special thanks to Gilbert Richards for his
mentoring and wise demonstration of theoretical and
applied management practices. Jim McCarty's unique
brand of leadership modeled for us a style of management
that proves good managers excel by meeting the needs of
both the organization and its people. Michael Hawkins, a
respected attorney specializing in employment law,
provided the authors with valuable assistance in legal
matters. The University of Cincinnati has given the first
author countless opportunities to formulate and test
leadership and administrative management ideas and
practices. Kristin Shelt and Traci Anderson are
acknowledged for their help with background research.
Adrienne Hickey and others at AMACOM have advocated
for the project and provided editorial assistance.
Finally, the impact of family members on one's identity,
values, and vision cannot be overlooked. This is a book
about human behavior in a particular context. Our parents
and our children have shaped our views of human
behavior so deeply and so pervasively that their teachings
are woven into this volume. Thank you Elmer for your
emphasis on learning, Gertie for your common sense, Joe
for your ethical practices, Ella for your resolve, Drew for
your youthful wisdom and sense of fairness, and Greg for
sharing, by example, your enthusiasm and philosophy that
work must be fun! Managers would do well to acquire this
wonderful combination of assets of human behavior.
Cynthia Berryman-Fink
Charles B. Fink
 Page 1

AIDS in the Workplace

All indications suggest that acquired immune deficiency
syndrome (AIDS) will become a prevalent issue in the
workplace. The Centers for Disease Control states that
about one in every 250 people is infected with human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that produces
AIDS. AIDS can be considered the health epidemic of the
1990s and beyond.
Relatively few workplace organizations have faced the
problem of AIDS. An American Management Association
report in 1993 revealed that 36 percent of the companies
surveyed had an employee afflicted with HIV or AIDS.
Surveys have shown that as few as 10 percent and as many
as 30 percent of U.S. companies have developed policies
on AIDS. Clearly, this is an issue that organizations of all
types cannot avoid. An attitude of "it can't happen here"
can cost a company thousands of dollars in lost
productivity and lawsuits. Predictive models calculate the
average expected medical, disability, employee
replacement, life insurance, and pension costs to a
business for one HIV-infected employee at $17,000.
It is important to have an AIDS policy in place before the
first case occurs. Such a policy can help a company
manage AIDS-related workplace issues and can reduce
exposure to discrimination claims. In this section, we
discuss legal issues for employers regarding AIDS, present
the elements that should be included in an organizational
policy on AIDS, and describe the nature and role of
workplace educational programs about AIDS.
Legal Issues
There are at least six potential legal issues that can be
raised concerning AIDS in the workplace.
 Page 2
1. Reasonable accommodation. Currently, there is no
federal legislation specifically related to AIDS and
employment. However, employees with HIV or AIDS are
protected by federal, state, and local legislation governing
discrimination against handicapped workers. The
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 prohibits
discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of
disability in terms, conditions, and privileges of
employment. This includes all aspects of employment,
such as hiring, firing, discipline, promotions, work
assignments, and compensation and benefits. HIV and
AIDS are considered conditions or disabilities covered
under the act.
The ADA mandates that employers provide "reasonable
accommodation" that would enable qualified individuals
with disabilities to perform their jobs. This might include
renovations that make buildings and offices accessible to
the physically handicapped, auxiliary aids such as
interpreters for the deaf, job restructuring or work
schedule adjustments, placement of telephones at a height
to be used by people in wheelchairs, and modifications to
restrooms. Specific definitions of "reasonable
accommodation" do not exist. Judgments are made on a
case-by-case basis. Reasonable accommodations should
not cause undue financial or administrative hardship to an
organization, however.
2. Health and safety risks. In addition to legally protected
status for AIDS employees, potential legal issue concerns
health and safety risks to coworkers of persons with AIDS.
Employers must determine if AIDS employees present any
health and safety risks in the work environment that could
result in liability against the employer. They must assess
potential harm to coworkers and customers, especially if
the business is in a health-care field. Because AIDS is
carried by body fluids and not by casual contact, the risk
of transmission is very low in most work environments, so
employers who claim a health risk to employees and/or the
public must present substantial evidence of potential harm
and resulting potential liability. If there is no risk of
transmission, an employer cannot terminate an employee
with AIDS. Nor can an employer isolate or quarantine an
AIDS-afflicted worker. The employee cannot be restricted
from using workplace equipment and facilities. Other
employees cannot refuse to work with an AIDS-afflicted
coworker.
 Page 3
3. Continuation of work. Employers must determine if,
with reasonable accommodations, employees with AIDS
can adequately perform their jobs. Employees with AIDS
cannot be terminated if they are meeting the standards for
job performance. If the employee can no longer perform
up to standard, then the employer may terminate the
person. In such a case, the employer should be prepared to
substantiate the below-standard performance and the
provisions of reasonable accommodation.
4. Routine medical screening. Employers may give
medical exams, but only after a job offer has been made
and only if all employees are given the same exam. An
employer cannot rescind a job offer to a potential
employee if a medical screening shows that person to be
HIV-positive.
5. Medical benefits coverage. Some health plans may cap
AIDSrelated benefits. Recent case law stipulates that an
employer decision to limit health-care benefits for AIDS-
related illnesses violates the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
6. Record keeping. The ADA mandates that medical
records and health insurance data be kept separate from
other personnel data and that access to such records is
limited.
Organizational Policies
Because of the legal complexities involved, organizations
are advised to seek legal counsel in formulating an AIDS
policy. There are some basic elements that should be
included in any organizational policy about AIDS.
Company policy statements about AIDS should address
issues of hiring, retention, employee education, benefits,
confidentiality, and employee-assistance program options.
The organizational policy should state that usual hiring
procedures will apply regarding job applicants who have
AIDS or who are suspected of having AIDS, and that such
individuals will continue to be employed as long as they
demonstrate the ability to perform their jobs to standard
levels.
The policy should also state a commitment to educating
employees about the nature of the disease, the forms of
transmis-
 Page 4
sion, and the negligible possibilities of their contracting
AIDS from fellow employees. Further, the policy should
affirm that AIDS-afflicted employees will receive the
same levels of medical and insurance coverage as any
other employee with a life-threatening disease. Employees
should receive a written guarantee of medical
confidentiality, and records management personnel should
be instructed to keep medical and health insurance data
separate from other personnel data.
Finally, the policy should communicate the availability of
employee assistance programs or counseling services
through the workplace. Such a comprehensive statement
will show compassion on the part of the company, will
articulate the rights of AIDS-afflicted employees, will
dispel myths on the part of employees, and will help to
protect the organization from legal liability.
AIDS Education Programs
To be fully effective in dealing with workplace issues
related to AIDS, companies are advised to have some form
of employee education. Such education will go a long way
in dispelling employees' fears, which can undermine
productivity, and help reduce turnover of employees who
fear working with AIDS-afflicted colleagues. Additionally,
educating employees will demonstrate an organization's
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and
thereby reduce liability in discrimination complaints.
Education programs have five goals:
1. Provide information about the causes and
transmission of AIDS.
2. Dispel fears about working with AIDS-afflicted
coworkers.
3. Discuss the employer's position and responsibilities in
hiring and retaining AIDS-afflicted workers.
4. Identify community resources available for afflicted
employees and their families.
5. Answer common questions about AIDS.
 Page 5
Such programs should have clear objectives and should
use qualified trainers. It is best to provide information
through a variety of forms, such as brochures, posters,
newsletter articles, and workshops.
There are many resources to help organizations conduct
AIDS-related education programs. In addition to what
might be available locally through medical organizations
and community health agencies, the American Red Cross
distributes public education materials and the National
Centers for Disease Control has a centralized information
and referral service linking businesses to local, state, and
national programs and educational materials.
Though employers may want to avoid dealing with the
problem of AIDS, the burgeoning number of cases makes
it likely that every company will soon face this challenge.
Understanding the legal constraints, examining the
benefits issues, establishing policies, and informing the
workforce are hallmarks of a progressive organization
dealing with contemporary workplace issues.
[See also Employee Assistance Programs; Ethics in the
Workplace; Family-Friendly Management]
For Additional Information
Bohl, Don L., ed. AIDS: The New Workplace Issues. New
York: American Management Association, 1988.
Brown, Darrell, and George R. Gray. ''Designing an
Appropriate AIDS Policy." Employment Relations Today,
Summer 1991, pp. 149-55.
Ormsby, Joseph G., Geralyn McClure Franklin, Robert K.
Robinson, and Alicia B. Gresham. "AIDS in the
Workplace: Implications for Human Resource Managers."
SAM Advanced Management Journal, Spring 1990, pp.
23-27.
 Page 6

Assertiveness
Assertiveness means standing up for yourself without
anxiety and without denying the rights of others. You must
communicate assertively when you present and defend
positions, negotiate on behalf of a department or work
team, and give or receive performance feedback. Many
other workplace situations require assertiveness skills,
such as dealing with colleagues, subordinates, supervisors,
customers, suppliers, competitors, or the media. The
ability to communicate assertively distinguishes the
powerful, effective manager whom others respect from the
manager whom others take advantage of.
Distinguishing Nonassertive From
Assertive and Aggressive Behavior
Some people think they are being assertive when, in fact,
they are being indirect, subtle, and vague. Other people are
brutally direct and inconsiderate while claiming to be
assertive. Thus, not only shy people need to develop
assertiveness skills. Aggressive or domineering
individuals can also benefit by replacing an aggressive
communication style with an assertive one. Assertiveness
is behavior that falls midway between nonassertive and
aggressive behavior. To better understand assertive
behavior, compare it with nonassertiveness and
aggressiveness in the following way:
Nonassertive Behavior
· Uses indirect communication.
· Communicates the opposite of what you really feel.
· Lacks honesty.
 Page 7

· Denies your own rights and feelings.

· Makes you feel negative.
Assertive Behavior
· Uses direct communication coupled with tact.
· Communicates exactly what you feel.
· Is honest.
· Balances your own and other's rights and feelings.
· Lets you and others feel positive.
Aggressive Behavior
· Uses direct but tactless communication.
· Goes overboard in communicating what you feel.
· Is brutally or offensively honest.
· Denies others' rights and feelings.
· Makes others feel negative.
Elements of Assertive Communication
To be optimally assertive, the visual, vocal and verbal
elements of a manager's message must be synchronized.
You must look assertive, sound assertive, and use assertive
language. The following are guidelines for behavior in
each of those areas:
Visual Elements of Assertiveness
 · Eye contactshouldbe direct and steady. Do not look
away when making a point; do not stare.
· Facial expressionsshouldbe relaxed but serious. Do
not frown angrily; do not smile or giggle.
· Gesturesshouldbe natural and relaxed. Do not pound
fists or point fingers; do not fidget or wring
hands.
· Postureshouldbe businesslike. Do not intimidate or
slouch.
Vocal Elements of Assertiveness
· Voice volumeshouldbe moderate. Do not shout or
mumble.
 Page 8

· Speaking rateshould be moderate. Do not show

uncertainty by speaking too slowly; do not show
nervousness or aggressiveness by speaking too
rapidly.
· Tone of voiceshouldbe firm, direct, sincere, and
calm. Do not use voice tones of anger, sarcasm,
excitement, or disinterest.
· Fluencyshouldbe such that you speak in complete
sentences without fillers such as "um," "ah," "ok,"
"like," and ''you know."
Verbal Elements of Assertiveness
· Statements should be direct, clear, and concise.
· Sentences should be complete.
· Avoid intensifying words, such as "extremely,"
"very," and "incredibly."
· Avoid qualifying words, such as "sort of," "kind of,"
"somewhat," and "it's just my opinion."
· Avoid evaluative labels and name-calling, such as
"stupid," "lazy," "inconsiderate," and "selfish."
Common Situations Requiring
Assertive Behavior
Specific situations requiring assertive communication are
numerous and diverse. However, most assertive situations
you face will fall into one of these four categories:
1. Making requests
2. Saying no
3. Giving criticism
4. Accepting criticism
While the guidelines for maintaining consistency among
visual, vocal, and verbal parts of an assertiveness message
apply to all four categories of assertive situations, the
following are specific suggestions for managers in dealing
with each type of situation.
 Page 9
Making Requests
The best way to make a request is to ask, rather than hint,
demand, or manipulate. Hints are usually ineffective.
Because they are vague or subtle, they are often not
perceived. Or, if perceived, they can be easily ignored.
Requests disguised as hints are not likely to be taken
seriously. On the other hand, ordering someone to do
something often leads to resistance. When you phrase a
request as a demand, others will resent having to comply.
And resentment frequently translates into anger, hostility,
and sabotage. Manipulation tricks others into doing
something. It takes away the other person's choice and, in
the long run, will earn you the reputation of being devious
and underhanded.
The assertive style of making a request is to ask
specifically and directly for what you want. By asking
directly, you take responsibility for your requests and
allow others the choice to grant or refuse them. The clear,
direct style is most likely to be effective. Assertively
making a request means stating a need, asking for action,
and giving a reason for the request. For example, an
employee who requests a coworker to switch a workday
says: "Joan, I'm scheduled to work next Saturday morning.
Would you be willing to switch with me since you're
scheduled for the following Saturday? My niece is getting
married and I'd like to be able to attend the wedding." If
the request is honored, it is important to express gratitude
and to follow through on the negotiated arrangement. If
the request is denied, be a gracious loser. Show no
resentment and refrain from guilt-producing remarks.
Saying No
An essential element of assertiveness involves the ability
to turn down others' requests. Some people have much
difficulty saying no. As a result, they find themselves
doing favors and resenting it, or feeling trapped in
obligations. Some people nonassertively say no by hinting,
whining, deceiving, complaining, or blaming others.
Aggressive people become outraged or abusive when
faced with another's request. Assertive individuals directly
say no without hesitation and without giving lengthy
excuses or
 Page 10
apologies. They do not fall into the trap of feeling guilty,
being manipulated, or being coaxed into granting the
request. As assertive response to a request to switch work
schedules could be worded like this: "No, Ellen, I can't
work next Saturday for you. I'm having out-of-town
guests. Maybe I can help you out some other time."
Giving Criticism
Frequently, managers have to give negative feedback on
the behavior or performance of others. The capacity to be
firm but fair when giving criticism is the hallmark of an
optimally assertive individual. It is important to be direct,
clear, and honest while showing tact and compassion for
the person receiving the criticism. Because giving
criticism is awkward for many managers, it is seldom
handled properly. Weak managers postpone or avoid
giving the feedback, use hints or sarcasm, or absolve
themselves of responsibility by attributing the message to
others. Aggressive managers belittle the target of criticism
in front of others, angrily attack the target without getting
to specifics, or allow the recipient of the criticism little
opportunity to save face.
The constructive communication of criticism entails
describing a specific problem, indicating why it is a
problem, requesting a concrete change, and conversing
nondefensively to work out an agreement for
accomplishing that change. For example, an assertive
manager delivers the following message: "Rich, this report
you wrote doesn't have enough detail on the marketing
plan. There's not enough information to prepare a
marketing budget that will be approved. Can you redo that
section to include all your marketing strategies with a time
schedule?" Then a question to create a dialogue should
follow. The manager can ask, "Do you understand what I
need? Can you get it to me by Friday?"
Giving criticism in such a straightforward, assertive style
has many advantages. It is specific, making change easier.
It avoids evaluations and name-calling. It deals with work-
related behavior rather than people's egos. It encourages
two-way communication to ensure understanding and to
promote change. Both parties
 Page 11
can come away from the criticism feeling positive, and the
problem that engendered the criticism is likely to be
solved.
Accepting Criticism
Realizing that everybody makes mistakes, accepting your
own mistakes, and trying to improve as a result of
criticism are essential ingredients of assertiveness. An
assertive individual can listen to criticism without
becoming defensive, objectively examine that feedback,
and then use the information constructively. The
nonassertive recipient of criticism whines, cries, pleads,
makes excuses, or engages in self-pity. Aggressively
handling criticism entails being defensive, making
counterattacks, resenting the critic, and stubbornly
refusing to change.
The assertive approach to receiving criticism involves
patiently listening to and paraphrasing the feedback,
asking for specifics or examples to ensure understanding,
acknowledging the parts of the message with which you
agree, stating your position or needs without becoming
defensive, and engaging in a dialogue with your critic. For
example, a manager gives this response to criticism about
the quality of output from his department: "You're saying
that our parts aren't meeting specification. Can you tell me
which shipments haven't met your specifications and what
percentage of error occurred in each batch?" On receiving
an answer, the manager continues, "OK, I can see where
Batch 103 had problems. I should have had more people
on the line since that was a rush order. We're less likely to
make mistakes if we have at least two days to prepare an
order. We'll replace this shipment. Can you give us at least
forty-eight hours' notice on future orders?" Assertively
dealing with criticism solves problems and maintains good
working relationships.
[See also Feedback]

For Additional Information

"Assertiveness: More Than a Forceful Attitude."
Supervisory Management, 39, No. 2 (February 1994), p. 3.
 Page 12
Graham, Roderick S., and Shan Rees. Assertion Training:
How To Be Who You Really Are. London: Routledge,
1991.
Tingley, Judith. Say What You Mean, Get What You Want.
New York: AMACOM, 1996.
Zucker, E. Assertive Manager. New York: AMACOM,
1989.
 Page 13

Business Writing
All managers, regardless of their function, level, or type of
organization, must be effective writers. Workplace
organizations produce large amounts of written
information in the form of memos, letters, short reports,
formal reports, and specialized documents such as
employee handbooks, company newsletters, and annual
reports for stockholders. While most managers may not be
involved in creating these specialized documents, they
surely will write memos, letters, and reports on a regular
basis. Indeed, a large portion of a manager's time involves
writing.
Workplace organizations need information to function. A
manager's job is to seek and provide information so that
decisions can be made, problems can be solved, work can
be coordinated, and results can be evaluated. In this
information age, with its explosion of knowledge, written
communication is even more important. The number of
organizations whose purpose is to provide information is
increasing in our society.
Writing ability is also an important component of an
employee's credibility and success in an organization.
Individuals who are competent in specialized fields such
as engineering, personnel, or accounting, for example, are
passed over for promotions if they cannot communicate
effectively. They will not be given managerial
responsibility unless their oral and written communication
skills allow them to be understood. Successful managers
accomplish their goals by being able to communicate in
clear and powerful ways. They may also have to edit their
subordinates' written work. Knowing and applying the
principles of business writing, therefore, makes a
manager's job easier, affects individual and company
credibility, and advances careers.
 Page 14

Stages in the Writing Process

All business writing, whether it be for memos, letters, or
reports, follows the same stages. The three stages in the
writing process are prewriting, writing, and editing.
Prewriting
Prewriting is the preparation stage that precedes actual
writing. Typically, you should plan to spend more time in
this stage than in the other two stages, especially when
writing long reports. Attention devoted to prewriting will
make writing easier and will increase the quality of your
written material. Prewriting includes determining your
objective, analyzing the audience, gathering information,
and outlining.
1. Determining your objective. Deciding on the purpose of
a written document is the key to getting organized. All
other planning decisions relate to the purpose or objective
of the written communication. Knowing the purpose even
helps you decide whether to write a memo, letter, short
report, or long report. Just as a builder uses blueprints or a
traveler consults a map to guide actions, a writer should
develop a plan to follow when writing.
In determining the objective of your written document,
analyze the one main idea you are trying to communicate.
If you do not identify, ahead of time, the overall purpose
of the document, then you are likely to ramble and confuse
the reader. You should write out the objective as
specifically and as concisely as possible. Then review it
often while writing and editing the document. Objectives
that are too general provide little direction. For example,
writing a letter to a customer to "follow up on a complaint
about service" gives little direction about the information,
tone, or outcome of the letter. A more specific objective
might be to "explain the company's service policy in a way
that will retain the customer." Likewise, writing a report to
"explore the possibility of drug testing of employees"
probably would result in a disorganized, vague document.
A more specific objective would be to
 Page 15
"examine the legal, financial, and psychological
implications of employee drug testing at Company X."
2. Analyze the audience. Another aspect of prewriting
involves analyzing the audience so that your document
meets their needs. Determine who will read this
communication. Are they internal or external to your
organization? If internal, what are their job titles or areas
of responsibility? If they are external, what is their
relationship to the writer and the company? How familiar
are the readers with the topic of your communication, or
with the field of specialization embodied in the document?
What is their attitude to your communication? What do
you want readers to do after reading your document?
These are just some of the questions that provide a reader
profile. There will be other audience-analysis questions
related to specific forms and objectives of written
communication. By creating a reader profile, you can
select what information to provide, what writing style to
use, and what language to include.
The steps of determining the objective and analyzing the
audience go hand in hand. They have been separated into
two distinct steps here for the sake of clarity. Obviously,
the objective of a document must be based on the nature of
the reader. For instance, a letter to employees about
anticipated layoffs would have a different objective than a
letter about layoffs written to the head of personnel.
3. Gathering information. After determining both the
objective of the communication and the nature of the
readers, it is time to gather information to be included in
the document. The extent of this step will vary according
to the type of document being written. A minimal amount
of information may be needed for a memo to announce an
upcoming meeting, for example. A substantial amount of
information, on the other hand, may be necessary for a
formal report on sales volume or minority recruitment.
Whether you are writing a short memo or a detailed report,
you will have to gather information and check its accuracy
before including it in the written communication. If you
are writing a memo to announce a meeting, you will need
accurate information about the date, time, place, and the
purpose of the meeting. It
 Page 16
may take only a few minutes to gather this information,
but you still have completed this step of the prewriting
process.
Gathering information for a formal report can take many
months. You will need published material from libraries,
data from company records, or specialized information
from professional associations. You may need to
commission market research studies, interview employees
or clients, or distribute questionnaires. Depending on the
purpose and scope of the report, the manager as writer
may launch a comprehensive research investigation before
writing the report. Managers who write formal reports
must be skilled researchers as well as skilled writers.
One additional point should be made about the
informationgathering step. There comes a point where
information gathering should stop and writing should
begin. This is important because some writers use
information gathering as an excuse not to write. You can
easily delay writing because of the need to collect more
information. Productive writers make sure that their
information is thorough and timely, but they do not get
caught in the trap of an endless search for complete
information. If a report deadline is not imposed on you,
make sure that you impose a realistic deadline for the
completion and cut off information gathering at an
appropriate point.
4. Outlining. The next step is to arrange the information
into an order appropriate for communicating it. You must
decide what the best sequencing of information would be,
given the nature of the information and the document's
purpose and audience. Again, the extent of outlining will
vary from one type of written communication to the next.
Some reflection on the order of points suffices for a letter.
But the writer of a formal report should spend
considerable time writing and rearranging an outline to
achieve the best organization of information.
For example, a report on increases in the cost of employee
benefits may lend itself to a chronological pattern of
organization. You could present information on a year-by-
year basis. Or, if the information revealed that certain
types of benefits were more costly than others, then a
topical pattern of organization might
 Page 17
be preferable. You could subdivide the information
according to medical, dental, child-care, insurance, and
vacation benefits.
Other common approaches to organizing ideas include
arrangement by place, quantity, problem solution, and
comparison. An example of organization by place is a
nonprofit organization's report on fund-raising, divided
into eastern, midwestern, southern, and western regional
concerns. A report evaluating the success of a quality
circles program in a hospital could be divided into sections
that deal, in turn, with the medical, nursing, dietary,
housekeeping, maintenance, security, and administrative
departments.
Examples of the organization of ideas by quantity are a
market research report showing consumer purchases by
income levels from under $5,000 to over $50,000 and a
report from a pharmaceutical company to physicians about
a new drug, with research data broken down according to
the age of patient. Organization according to a problem-
solution pattern would be, for example, a report calling for
building renovation that shows the problems (maintenance
costs and safety violations) stemming from lack of
renovation and the solutions (tax savings and expansion
possibilities) stemming from renovation. A comparison
method of organization could be used in a report showing
the sales of paperback versus hardback books for a
publishing company.
Regardless of the method of organizing and sequencing
information, there should be a comparable amount of
material written for each main idea. When outlines are
included with reports, use proper outline symbols and
parallel construction of terms. Consult style manuals for
conventional outline symbols. Parallel constructions
means that you use either complete sentences or noun
phrases throughout, but do not mix the two. Finally,
writers often create outlines that are too skimpy or too
detailed. A good rule is to make the total number of words
in an outline less than one-third the number of words in
the report.
Writing
Two issues must be considered when writing business
documents. They must attract attention and be readable.
 Page 18
Creating Attention-Getting Material
Managers and executives in organizations usually receive
large amounts of written information. They read some
documents in great detail, skim some, and give others little
more than a cursory glance. This means that your
document, if it is to compete with all the others in the
organization, must grab the reader's attention. There are
several ways to create attention-getting documents.
First, the format and appearance of the document will
create an overall impression. If readers obtain a favorable
first impression of the material, then they are more likely
to read it. The impression comes not from what the
document says but from how it is packaged. The quality of
the paper, the neatness of the typing, the amount of white
space, and the visual appeal of charts and graphs all
contribute to the reader's impression of the document. The
graphics and desktop publishing software packages
available today allow managers to easily produce visually
appealing documents. A long letter packed with words,
with narrow margins and few paragraphs, will seem
intimidating. A report without subheadings, summaries, or
professional-looking visuals may be impossible to
comprehend. Writers of internal memos and electronic
mail should devote care even to these brief, informal
documents. A sloppy memo without visual appeal or an E-
mail message laden with errors may not be taken seriously.
Another way to produce attention-getting documents is to
have a powerful opening. The first few sentences of a
letter, for example, should immediately convey the
document's purpose. Within the first minute of scanning
the document, readers should see how the material relates
to them. If the first few lines are confusing, vague,
rambling, or irritating, readers may toss the material aside.
The opening should compel them to continue.
A final suggestion for producing attention-getting written
material is to make the document easy to read. The reader
should not have to struggle to process the information in
your documents. Of course, ease of reading depends very
much on the quality of the writing. But there are devices
that can make your documents easy to read. In a memo,
you can highlight information in a letter by placing it in a
list form with bullets next
 Page 19
to each entry in the list. A report ought to have an outline
or executive summary to highlight major points.
Creating Readable Material
While there are general guidelines for creating readable
material, the question of readability depends on the nature
of the audience. A highly technical report that uses
specialized jargon, for example, will be readable to experts
in that specialty but not to a layperson. What is readable to
college graduates may not be readable to people who have
not completed high school. Writers must adapt their
writing level to fit the identity, education, experience, and
knowledge of the readers. When the audience is diverse, it
is best to aim for the lowest-level reader.
A major factor in producing readable material is to
simplify your writing. Simple sentences with familiar
words are always more readable than complex sentences
replete with impressive vocabulary. In business writing,
sentences should be short and powerful. Aim for an
average sentence length of fifteen words. This does not
mean that all sentences should be fewer than fifteen
words. An occasional longer sentence provides variety and
interest to a document. But a document containing only
long sentences with dependent clauses and multiple ideas
will be tedious even for the most advanced reader. If you
tend to produce long sentences when writing, then try to
break each of them into two sentences. After a while, the
shorter sentences will come to you more naturally.
Another way to simplify writing is to select the simplest
words. In conversation, most people select simple, familiar
words. But for some reason, many writers fall into the trap
of using stilted, awkward words. If we wrote more
similarly to the way we talked, documents would be
clearer. Consider the following list of less familiar words
found often in business documents and their more familiar
counterparts:
Unfamiliar Familiar
Word Word
utilize use
furnish give
Table continued on next page
 Page 20
Table continued from previous page
ascertain find
accomplish do
transmit send
attributable due
correspondence letter

You can also improve the readability of material by using

the active voice rather than the passive voice. Active voice
means that the subject of the sentence comes before the
object of the sentence. The following sentences show the
difference between active and passive voice:
Passive: ''The meeting was arranged by Jane Smith."
Active: "Jane Smith arranged the meeting."
Passive: "Sales reports must be distributed by sales
managers each Friday."
Active: "Sales managers must distribute sales reports
each Friday."
Sentences using the active voice tend to be more
interesting, shorter, and clearer. They immediately call
attention to the subject performing the action. By
converting sentences from the passive to the active voice,
you will eventually learn to compose originally in the
active voice.
Next, watch your grammar, spelling, and punctuation. It is
impossible to cover all the relevant rules here. You can
familiarize yourself with common problems in these areas
by consulting reference books on writing style. Today's
spell check and grammar check computer software
programs make writing easier than ever before. Despite
these tools, managers may also seek the skills of
competent editors and proofreaders.
Using transitions is another way to increase readability.
Transitions are words that help the reader make a shift
from one idea to another. They can be words, phrases, or
sentences that signal a movement in information.
Transitions help readers follow the progression of ideas
and connect points in a document. For example, the word
"conversely" signals a contrast of ideas.
 Page 21
The word "thus" signals a conclusion. "In addition"
suggests movement to a similar point.
A final suggestion for increasing readability is to eliminate
trite, cluttered phrases. Over the years, the conventions of
business writing have led us to overuse some of these
phrases. Writers should remove the following expressions
from their material:
Enclosed, please find
Deem it advisable
As per your instructions
In accordance with your request
Kindly advise
Thanking you in advance
Pending receipt
Agreeable to your wishes in this matter
Under separate cover
Regarding the aforementioned
Writing readable copy becomes easier with practice.
However, you will see immediate improvement in the
readability of your documents if you follow the six
guidelines discussed:
1. Keep sentences short.
2. Use familiar words.
3. Convert sentences from passive to active voice.
 4. Use correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
5. Use transitions.
6. Avoid cluttered phrases.
Editing
The final phase of the writing process involves editing.
Under no circumstances should a writer consider the first
draft of a document to be the final draft. Even experienced
business writers cannot produce letters and reports in their
complete and final form on the first try. All writers should
expect to edit and revise written material. The number of
drafts for a document will vary according to the writer's
skill and the nature and importance of the document. A
short letter may need only one rewrite to
 Page 22
become excellent copy. When writing a formal report, you
may need five or six crafts before it is in excellent shape.
Editing is a skill that improves with practice. The
following suggestions can guide the editing process and
help writers become skillful editors:
1. Let the material sit a while before revising it. You are
less likely to catch errors or to notice confusing
information if you are very familiar with the writing.
Reading the material cold will enable you to look at it
from the reader's perspective.
2. Do not become wedded to the written material. Some
writers have trouble revising their material or accepting
editorial suggestions from others because they attach their
egos to their writing. They feel the need to defend every
idea, sentence, or word; or they reread their copy to bask
in the pride of their eloquence. Editing should mean
rereading with the goal of changing and improving your
writing.
3. Review the document four separate times with the goals
of editing content, organization, style, and appearance.
Editing content means examining the information to see if
it is correct, thorough, and understandable. When
examining your organization, ask yourself if the order of
information makes sense, if the ideas progress logically, if
the information rambles, and if your reader could outline
the information. Stylistic revisions involve enhancing the
readability of the material. Finally, examine the physical
appearance of the document for spelling, punctuation, and
typographical errors.
Only after all these areas have been examined and revised,
and the document is as good as it can get, should it be sent
to the reader. Clear and credible written communication is
imperative in workplace organizations.
When to Use the Written Form
Some managers and some organizations opt for written
communication when oral communication would be better.
Writing a memo rather than talking to someone can be the
cowardly or the
 Page 23
ineffective choice. Managers who are unsure about the
efficacy of written communication should follow these
guidelines:
1. Put information in writing if you want a verifiable
record. Often managers need to document actions or need
a written record for later use.
2. Put complex or detailed information in writing. Some
information cannot be grasped orally or remembered if it
is not written down.
3. Create a written document if you want to convey the
same information to several people. It is easier and quicker
to distribute a written document to many people than to
communicate with each one of them individually. You can
be sure they each get identical information if it is written,
whereas individual conversations inevitably differ.
4. Use the written form if it is too costly or too
inconvenient to meet in person or to talk on the telephone.
Sending a letter to someone in another state is usually
more logical than traveling to talk. Written communication
may be necessary if your repeated attempts to reach a
person by telephone have failed.
For Additional Information
Berger, Arthur Asa. Improving Writing Skills: Memos,
Letters, Reports, and Proposals. Newbury Park, Calif.:
Sage Publications, 1993.
Blake, Gary. The Elements of Business Writing. New York:
Macmillan, 1991.
Brill, Laura. Business Writing Quick & Easy, Second
Edition. New York: AMACOM, 1989.
Ober, Scot. Contemporary Business Communication.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.
Soden, Garrett. Looking Good on Paper: How to Create
Eye-Catching Reports, Proposals, Memos, and Other
Business Documents. New York: AMACOM, 1995.
 Page 24

Career Development
A career can be defined as an evolving sequence of work
experiences over time. Managers deal with career issues at
two levels: First, you must be concerned with your own
careerthat is, make choices, accept opportunities, and
develop strategies for dealing with it. Second, you must
think about the careers of your subordinates; develop,
coach, and act as mentors to them; and delight in the
career successes that result.
Many organizations are concerned about how employees
move through their structure of roles and responsibilities.
Their forecasting and long-range planning efforts often
involve projecting personnel needs relevant to human
resources development activities. Consequently, career-
development issues are important to managers whatever
their level, function, or organizational type.
The Need for Career Development
Career-development issues are taking on greater
importance for individuals and organizations alike. From
the individual perspective, people are no longer spending a
lifetime in one career or at one job. The day of the loyal
employee affiliating with one company and allowing that
company to dictate career decisions is clearly over.
Employees are also bringing different motivations to the
workplace. Increasingly, they want challenging work and a
sense of contribution to the organization. Salary and
promotions as motivators compete with other job features
such as meaningful, flexible schedules and input into
decision making. Nor is the workforce as homogeneous as
it used to be. Women, minorities, people with disabilities,
foreign-born workers, and older employees add diversity
to the workplace. A different composition of
 Page 25
employees means different work attitudes and career
patterns. Moreover, family and leisure concerns have
taken on more importance to today's workers at all levels.
Career decisions may be affected by family needs and a
vocational interests more than by promotional
opportunities.
Burgeoning changes in technology, business activity made
volatile by mergers and acquisitions, downsizing, and the
global business community have all caused workplaces to
become more dynamic. Employees in some industries
have found that the job they performed yesterday is not
there today. Certain job skills and knowledge are rapidly
becoming obsolete. Employees are often forced into an
awareness of the dynamics of their careers.
In short, individuals are making explicit career decisions
and want more control over their careers. Compared to
previous generations, they are willing to take more risks,
are more geographically mobile, and want to be more self-
directed in career matters. And because of societal forces
and business activity outside of their control, employees
must face more career decisions than they ever had to
before. Since the life span is increasing, many individuals
take early retirement from one organization and seek a
new type of work challenge in their early retirement years.
From the organizational perspective, career-development
issues are equally important. Increasingly, companies are
realizing the costs associated with low productivity and
high turnover. Thus, they see career development as a way
to retain talented employees and to motivate them to reach
organizational goals. It is more cost-effective to develop
existing employees than to recruit, hire, and train new
ones. Organizations also emphasize career development as
a way of meeting affirmative action and equal
employment opportunity (EEO) goals. By providing
career-development assistance, they retain and develop the
potential of certain underutilized categories of employees.
Finally, companies turn to career development to ensure
that personnel will be qualified for future staffing
requirements. By assisting current employees with career-
development concerns, progressive organizations can
match career goals with future organizational needs. Thus,
career-development programs become an important human
resources planning tool.
 Page 26

Individual Strategies for Career Development

There are many ways that you can plan your own
management career, whether your goal is to stay with one
organization or to switch organizations. Managers often
turn to career-development strategies when they are
dissatisfied with the current job situation or are facing a
job loss. But strategizing your career should be an ongoing
activity and not be neglected until a time of crisis. By
being aware of career-development issues as they relate to
individual career goals, you can develop a sense of
direction and control over your career. Successful
managers who are attuned to their career dynamics
practice many of these strategies.
Clarifying Your Values
It is important to know how work fits into your life
priorities. Is career success your top goal? How do career
goals fit in with personal, family, leisure, or spiritual
goals? In order to be satisfied and successful, a job must
fit your needs and must not contradict your fundamental
values. Some people, for example, may find themselves in
highly competitive work situations, although collaboration
or helping others is more important to them than
competition. Other people with high need for affiliation
may have jobs that isolate them from others. What do you
find important in a jobchallenge, excitement, stability,
responsibility, freedom, money, titles, or chances for
advancement?
Obviously, the first step in planning a career path is
determining the kind of work or job you would like. A
variety of values clarification books, workshop, or
counselors are available to assist with this self-assessment
activity.
Determining Your Occupational Aptitudes and Interests
In addition to clarifying values, it is important to know
what kinds of jobs you would be good at and interested in.
There are numerous standardized tests for measuring
vocational aptitudes
 Page 27
and interests. These are best administered, scored, and
interpreted by qualified career counselors. High school
and college guidance counselors often administer these
tests before prospective graduates enter the world of work.
Industrial psychologists and assessment center evaluators
also use these tests relative to hiring and promotion
decisions.
Realizing Your Options
The number of career options that any manager has is
enormous. There may be many directions you can take
within a particular organization. Probably there are
numerous employers within a particular industry for
whom you could work. Then there are an infinite number
of possible job types that you could hold. Indeed, for each
of us, career options are more expansive than we realize.
Realizing options means being aware of the opportunities
within a company and identifying the market for your
skills. Managers should have well-developed networks of
company colleagues in order to receive advance
information about opportunities, trends, and projects. They
should discuss career interests and goals with their
superiors and stay abreast of options through job posting,
reorganization, relocation, job redesign, or project
management.
Most successful managers stay aware of the job
opportunities in their fields even if they are completely
satisfied with their current position and current employer.
For the sake of career development, it is important to
"keep your eyes open." In order to practice self-
determination in your career, you should continually, but
subtly, job hunt. Network to learn of opportunities at other
firms, join placement bureaus of professional associations,
circulate your credentials to recruiting firms, and check
the classified advertisements.
Creating a Career-Development Plan
It is wise to have both a short-term and a long-range plan
for your career. What would you like to be doing one year
from now, five years from now, ten years into the future?
What skills, experi-
 Page 28
ences, education, or training accomplished now would
pave the way for reaching future career goals?
A career-development plan is like a blueprint for putting
the pieces of a career together. Of course, it is tentative
and will be altered as unexpected opportunities or
exigencies occur. It seems ironic that while most adults
spend at least two-thirds of their lives in a career, few
adopt a systematic plan for charting the course of that
career.
Using Career-Development Resources
A variety of resources are available to assist managers in
their career-development activities. You can look to
mentor and networking relationships, the human resources
department of your company, professional associations,
educational institutions, the public library, and on-line
resources for career-development assistance. Mentors
provide career information and opportunities for protégés.
Developing mentor relationships can provide both
immediate and long-term career benefits. Likewise,
developing a network of professional contacts is a positive
career-development strategy.
The human resources function in organizations exists to
develop personnel to meet organizational needs. Some
have career-development specialists or provide workshops
on career dynamics. But even those human resources
departments that do not have explicit career-development
functions can help you advance your career. Take
advantage of all training workshops that could help you
develop the skills necessary for reaching your career
goals.
Attending seminars or conferences of professional
associations is a great way to develop knowledge, to learn
trends, and to meet influential people in your field. Many
managers have developed leadership, communication, and
planning skills by holding office in professional
associations. Participation in professional associations can
lead to career advantages later.
Local vocational schools, colleges, and universities offer a
wealth of courses, materials, and experts to help you plan
and advance your career. There you can learn the technical
skills, obtain the knowledge, and find career counselors
for developing
 Page 29
your career in the direction you want it to take. Finally,
public libraries and on-line services offer substantial
information about occupational opportunities and
outlooks, job hunting, vocational aptitude and preference
testing, and values clarification.
Being Realistic About Career Development
It is important to realize that career goals are not reached
overnight. Setting unrealistic aspirations or being
impatient about career progress will only create
dissatisfaction. Careers take years to build. They require
nurturing.
Career-Development Strategies for Organizations
There are many ways in which companies assist their
employees with career development that will ultimately
benefit the companies themselves. Of course, there must
be a match between the employees' career goals and
organizational needs. While it is important to retain
valuable employees and to reduce turnover, it is
counterproductive to try to keep an employee whose
career goals would be better served elsewhere. One
casualty of career-development assistance is that some
employees leave. Nevertheless, the advantages of
developing satisfied and productive employees for future
personnel needs far outweigh the risk. Some strategies to
achieve this include the following:
1. Encouraging management-employee discussions of
career pathing. One of the responsibilities of a manager is
to help subordinates with career development. Help them
develop realistic career plans by sharing information about
organizational career opportunities and help them attain
career goals. Managers and executives at all levels should
have career-development meetings with their employees.
This activity reduces the number of bored, unproductive or
plateaued employees and channels employees into paths
that meet organizational needs.
2. Practicing job enrichment. Typically, there are not
enough higher-level positions for all qualified employees
who would like
 Page 30
to be promoted. This means that some careers must
develop other ways. One way to encourage growth and
development in employees is to expand or to enrich job
responsibilities. By adding new responsibilities that the
employees find appealing or by increasing authority, you
are helping them to develop their careers without
abandoning their current positions. The keys to successful
job enrichment are sensing when employees need more
challenge and adding duties that are challenging, not just
time-consuming. Job enrichment is best negotiated
between the manager and subordinates.
3. Practicing job rotation. Another avenue for career
development is horizontal. Moving to another function or
department without a vertical change in position can
provide career-development opportunities. Such horizontal
moves can offer new challenge, develop new skills, and
help meet career goals. In some organizations, managerial
candidates work in various departments to get a
perspective on the whole organization and to develop
generalist skills. Job rotation implies a series of lateral
moves over time. For the organization, such movement
can be a way of testing employees in certain jobs. For the
employees, job rotation can be an unthreatening way of
experimenting with job moves.
4. Providing opportunities for project management. All
organizations have ongoing projects as a way of bringing
about change in systems and procedures or as a way to
implement new programs. Putting key organizational
personnel in charge of such projects represents another
career-development strategy. By heading a temporary
project, a manager can develop technical knowledge,
enhance planning and problem-solving abilities, and
practice leadership and communication skills. The
opportunity to lead or to participate in an exciting,
innovative project may be just the catalyst to stimulate an
employee whose job has become routine and who was
considering leaving the organization.
5. Providing education and training for career
development. Progressive organizations develop their
people so they will stay with the company. Providing
employees opportunities to learn about new developments
in their field, to retool, to master a new skill, or to branch
into a new area keeps the organization vital and
 Page 31
competitive. Companies can enhance the careers of their
employees by offering tuition assistance for education and
by sponsoring training on relevant topics.
6. Offering career-planning workshops. Besides offering
training on technical and managerial topics, organizations
can sponsor career-planning workshops. A sample
workshop can help participants clarify their values and
goals, pinpoint their aptitudes and interest, and identify
organizational options for career development. In addition
to teaching individual employees about career dynamics,
career planning can help them understand organizational
decision making in such areas as personnel selection,
appraisal, promotion, and termination.
7. Providing access to career-counseling specialists.
Managers can assist with career-development issues, but
they are not career-development specialists. The training
department can provide self-assessment and information
resources, but career development is just one of many
topics training must address. Organizations that are
dedicated to the career development of their staffs will
provide them with access to career-development
specialists. If organizational size and financial resources
cannot justify a fulltime career counselor, consider using
consultants or providing career counseling in conjunction
with an employee-assistance program.
[See also Mentoring; Project Management; Training]
For Additional Information
Barner, Robert. Lifeboat Strategies: How to Keep Your
Career Above Water During Tough Timesor Any Time.
New York: AMACOM, 1993.
Harriot, Peter. Career Management Challenge: Balancing
Individual and Organizational Needs. Newbury Park,
Calif.: Sage Publications, 1992.
Koonce, Richard H. Career Power: 12 Winning Habits to
Get You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.
New York: AMACOM, 1994.
 Page 32
Krannich, Ronald L. Careering and Re-Careering for the
1990's. Manassas Park, Va.: Impact Publications, 1993.
McCanna, Walter F., Robert F. Pearse, and Donald A.
Zrebiec. ''Career Strategies for the 1990's Manager."
Business Horizons 37, No. 3 (May/June 1994), pp. 27-31.
Otte, Fred L., and William M. Kahnweiler. "Long-range
Career Planning During Turbulent Times." Business
Horizons 38, No. 1 (Jan./Feb. 1995), pp. 2-7.
 Page 33

Change Management
Change has become a constant in today's organizations.
Indeed, the rate of change is accelerating in the workplace,
whatever the industry type or size. Thus, today's managers
must be adept at managing change. This chapter defines
the concept of change management, discusses the reasons
for organizational change, indicates the importance of
managing change, and provides strategies for managing
change in the organization. By developing procedures for
planning and directing change rather than merely reacting
to change, managers can help organizations thrive in an
increasingly competitive marketplace.
What Is Change Management?
Change management is a process by which organizations
understand, anticipate, and communicate the impact of
changes in company structures, processes, procedures,
products, or services. No organization is static. Since
change is continuous rather than a single event, managers
must understand the dynamics of change and human
reactions to change so that they can successfully effect
change. To manage change is to make change a planned,
strategic activity rather than a random phenomenon.
Reasons for Change
There are many factors accounting for rapid and pervasive
change in the workplace. In most organizations, numerous
change fac-
 Page 34
tors operate together to create a dynamic quality in an
organization.
1. Competition. One strong force creating change is the
increasingly competitive and global marketplace. Even in
medical, governmental, and educational organizations,
which in the past did not face the competitiveness typical
of private-sector corporations, notions of competition and
survival are paramount. To be competitive, most
organizations are introducing programs to contain costs
and improve quality.
2. Reorganization strategies. Many companies are
introducing different structures because of mergers,
downsizing, or decentralization. Creating new structures in
an organization means establishing a different
configuration of personnel, adjusting to different reporting
relationships, and adopting altered job responsibilities.
3. Rapidly improving technology. The revolution in
information technology is altering the very ways we
communicate and do business. New management style
create force for change, as well. Many organizations are
moving from leader-directed styles to self-managing
teams. Such changes in management philosophy and style
create new policies and procedures in the workplace.
4. New products and services. This type of change has
been recurrent throughout history, as products and services
evolve and organizations alter their products and service
lines.
The Importance of Managing Change
To anticipate the external forces that impinge on an
organization is to have foresight as a manager. To develop
plans for introducing change into an organization is to
have strategic vision as a manager. An effective manager
needs both foresight and strategic vision. To have neither
is to be a mere caretaker, not a leader.
Since change is the norm in most organizations, leaders
must be able to manage change so they are not at the
mercy of unplanned change. Unplanned change is chaotic
and stressful, and it forces the organization into a reactive
rather than a proac-
 Page 35
tive position. An organization routinely coping with the
chaos and stress of haphazard change may not survive in
today's competitive marketplace.
Strategies for Managing Change
Understand the Phases of Change
Various organizational theorists have outlined the phases
by which change occurs and how people deal with such
change. One model proposes five phases of resistance to
change. In this model, the first phase of any change
encounters massive resistance, as only a handful of
individuals see any need for change. In the second phase,
the factions for and against change become readily
identifiable. Third, there is direct conflict between the
factions for and those against change. If the proponents of
change win the conflict, then the fourth phase occurs when
the resisters are seen as a nuisance. Finally, the change
gets implemented and any remaining resisters are few and
are alienated.
Another model of change delineates three phases. First,
there is a letting-go phase, when people relinquish former
attitudes, behaviors, styles, and strategies. Next comes a
transition phase, when people relinquish the old way of
doing things but do not fully embrace a new way of doing
things. A third phase is the new beginning, when people
psychologically accept and behaviorally embrace change.
If managers understand that these phases are likely to
occur with the introduction of any change, they can cope
with employee resistance and develop strategies for
obtaining acceptance and commitment to change.
Plan for Change
Managers need to give sufficient thought as to how to
introduce and implement change. They must analyze why
the organization is changing, where the organization is
headed, what each person
 Page 36
must do to get there, what the timetable is for change, and
what the consequences are of the new initiatives.
Organizations anticipating a major change in structure or
systems may benefit from the services of expert change
agents. External consultants in the area of organizational
change can provide unique perspectives and valuable
experience to help create planned and effective change.
The planning aspect of change also involves identifying
key issues to be addressed and anticipating the impact of
each element of change on people and on the system.
Communicate During Change
When people are in transition, communication is
paramount. A major factor accounting for people's
resistance to change is their lack of involvement in the
change. Employees who will be affected by an
organizational change should be informed of the purpose
and nature of that change. They should have the
opportunity to provide their opinions about the change and
to ask questions about the process. They need to
understand why the change is necessary and how it will
benefit them and the organization as a whole. Most
important, employees want to know how the change will
affect them, immediately and in the future.
Educate the Employees
During periods of change, employees should receive
training to help them deal with their fears of change, to
create understanding about the phases of change, and to
equip them with new information and skills to function in
the dynamic organization. The introduction of new
technology certainly must be accompanied by training in
the use of that technology. Likewise, new structures,
management styles, and products or services must be
supported with training such as quality, teambuilding,
communication, and customer service programs.
Understand the Facets of Change
There are some fundamental aspects of any change. Part of
managing change is being able to accept these situations.
 Page 37
In any change effort there is a basic dilemma in needing to
both focus on the future and deal with immediate tasks.
That is, daily business must be conducted via old systems
and procedures while simultaneously those systems and
procedures are being dismantled. To focus too much on
the status quo or too much on the future at this point is to
cripple the change process.
Additionally, any change effort inevitably involves a
paradigm shift. That is, change involves new ways of
thinking and new frames of reference as well as new
behaviors. Getting employees to change involves more
than just encouraging them to do some things differently.
It also entails urging them to think differently.
Managers skilled in guiding dynamic organizations will be
competent agents of change. Given the prevalence of
change of today's workplace, leaders who can manage
change will be an asset to any organization.
[See also Career Development; Consultants; Innovation
and Creativity; Organizational Culture]
For Additional Information
Berger, Lance A., Martin J. Sikore, and Dorothy R.
Berger. The Change Management Handbook: A Road Map
to Corporate Transformation. New York: Irwin, 1994.
Bridges, William. Managing Transitions: Making the Most
of Change. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1991.
Carr, Clay. Choice, Chance & Organizational Change.
New York: AMACOM, 1996.
Felkin, Patricia K., B. J. Chakiris, and Kenneth N.
Chakiris. Change Management: A Model for Effective
Organizational Performance. White Plains, N.J.: Quality
Resources, 1993.
Pasmore, William A. Creating Strategic Change:
Designing the Flexible, High-Performing Organization.
New York: Wiley, 1994.
Thompson, LeRoy. Mastering the Challenges of Change.
New York: AMACOM, 1994.
 Page 38

Coaching Employees
Since the success of an organization depends on the
performance of its people, the development of human
resources is an essential management task. The job should
not be left solely to the company's human resources
specialists. Rather, all managers should be committed to
this endeavor. Indeed, many specific managerial job
requirements entail coachingspecifically, face-to-face
techniques for solving employee performance problems
and for helping employees develop on the job to their
fullest potential. You must employ coaching techniques
when giving job instructions, correcting performance
problems, delegating, developing work teams, and
encouraging career development.
Managers who are good coaches benefit in two ways:
They receive quality work from employees, and they look
good in the process. As a consequence, they are
recognized and rewarded by their supervisors. Being a
good manager-coach means knowing whom to coach,
when to coach, and how to coach. It also involves being
aware of common coaching problems and developing the
characteristics of a good coach.
Deciding to Coach
Ask yourself several questions before selecting coaching
to solve a performance problem.
1. Is there actually a performance problem? In other
words, is the employee not meeting some objective
performance standard? Some mangers assume there is a
performance problem because they do not like the
employee or because the employee is not performing as
well as someone else. Coaching involves the devel-
 Page 39
opment of specific behaviors, and it should not be used to
change attitudes or to foster competition in a work group.
2. Is the problem correctable? This may entail judgment
about the subordinate's motivation, past performance, and
ability to change, as well as assessment of available time
and resources for bringing about a change. If the
performance is not correctable, then coaching is not the
answer. Other options might be transfer or termination.
3. Are there any external obstacles to performance? Are
there circumstances beyond the employee's control that are
leading to the poor performance or are impeding employee
development? If so, no amount of coaching will solve the
problem or promote career development. Instead, you
must remove the obstacles. Many factors can be involved.
Faulty material, late deliveries, deadlines missed by
others, lack of information, equipment failures, confusing
instructions, and unrealistic schedules are just a few
reasons why employee job performance may fall short.
Nor will coaching help an employee develop if growth
opportunities are unavailable or if there are political or
economic deterrents to advancement.
4. Are there any rewards or costs associated with job-
related behavior? Ironically, in many organizations poor
performance is rewarded. How many times are poor
performers relieved of important tasks and those tasks
given to ore competent workers? Many employees realize
that the less they do, the less they are asked to do. Unless
the reinforcements of poor performance are removed, no
amount of coaching will improve performance.
5. Is the timing right? It is not necessary to wait until there
is a performance problem. While coaching is often
associated with performance problems, you can use it to
bring about change in behavior. For example, when you
delegate an important project to a competent worker, you
may want to coach that person on strategies for successful
performance. If you give new job instructions, you should
coach the employee on how to follow those instructions.
Training involves not only introducing job skills but also
helping employees develop those skills through
observation, feedback, and advice. Any manager who acts
as mentor coaches that person to develop professionally.
Thus, you
 Page 40
should think of coaching as a tool to develop employees as
well as a device for correcting performance.
Preparing for a Coaching Session
Before beginning a coaching session, do some advance
planning: collect necessary information, structure your
message for the particular person, anticipate possible
reactions, and choose a suitable time and location for the
session. If the coaching concerns a performance problem,
gather the relevant written materials, such as job
descriptions, policy statements, performance records,
training history, and prior disciplinary actions or
grievances. If the session involves employee development,
have together all the details of the project or opportunity to
be offered. As in all formal supervisor-employee
communication, you should have enough documentation
to be thorough, specific, and objective.
As manager-coach, analyze the best strategy for dealing
with each individual in light of that employee's
personality, intelligence, competence, motivation, work
experience, and career goals. Then structure the message
and communicate in a style that is most likely to be
effective with that given individual. One person may
respond to a tough coaching style characterized by
challenges, demands, and timetables. Another may need
praise, encouragement, and instruction to produce a new
behavior. Adapting your coaching style to each employee
means identifying when that person is ready to be
developed, knowing how to motivate the individual, or
anticipating the best way to discuss a performance
problem. Managers who treat each employee as a unique
individual get the best results.
Likewise, you should anticipate how the employee might
react to the performance feedback, delegated assignment,
or career-advancement opportunity. Examine your
message from the receiver's point of view. Has the
individual responded angrily to prior discussions of
performance problems? Does this person underestimate
his or her capabilities for handling new projects? Will the
worker welcome or feel burdened by your attempts to
coach?
Finally, in preparing for a coaching session, select an
appro-
 Page 41
priate time and location. The session should be private and
the physical surroundings comfortable. Allow yourself
enough time to accomplish your coaching objectives.
Conducting a Coaching Session
Because coaching is frequently used to correct
performance problems, we emphasize that aspect of the
technique. The steps can be altered slightly for coaching
employees while delegating, giving job instructions, or
building teams.
Basically, there are five steps in the coaching process:
1. Seek agreement about the need for change. Presumably,
there is a problem or a deficiency in the employee's
behavior that makes coaching necessary. You must get the
employee to agree that a problem exists. That means
discussing the exact nature of the problem, how often the
problem occurs, possible causes of the problem, and
consequences of the problem. Both you and the employee
must perceive the problem similarly if you are to agree on
a change. Typically, managers speak in generalities about
work-related problems. Employees, who naturally want to
end an uncomfortable discussion about their poor
performance, may agree to a problem without really
understanding it. Then both manager and employee
become frustrated when subsequent progress does not
occur.
Getting agreement on a specific problem versus vaguely
hinting at a problem can be illustrated by the example of a
sales manager who says to a subordinate, "You're slipping
in customer service." A better approach is to give specific
examples of what "slipping in customer service" means.
You might say, "four of your customers this month
complained that you didn't return their calls after you
closed the sale." Then you can identify the customers and
ask whether your subordinate returned the calls. If the
employee agrees to the problem by indicating a failure to
return the calls, then you can ask for reasons for the
behavior. Such discussion will reveal whether there was a
valid reason for not returning the calls. You should also
indicate the consequences of unreturned calls in terms of a
loss of customers and profits.
 Page 42
2. Discuss alternative solutions to the problem. Being
specific is important. You and your employee should
consider several specific options for solving the problem,
not merely agree to the most obvious solution. In our
example, the simple solution is for the subordinate to
return customers' calls. More specific solutions, however,
might be: (1) the employee could reserve the last hour of
each day for returning customer calls, (2) the customer
service department could handle the routine calls, or (3) a
pamphlet for handling common customer questions could
be prepared. All feasible options should be considered for
dealing with the problem.
3. Agree on the specific action to be taken. It is not
sufficient to get the employee to agree to try harder or to
do a better job. That promise, no matter how well
intentioned, is an empty commitment. You and your
employee should agree on one action, as well as a target
date by which the problem should be solved. Further, you
should agree on how success will be evaluated. In this
example, the problem could be considered solved when no
more customer complaints about unreturned calls are
received.
4. Follow up to make sure the action was taken. This
might entail checking with the employee to assess
progress or calling customers to see that their requests
have been handled promptly.
5. Recognize accomplishments. Praising a good behavior
helps reinforce that behavior. You should recognize
progress that contributes to the solution of a problem, as
well as the employee's successful accomplishment of a
behavioral change. This motivates the employee in
difficult areas of change and makes the person more
amenable to similar coaching in the future.
If your goal is to develop an individual or a team to
succeed at a project, you can alter the five steps in this
way:
1. Obtain agreement that a task needs to be
accomplished.
2. Make sure the employee knows the exact nature of
the job.
3. Discuss possible approaches to the task.
4. Agree on what constitutes successful completion of
the project (this includes a discussion of how the project
outcome will be evaluated).
 Page 43
5. Follow up to make sure the tasks are accomplished,
and then reward the employee for the accomplishment.
Common Coaching Problems
The manager as coach should be aware of and try to avoid
these four common pitfalls:
1. Coaching only when there is a problem. If coaching is
to be your tool for developing employees, then it cannot
be associated only with correction or discipline. If you
coach only to correct poor performance, then employees
will be resentful and not respond to your attempts.
Employees should regard coaching as an opportunity for
growth, not as a punitive measure.
2. Lecturing the employee instead of coaching. Coaching
should involve dialogue and mutual decision making. It is
teamwork between supervisors and subordinates. Telling
or directing an employee to engage in a certain behavior is
not coaching.
3. Dealing in generalities. Probably the hardest part of
coaching involves being specific. We often think that
labeling a behavior is the same as giving a specific
description of that behavior. To avoid generalities, you
should provide examples, documentation, quotations,
statistics, and dates to illustrate a point.
4. Making assumptions. To avoid assumptions, you should
explicitly communicate every step of the coaching process
to your employee. Do not assume that employees realize
performance needs or problems, know how to perform
competently, will perform appropriately even when they
promise to, or know when they have done a good job.
Characteristics of a Good Coach
Studies of good coaching practices, regardless of the
coaching context, reveal some common characteristics of
successful coaches. The manager who wants to succeed in
developing employees:
 Page 44

· Is interested in people
· Is predictable
· Is straightforward
· Lets you know where you stand
· Gives credit to others
· Builds confidence
· Has high standards
· Is objective
· Is firm but fair
· Is a good teacher
· Makes employees want to do their best
[See also Feedback; Mentoring]
For Additional Information
Deeprose, Donna. The Team Coach: Vital New Skills for
Managers and Supervisors in a Team Environment. New
York: AMACOM, 1995.
Jacobs, Dorri. ''Coaching Employees to Perform Better."
Management World 18, No. 4 (July/Aug. 1989), pp. 6-9.
Kinlaw, Dennis C. Coaching for Commitment: Managerial
Strategies for Obtaining Superior Performance. San
Diego: University Associates, 1989.
Kirkpatrick, D. L. How to Improve Performance through
Appraisals and Coaching. New York: AMACOM, 1982.
Mink, Oscar, Keith Q. Owen, and Barbara P. Mink.
Developing High-Performance People: The Art of
Coaching. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1993.
 Page 45

Conflict Management
Interpersonal conflict is inevitable in the workplace.
Because organizations consist of numerous individuals
who must coordinate their activities to get work done,
there are many opportunities for conflict. Whenever two
people or two groups have opposite goals, they are likely
to find themselves in conflict. Hardly a day goes by when
the activities of one person or group are not at odds with
others. The sales department may be in conflict with the
advertising department, supervisors of different shifts may
be at odds, executive officers may disagree with trustees,
management and unions may have conflicting goals,
customers' needs may oppose company policies, or
coworkers may have personality clashes.
Dealing with conflict is a part of every manager's job. You
will find yourself in conflict with others and will be called
on to settle the disputes of employees. Never shy away
from conflict; the effective handling of conflict is a
necessary part of your managerial duties. Effectively
handling conflict means understanding what causes
disputes, promoting positive effects of conflict in
organizations, encouraging the use of productive styles of
communicating, and following guidelines for managing
conflict.
Reasons for Conflict in the Workplace
There are many reasons why conflicts develop on the job.
Causes can range from basic human nature to workplace
structure and policies. A common cause of workplace
conflicts is scarce re-
 Page 46
sources. Because resources are needed to get jobs done
and because resources are limited, we often compete for
them. For example, managers from two departments may
compete for budgetary resources. The larger one
manager's budget, the smaller the other's. Other resources
are office space, equipment, personnel, and decision-
making power.
Conflicts also occur because of basic differences in
beliefs. A conflict can develop, for example, if one
member of a planning team believes in expanding the
company's product line and another team member doesn't
agree. The personnel specialists in an organization may
believe in the value of employee-assistance programs
while upper management does not. Just as there will never
be enough resources in an organization to satisfy
everybody, there can never be total agreement of beliefs.
Competition or rivalry between individuals or groups in an
organization also leads to conflicts. Disputes are likely
between two people who must work together when both
are in line for one promotion. Two divisions of a company
may refuse to cooperate with each other if both are
competing for leadership of a key project. Two research
colleagues may argue because of their long-standing
rivalry over equipment and facilities.
Some conflicts arise because lines of authority are not
clearly delineated. Power struggles are particularly
difficult, because the power issues usually are not openly
discussed. A secretary who has been with a company
longer than a junior executive may feel justified in telling
the executive how to do things. A consultant to an
organization may make decisions that the client
organization did not authorize. One department may make
changes that affect another department without checking,
in advance, with those who will be affected. Anytime that
people or groups feel that their power has been usurped or
that their authority has been questioned, disputes are likely
to result.
Sometimes conflicts occur because people simply cannot
get along. People with aggressive, insecure, or defensive
personalities frequently clash with others. In some cases,
there are no valid reasons for arguments other than the fact
that two people do not like each other.
 Page 47

Conflicts Can Be Positive

Some managers are very uncomfortable with interpersonal
conflict. As a result, they try to avoid or suppress
disagreements. The wise manager, however, realizes that it
is futile to try to eliminate conflict from the workplace.
Suppressed conflicts fester below the surface and erupt
sooner or later. Inevitable and even a necessary aspect of
organizations, conflicts are not necessarily bad but can be
challenging and enjoyable. Employees who disagree with
each other and debate issues care enough about the job to
fight for their positions. Where there is no conflict, there
usually is apathy. Better decisions often result from a real
give-and-take of ideas. Challenging decisions rather than
rubberstamping them makes for better decisions.
Conflicts can stimulate creativity and prevent stagnation.
Differences of opinion challenge the manager who may
have become complacent or dogmatic. And rivalry
between groups can stimulate motivation and
performance. Two departments with opposing goals may
work cooperatively to find creative solutions to problems
between them.
When conflicts are resolved, the conflicting parties feel
more respect for each other. The ability to work together
to resolve differences builds a sense of cohesiveness.
Working through disputes brings individuals closer
together, increases loyalty, and enhances solidarity.
Styles of Communicating in Conflicts
People display many different kinds of behaviors in
conflict situations. Some people use a predominant style
of dealing with conflict regardless of the nature of the
dispute. Other individuals vary their conflict-management
style based on the context, the issues, or the conflict
partner. Common styles of dealing with conflicts include
aggression, withdrawal, surrender, compromise, problem
solving, and third-party intervention.
The aggressive style of dealing with conflict involves
threats, ultimatums, defensiveness, name calling, and
coercion. Rarely
 Page 48
does it result in a resolution of the dispute. Through
aggression, one person may force the other to "give in."
The aggressor has seemingly won, but the conflict usually
continues below the surface and will erupt again later.
Most managers would agree that there is no place for the
aggressive style of dealing with conflicts. Organizations
may tolerate a rare and mildly aggressive outburst from a
valuable employee, but most consider an aggressive style
of communication as grounds for dismissal. Some
companies offer psychological counseling to employees
who demonstrate aggression in interpersonal conflicts on
the job.
Withdrawal as a style of behavior in conflicts means
physically or psychologically removing yourself from the
situation. It is an attempt to avoid or ignore the conflict
altogether. "Looking the other way" can be an effective
approach if used infrequently. It may be wise to avoid a
conflict if the issue is minor or if the potential conflict
partner is a formidable opponent, for example. But you
should not routinely withdraw from conflicts. The
manager who uses withdrawal as a predominant conflict-
handling style will appear weak, will have to give up
resources, and will get little respect from others.
People who surrender in conflicts are willing to get
involved in them but give in prematurely. Rather than
trying to fully represent their own position, they
accommodate to the partner's position too quickly. When
you surrender, you do not actually see the merit of the
other position. You merely give in because you are
uncomfortable with the conflict. A disadvantage of this
style is that good ideas can get lost when you throw in the
towel. Like withdrawers, managers who surrender
sacrifice their positions and their reputations.
Compromise represents a rational and effective way to
deal with conflicts. With this style, the parties agree to
partial victory and partial defeat for each. Each person is
willing to concede minor points in order to preserve
higher-priority goals. By trading concessions, both parties
win a little and lose a little. The conflict partners stick with
the issues, care about an equitable outcome, and are
willing to take the time needed to reach a compromise.
Being skilled at the bargaining or negotiating process
involved in reaching a compromise is the hallmark of a
good
 Page 49
manager. Compromise through bargaining is a part of
many managerial functions, including hiring, salary or
contract settlement, budget allocations, purchasing, selling
customer service, and handling grievances or complaints.
The problem-solving approach to conflict means
cooperatively and objectively examining the issues in a
dispute to arrive at a solution that represents the best
interests of all conflict parties. Rather than examining the
positions advocated by the conflicting parties as a starting
point for compromise, the approach seeks innovative,
creative options not yet considered by the people in
conflict. If a new option fully satisfactory to everyone
involved can be generated, then trading concessions need
not occur. The problem-solving style involves
collaboration and mutual decision making.
While true collaborative problem solving may be difficult
to apply to workplace conflicts, this style probably best
meets organizational goals. It forces people to work
together as allies rather than to argue as adversaries. There
are no sides in a dispute, but only mutual problem solvers.
When all other approaches to conflict resolution fail,
conflicting parties can seek the help of a third party or
have a mediator intervene. Basically, there are two types
of external intervention in conflict situations: mediators
and arbitrators. A mediator is a third party who assists
with the conflict process. Mediators have no power to
make decisions, but they can help clarify the issues, urge
participants to cooperate, establish ground rules for
rational interaction, and serve as impartial aides to help the
conflicting parties settle their own dispute.
An arbitrator, by contrast, is a third party who intervenes
to make a decision. The conflicting parties agree on an
arbitrator, who will decide on the issues. The arbitrator
hears both sides, evaluates the evidence, and makes a
decision to settle the dispute. The conflict participants
agree to abide by the arbitrator's decision.
It is preferable for conflicting parties to settle their own
disputes rather than resort to third-party intervention.
However, in many instances, managers will be called on to
serve as mediators or arbitrators of others' conflicts. To
maintain the trust and credibility of conflicting
participants, arbitrators and mediators
 Page 50
must treat each side fairly and equitably. By intervening,
the manager not only seeks to help resolve the conflict but
attempts to develop rational, effective conflict-
management skills in others.
Guidelines for Managing Conflict
Following these guidelines will help make conflict
constructive, rational, challenging, and manageable
activities with positive outcomes for both individuals and
organizations:
1. Take your time in conflicts. It takes patience to listen, to
weigh issues, and to reach equitable outcomes. When you
slow down the communication and avoid interruption, real
discussion can occur. It may take several sessions or many
months to settle a disagreement
2. Avoid defensiveness. Try to remain objective and
cooperative. This means being open-minded and not
forcing predetermined positions or solutions. Avoid
manipulations, put-downs, know-it-all attitudes, and
stubbornness. Rather than blindly defending your position
in the hopes of winning, be willing to consider the merit in
others' positions.
3. Avoid deception. In an attempt to inflate a position or
enhance bargaining power in conflicts, deception is
sometimes used. This can impede conflict resolution and
destroy credibility. Effective managers of conflict are
ethical, straightforward, and honest. Deal directly and
assertively with issues rather than is representing or
distorting facts.
4. Be willing to admit mistakes and allow others to
graciously admit mistakes. Dealing effectively with
conflict means having a willingness to give and take.
When presented with opposing evidence, rarely can a
conflict participant hold steadfast to all original points. Be
willing to accept valid reasoning and evidence. Refrain
from ridicule, gloating, or blame if a conflicting party
accepts your valid points.
5. Avoid assumptions. When situations get heated, we
sometimes fail to communicate explicitly. We jump to
conclusions, make faulty assumptions, and try to second-
guess our partner. It
 Page 51
is important to spell out all details, to ask questions, to put
agreements in writing, to summarize progress, and to list
agenda items for discussion. The more rational, specific,
and direct the communication, the more likely the conflict
will be resolved fairly.
[See also Negotiation]
For Additional Information
Donohue, William A. Managing Interpersonal Conflict.
Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1992.
Kaye, Kenneth. Workplace Wars and How to End Them.
New York: AMACOM, 1994.
Rahim, M. Afzalur. Managing Conflict in Organizations.
Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1992.
 Page 52

Consultants
The term consultant has come to refer to a broad range of
roles, activities, or functions that people perform.
Consultants may solve problems, give advice, disseminate
information, perform specialized services, or intervene in
other ways in organizations. They may be self-employed,
may affiliate with large consulting organizations, may be
on the payroll of the organization for which they consult,
or may be professors, lawyers, doctors, engineers,
psychologists, or other professional specialists.
Consultants play an essential role in many organizations.
By understanding the role of consultants, the reasons
organizations use them, the process of selecting
consultants, and the nature of the consultant-client
relationship, you can utilize consultants effectively.
What Is a Consultant?
Typically a consultant is a person with specialized
knowledge or skills who establishes a temporary
relationship with a client to help that client in some way.
For internal consultants, the client may be another
division, department, or unit in the same organization, and
the transfer of money for services may not take place.
External consultants provide services to an organization of
which they are not a member and receive compensation in
return.
In either case, there are some key points in defining the
term consultant. The relationship is voluntary, temporary,
and helping. The nature of the client, the nature of the
help, and the duration of the relationship are variable
elements. The arenas in which consultants perform are
also quite diverse, including accounting, personnel,
information systems, law, engineering, finance, safety and
health, recruiting, public relations, sales and
 Page 53
marketing, labor relations, organization development, and
research. There are many consulting specialties within
each of these areas as well.
Why Use Consultants?
There are many reasons why the need for consultants has
accelerated in the workplace. Our society, and the
workplace in particular, is becoming increasingly complex
and technological. Economic and social forces are rapidly
changing. Information and technology is expanding at
such a rate that many managers can no longer keep pace
with the change. Managers can no longer be generalists,
possessing the information and skills to handle all
problems. Some industries are so dynamic that managers
in certain areas need specialists to advise them.
Burgeoning technology and information in the
engineering, computer, and communication fields, for
example, can make the proficiencies of even the most
conscientious managers outdated. Rather than restaffing
the organization to acquire people with state-of-the-art
skills, the organization can hire consultants on a project
basis.
There are several issues to consider when deciding
whether your organization should use the services of a
consultant. First, you should question whether someone in
the organization has the expertise or could easily acquire
the expertise to handle the project. Many organizations
overlook their internal talent and assume that a consultant
is the only option.
Second, cost must always be a consideration in hiring a
consultant. Can your organization afford the services of a
consultant, or would it be more cost-effective to recruit
and hire a specialist as a permanent employee? Perhaps
your organization could underwrite the education or
training to help existing staff stay current in their fields.
A third reason why organizations use consultants is the
credibility factor. While inside people may be able to do
the tasks, the external person might have more credibility
with employees. Information provided by an outsider may
be seen as more valid, or a change recommended by a
consultant may be more readily
 Page 54
accepted. Situations addressed by outsiders are sometimes
taken more seriously than if handled by insiders.
Fourth, organization may prefer a consultant for certain
sensitive tasks that are more difficult for an insider to
accomplish or for unpopular tasks that could destroy the
insider's career. For example, a consultant will get more
honest responses to an employee-opinion survey than an
insider would. It is also less awkward for consultants to
handle reorganization or downsizing decisions, since they
can leave the organization after unpopular decisions are
implemented.
The Process of Selecting a Consultant
Once the decision has been made to hire a consultant,
there are certain steps to follow in selecting the right one.
In choosing consultants, you must identify your needs,
locate consultant possibilities, and screen applicants to
make a selection decision.
Identifying Needs
Someone in the organization must perceive a problem or
realize a need in order for the question of a consultant to
arise in the first place. The more specifically you can
define your need or problem, the greater the chances of
selecting a qualified consultant to address it. There is a
dilemma, though, in the attempt to match your needs with
a consultant's services. Your organization may not be able
to accurately or objectively perceive its own needs or
problems. In the process of identifying the need for a
consultant, your organization can also fall into the trap of
dictating a solution to the consultant.
Locating Possible Consultants
Once key people in your organization identify the type of
consultant they need and the goal the consultant is to
accomplish, it is time to search for possible specialists to
assume the consultant role. This step involves detective
work. If the need is quite specialized, it may mean a
national or international search for the
 Page 55
handful of qualified people who are capable of meeting
your needs. If the task is somewhat routine, there may be
plenty of talent in your local area.
There are various sources to check to locate potential
consultants. The professional associations affiliated with
the specialty area are a good place to start. Libraries have
directories of associations. Professional and technical
associations can serve as clearinghouses for information
and will be able to recommend specialists within their
fields. The faculty of your local university represents
another pool of talent that is abreast of the latest
developments in many fields. There are also directories of
consulting organizations and associations for consultants
in various specialties. Other sources for consultants
include the business-to-business yellow pages, the
chamber of commerce, and colleagues in your industry or
profession.
Screening Potential Consultants
Specialists who are capable of and interested in doing the
job usually submit proposals. After meeting with their
organizational contacts, and in some cases doing some
needs-assessment research, consultants prepare a proposal
outlining the proposed project, their qualifications, a
tentative schedule, and expected costs. The proposal is an
important device for evaluating a consultant. It allows the
client organization to see sample work of the consultant
and to make some judgments about a consultant's
problem-solving style, writing ability, fee structure, and
professionalism.
Consultant proposals serve another function in addition to
being a screening device; they allow organizations to see
the various approaches to their problem that different
consultants would take. Through proposals, you obtain
information about your problem from different
perspectives. Submitting proposals without compensation
to apply for a consulting project is a standard and
legitimate practice in the profession.
One aspect of a proposal that is often difficult to evaluate
is the fee structure. There are no standard rates for
consulting services. Even within a particular consulting
specialty, rates vary.
 Page 56
Some relatively standard practices can serve as guidelines,
however. Most consultants charge daily fees ranging from
$500 to $1,500 per day. The more sophisticated the
project, the more unique your need, and the fewer
specialists there are capable of performing the service, the
higher the rate will be. Most consultants will negotiate
their fee downward for long-range projects, and some will
adjust rates according to the size (and budget) of the
client.
Some consultants charge by the project and not by the day.
Whatever the fee structure, it is advisable to know what
can be billed and what cannot. Some consultants will not
charge for preliminary or follow-up work, and others will
charge for telephone calls. You should determine the
maximum amount that a project can exceed cost estimates
and realize that almost all proposals are negotiable.
Proposals represent just one, albeit important, source of
information for screening consultants. Other sources
include recommendations, testimonials, work samples, and
trial projects. Whatever the consulting specialty and nature
of the prior work experience, consultants should be able to
provide pictures, models, diagrams, slides, manuals, or
workbooks to document their work quality. A good way to
evaluate potential consultants is to hire them for small
projects. Allowing them to do a pilot project or some
small aspect of the job will allow them to demonstrate
their skills and will permit you to make an objective
decision about their capabilities. This trial project also
provides information to both parties about the nature of
their working relationship.
Though it will take time, it is wise to get as much
information as possible in screening consultants.
Information from proposals, recommendations,
background qualifications, work samples, or trial projects
will help you make the best decision.
The Client-Consultant Relationship
After evaluating possible consultants and hiring one for
your project, you still have some important roles to
perform. Three areas of concern in the initial client-
consultant relationship in-
 Page 57
clude the working agreement or contract, the identity of
the client, and the nature of the client-consultant
relationship.
The Working Agreement or Contract
The working agreement or contract is a written statement
that specifies the expectations of both parties: who will do
what, for whom, how, by when, and for how much. The
written agreement varies in detail and explicitness, but
early dealings between consultants and organizations
should probably be characterized by explicit statements.
Long-term relationships between clients and consultants
may involve no more than oral agreements.
But whether the agreement involves a formal contract or
an oral understanding, both parties must agree to the
objectives of the project, their roles and responsibilities,
the physical and personnel resources devoted to the
project, the tentative schedule, and the costs of the project.
Identity of the Client
While this seems like an obvious point, the actual identity
of the client can be elusive. Is the consultant working for
the contact person in your organization, the unit or
department that perceives the problem or need for the
consultant, top management of your organization, your
entire organization, the larger social system such as the
customers of your organization, or its stockholders or
financial supporters?
Anyone who has served as a consultant knows how
difficult it is to identify the client. This question is
important because it determines who the consultant reports
to, who has decisionmaking authority, who the consultant
has access to, and who evaluates the success of the project.
There may be many clients with different perspectives
about the project making simultaneous demands on a
consultant. The client and consultant should try to reach
agreements about the client's identity before the project
begins.
Nature of the Relationship
Organizations usually put more effort into selecting a
consultant than into building the client-consultant
relationship. Several rela-
 Page 58
tionship factors, such as power, collaboration, trust, and
integrity, should be considered.
Some consulting projects fail because of the perceived
power differences in the relationship. The best client-
consultant relationship is a partnership. Neither party
makes all the decisions or is totally dependent on the
other. You should know enough about the project specialty
area to participate in the project. Decisions should be
mutual. However, in many consulting projects, one party
feels superior to the other and tries to take charge.
Before the project begins, the parties should discuss the
nature of authority and decision-making power in the
relationship. While power is not an easy issue to discuss in
initial interactions, it is important to bring the underlying
power issues to the surface so that both parties can
determine if they can work with each other.
The client and the consultant may want to include
mechanisms for collaboration in the working agreement.
Perhaps an individual from the consulting organization
should work with someone from the client organization as
project co-directors. At the very least, both parties should
realize the collaborative nature of their relationship. They
should get in the habit of exchanging information and
opinions and making mutual decisions.
The factors of trust and integrity are essential to the
success of the client-consultant relationship. Neither party
should withhold information from the other. Sometimes an
organization will distort information to present itself in a
good light to the consultant. Likewise, consultants may be
reluctant to disclose their shortcomings or uncertainties.
Each party must have confidence in the other. You and
your consultant are a team working together to solve a
problem. Following are some guidelines for using
consultants:
1. Avoid consultants who do more selling than helping.
While consultants must market their services, their
primary role is to be consultants. Be wary of consultants
who spend more time pushing their services than listening
to your needs.
2. Beware of crippling the consultant's effectiveness. Some
organizations hire competent consultants and then put too
many re-
 Page 59
straints on them. As sensitive as some information can be,
the consultant needs access to all people and all
information in the organization to be effective.
3. The client should not become dependent on the
consultant. Some consultants create procedures or systems
to foster client dependency on them. Some organizations
cling to consultants.
4. Beware of consultants who apply the same solution to
all problems. Some consultants rely on one mode or
approach for all clients, all needs, and all situations.
Consultants who push certain solutions or approaches
during initial meetings are likely to have canned answers
before they even know your needs. Solutions should
emerge in collaborations between clients and consultants
over time after the problem or need has been fully
identified.
5. Do not put unrealistic expectations on consultants.
Consultants help organizations solve problems. They do
not work miracles. Most organizations would be well
advised to set their expectations a bit lower when working
with consultants. Realize that change in organizations
comes slowly.
6. Do not make decisions on the basis of cost alone. Cost
should be just one consideration in selecting consultants.
Some organizations opt for the lowest bid and get nothing
more than a quick fix. Most organizational problems are
complex and multifaceted, requiring interventions from
several perspectives. Good solutions take time. Some
problems are never completely solved. Your organization
may have to spend more money than it anticipated to
obtain the results it expects.
For Additional Information
How To Negotiate With Consultants: A Step-By-Step
Guide. Baltimore, Md.: Project Management Publications,
1990.
Idol, Lorna, Ann Nevin, and Phyllis Paolucci-Whitcomb.
Collaborative Consultation. Austin, Tex.: Pro-Ed, 1993.
Shenson, Howard L. How to Select and Manage
Consultants: A Guide To Getting What You Pay For.
Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1990.
 Page 60

Customer Service
All organizations, not just sales-oriented businesses, have
customers. Increasingly, medical, educational, and
governmental organizations also are focusing on their
customer service functions. While customer service used
to be narrowly defined as handling customer complaints, it
is now regarded as a philosophy as well as an activity.
That is, progressive organizations of any type make sure
that concern for the customer, or end user of their product
or service, permeates the culture of the organization.
When the whole organization is customer-oriented, fewer
customer complaints occur. And when they do occur, they
are handled swiftly and appropriately.
How often you deal directly with customers obviously
depends on the particular function or the nature of your
organization. Nevertheless, all managers should be aware
of the basics of customer service. We are in an era when
customer service is seen as a way to enhance productivity
and profits. Perhaps because the quality of service has
deteriorated to abysmal levels in some spheres, customers
are demanding better service. Stiff levels of competition in
many industries are forcing managers to pay more
attention to service. Indeed, you may find yourself
immersed in customer service issues, which the business
environment will no longer allow you to ignore.
What Is Customer Service?
There are various views of customer service, ranging from
all-encompassing philosophies to specific actions. Which
definition best reflects your organization's view of
customer service?
 Page 61

· Meeting customers' expectations

· Providing customers with what they want, when they
want it, in good condition, at a fair price
· A philosophy that affects every organizational
decision and policy
· An opportunity to retain and build business
· Behavior to ensure a long-term vendor-customer
relationship
· Handling customer complaints satisfactorily
· Sacrificing short-term costs for long-term customer
loyalty
· Providing consistent, quality products or service
· All events related to keeping customers
· All communication between an organization and its
customers, both internal and external
Why Emphasize Customer Service?
There are many reasons, besides the current popularity of
the concept, to emphasize customer service in
organizations. It makes good business sense to give high
priority to customer needs. The many advantages of a
customer-focused orientation include:
1. Customers are the livelihood of any business. They are
the very reason why organizations exist. Whether they are
patrons of the arts, patients in a hospital, students in a
school, guests in a hotel, residents using city services,
wholesale distributors, industrial clients, or retail
shoppers, people using products and services keep
organizations alive. Employees who do not come into
regular contact with customers may forget the pivotal role
customers play. We must all remind ourselves that our jobs
and our livelihood depend on someone else's using the
services we perform or purchasing the products we make.
For some managers in advertising or industrial
organizations, for example, losing an important account
may mean losing their job. Even people in support
functions in organizations should realize that they
contribute to the organization's production of goods and
services and that they have jobs only as long as there are
users of those goods and services. Sam Walton, founder of
Wal-Mart, was once
 Page 62
heard to say, ''I never lay off anyone . . . my customers do
by shopping elsewhere."
2. Customer service gives organizations a competitive
edge. Often there are negligible differences between the
products or services that organizations provide. Some
carry identical stock. Department Store A carries the same
five brands of lawn mowers as Department Store B.
Airline X has the same number of flights to the same cities
at the same prices as Airlines Y or Z. So on what basis
does the customer select between vendors? One company
will be favored over another on the basis of the nature and
quality of the service provided by each. Some customers
will go out of their way and will pay higher process to
obtain better service. That is how important service is to
customers!
3. Losing customers costs a company money. Not only is
revenue lost, but finding a new customer to replace the
former one is costly. Some companies project that it costs
at least five times the annual business of the original
customer to find a new customer. Therefore, on average,
an accounting company that loses a corporate client of
$50,000 per year not only loses that revenue but will have
to spend at least $250,000 to woo a replacement customer.
The costs of sales, advertising, and marketing to attract
new customers far exceed the costs of good service to
maintain that customer.
Calculating the lost revenue from just one angry customer
who decides to boycott your business should convince you
of the financial importance of customer service. A person
who spends $60 a month on gasoline and defects to a
competitor will give that competitor over $7,000 in
business over a ten-year period. Imagine the staggering
amounts of lost revenue from industrial and corporate
customers.
4. Quality of service may be what the customer is buying.
In some situations, the customer is purchasing a
relationship with an organization rather than a specific
product or service. A patient may be loyal to a physician
or a customer may use a certain dry cleaner, not because of
the competence of the physician or the quality of the
cleaning but because of the nature of the relationships
each provides. Customers may care more whether the
service providers know them by name and make them feel
special
 Page 63
than they do about the actual service provided. Managers
and organizations should determine just what their
customers are buying. It may be that customers select you
over a competitor because of the personal relationships or
reliable service you provide.
5. Customers remember poor service. A customer is more
likely to remember one incident of poor service than 100
incidents of good service. Organizations receive little
feedback about what they do well, but their problems are
noticed. Indeed, organizations should provide ways for
customers to communicate problems to the organization.
A customer who complains always is preferable to the
customer who silently disappears. In either case,
dissatisfied customers will tell their friends about the poor
service they received from a particular organization. So
one incident of poor service can have a multiplying
negative effect. Some customers have long memories and
are quite unforgiving. If mistreated, they may refuse to do
business with an organization for the rest of their lives!
6. Customers provide information about product or service
operations and improvements. Customers' future needs
pave the way for new product development. Customers are
the major source of information about the quality of a
company's products of service. If one location is losing
customers or receiving more complaints, this tells
something about the operation of that location. If one
product needs more repair than another product in a
particular line, the company may eliminate or redesign
that product. Customers who complain or praise one
employee more than they do others provide valuable
feedback about employee performance.
Some organizations solicit customer reactions before they
encounter customer complaints. At the very least, they
should regard customer complaints as valid sources of
feedback. Information from customers can help
organizations improve products, develop new products, or
enhance services.
Who Are Your Customers?
When we think of customers, we envision people external
to the organization who interact with the organization and
provide
 Page 64
money either directly or indirectly to it. In addition,
groups of employees within an organization serve as
suppliers and customers to each other. For example,
Production may need the services of Research and
Development, physicians need the services of laboratory
technicians to make diagnoses, educators need the
maintenance staff for the upkeep of classrooms, and
salespeople need warehouse personnel to supply
merchandise. The list is endless.
The service that a company provides to external customers
will be a direct reflection of the service that various
departments within an organization provide to each other.
We can carry the analogy even further. The way that
employees treat each other and the way they treat
customers is directly associated with the way they are
treated by their supervisors and managers. So for good
customer service to exist, there must be quality
relationships throughout the organization. Consider
anyone who interacts in or with the organization
(employees, vendors, suppliers, distributors, contractors,
etc.) as customers. They do not have to provide money to
your organization to be considered a customer. If you
depend on them in any way for the existence or success of
your business, they should be treated as valuable
customers. Also, they must treat you in a like manner.
It may be overwhelming to think that all aspects of the
workplace affect the organization's ability to provide
customer service, but a mistreated, underpaid, stressed, or
underappreciated employee cannot be responsive to
customers' needs. An employee who gets little cooperation
from supervisors, coworkers, or other departments in the
company is not likely to cooperate with others.
Caring about internal customers as well as external
customers affects all organizational decisions and systems,
including hiring practices, orientation and training,
compensation and benefits, working conditions, job
security, supervisory and management styles,
performance-review practices, motivation and reward
systems, and career-development opportunities.
Providing Customer Service
Attention to every detail of organizational life is necessary
for maintaining high standards of customer service. A
step-by-step
 Page 65
process for developing or enhancing customer service in
an organization follows:
1. Hire the right people. If you want to develop a customer
service focus, then you must remember, when hiring
employees, that some people are more pleasant, more
motivated, more cooperative, and better communicators
than others. Even if a job description does not involve
customer contact, an employee who is skilled at
interacting with others will contribute to the overall
customer service philosophy.
2. Provide orientation and training. The employee should
receive information about the company, its history, its
mission, its leaders, and its policies. It is important that
employees know how their jobs both fit into the overall
mission and coordinate with other jobs. Training can equip
employees with customer-relations skills and can
emphasize the importance of customers to the
organization.
3. Set standards for customer service. For each job, there
should be clear standards for performance. What is the
maximum allowable time between receiving an order and
shipping the goods? How long should a restaurant patron
wait before placing an order and receiving the food? What
is the maximum number of rings before the telephone is
answered? Such standards enable you to establish,
monitor, and control quality. Jobholders benefit from
knowing what is expected of them, supervisors know
when to intervene to develop improved performance, and
customers know what to expect in terms of quality and
consistency.
4. Improve communication throughout the organization.
Good customer service depends on several basic
communication skills. Whether it is for dealing with client
departments internally or for retaining paying customers
externally, employees need to listen, be patient, coordinate
information, ask and answer questions, avoid being
defensive, and handle conflicts.
5. Develop shared accountability. A sign of poor customer
service in an organization is passing the buck. Nothing
angers a customer more than hearing such remarks as "It's
not my job," "I just work here," or "I don't know what to
do." Shared accountability means several things. The
organization must de-
 Page 66
velop in its employees a sense of shared responsibility for
customers. Customers are not the concern of just sales,
service, or delivery personnel. Everyone in the company
from the board room to the shop floor must keep customer
service in mind.
Organizations must also empower their employees at all
levels to make decisions that benefit the customer.
Customers with a problem do not want to hear that the
person dealing with them does not have any authority to
act. Making them wait until a supervisor or manager can
intervene is not good customer service. Organizations that
encourage their employees to make decisions, bend rules,
or act immediately to satisfy customers' needs are well on
their way to having exemplary customer service.
6. Audit customer service. Organizations with excellent
customer service records collect information about their
performance in this area. Ways to collect such information
include the full range of research and evaluation methods.
Some companies use computer systems to record all
information about product movement, such as order entry,
processing, shipping, billing, and repair. Other companies
use customer service questionnaires to measure
satisfaction with such transaction elements as pricing,
convenience, reliability, friendliness, and quality. At the
very least, organizations should log and track customer
complaints to identify and solve problems.
7. Put as many employees as possible in contact with
customers. Some progressive companies have a system of
job rotation so noncustomer-contact employees can
interact with customers from time to time. Perhaps
employees from various functions can rotate through the
customer service department and deal with customers'
questions in person or by telephone. Engineers, quality-
control experts, or operations people can accompany the
sales staff on customer calls. Educational administrators
can teach courses occasionally, and the management staff
of a hospital can visit patients. Whatever the method,
organizations can improve their service to customers by
putting more of their people in contact with more of their
customers more often.
8. Recognize and reward quality service. Organizations
can develop creative ways to foster customer service.
Incentive programs, contests, awards, banquets,
recognition letters, bonuses,
 Page 67
publicity, or something as simple as verbal praise can
recognize and reward excellence in customer service. Such
devices can motivate employees and reinforce the
organization's customer service goals.
[See also Quality]
For Additional Information
Anderson, Kristin, and Ron Zemke. Delivering Knock
Your Socks Off Service. New York: AMACOM, 1991.
. Knock Your Socks Off Answers. New York: AMACOM,
1995.
Bell, Chip R., and Ron Zemke. Managing Knock Your
Socks Off Service. New York: AMACOM, 1992.
Cannie, Joan Koob. Turning Lost Customers Into Gold.
New York: AMACOM, 1993.
Desatnick, Robert L. "Managing Customer Service for the
21st Century." Journal for Quality and Participation 17,
No. 3 (June 1994), pp. 30-35.
Donnelly, James H. Close to the Customer: 25
Management Tips From the Other Side of the Counter.
Homewood, Ill.: Business One Irwin, 1992.
Griffin, Jill. Customer Loyalty: How To Earn It, How To
Keep It. New York: Lexington Books, 1995.
Mahfood, Phillip E. Customer Crisis: Turning an
Unhappy Customer Into a Lifelong Client. Chicago:
Probus, 1993.
Zemke, Ron, and Thomas K. Connellan. Sustaining Knock
Your Socks Off Service. New York: AMACOM, 1993.
 Page 68

Delegation and Empowerment

Delegation involves the assignment of a job, as well as the
accompanying authority and responsibility for doing that
job, to an employee who is held accountable for the
performance of the job. Quite simply, it is getting things
done through others. Effective delegation means clearly
communicating the specific results expected, then
empowering and motivating the subordinate to achieve the
results, monitoring the person's progress, and evaluating
performance upon completion of the task. Delegation and
empowerment are essential parts of any manager's job.
Understanding the advantages, process, problems and
ground rules of delegation and empowerment can make
this role more comfortable and more effective for you.
Why Delegate and Empower?
There are many reasons why you should delegate and
empower. A major advantage is that delegation makes the
job of managing easier. It frees you from some time-
consuming, repetitive, or detailed tasks and allows you to
concentrate on other important activities, such as long-
range planning or new-project development. Managers
who try to do everything themselves are burdened
unnecessarily and fail to make effective use of their human
resources. Some management experts believe that
delegation and empowerment are the key factors
distinguishing good from bad managers.
Delegation, or developing people, is a primary duty of
managers. Empowering and delegating are the best ways
to develop
 Page 69
employees. While employees can learn from observing
managers as role models, as well as from training and
coaching, delegated assignments give them hands-on
experience. You can develop your employees by initially
giving them challenging, but not too difficult assignments
and the authority to make decisions about those
assignments. With employee success comes increasing
challenges and increasing authority. Through effective
delegation and empowerment, employees have the
opportunity for guided practice of their own management
skills. Managing this process thus allows the manager to
empower directly reporting employees.
Empowerment is a process that combines training,
education, on-the-job application, defined employee
authority, and trust. The empowering manager does not
bestow anything upon employees. Rather, the empowering
manager unleashes abilities and skills already possessed,
or those skills capable of being developed by the
employee. By sharing control, authority, information, and
influence among employees, the empowering manager
frees up in employees their untapped or underutilized
skills and abilities. The manager works hard to prepare
and to develop employees. Then the manager stays in the
background while the employees perform tasks, make
decisions, and solve problems that are task related. This
benefits employees, managers, and the organization as a
whole.
Delegation and empowerment allow for the best use of
human resources in an organization. Employees at lower
levels who are closer to a work unit are often in a better
position to perform tasks and make decisions related to the
unit. Many of these people have good ideas and would
welcome the responsibility and power to implement them.
Besides utilizing employees fully, delegation and
empowerment free your own time for more efficient use of
your managerial talents. The organization benefits by
challenging more of its people and using more of its
human resources.
When done properly, delegation motivates employees.
Most employees enjoy greater responsibility. Surely there
are exceptions, and you must identify those individuals
who fear or resent additional responsibility. But for
employees who like to be
 Page 70
challenged, being empowered to make decisions and to
complete assignments can be a real boost to morale.
Delegating Effectively by Empowering People
Empowerment is not management abdication of authority
and responsibility. In fact, empowerment requires more
hard work and patience than other management styles.
There are several key elements of empowerment that
result in successful delegation:
1. Select appropriate employees for a task. A good
manager is keenly aware of employees' strengths and
limitations, and delegates projects accordingly. Work
cannot be effectively delegated unless the person is
capable of handling the task and accepting empowering
authority and responsibility. Managers who do their jobs
of selecting, training, coaching, and developing people
will know when employees are ready to handle certain
kinds of projects. This is the first step in promoting
successful delegation.
2. Trust the subordinate. The empowering manager must
believe in, support, and help the worker succeed with the
delegated task. Effective managers realize that they look
good when their employees succeed. You must trust
employees to select them for delegated projects in the first
place. That trust then enables you to share authority and
allows the employee enough freedom to make independent
decisions.
3. Clearly communicate the task to be accomplished. You
must fully understand all that is involved in the work to be
assigned. Only then can you communicate the objectives
and anticipated outcomes of the project to the empowered
employee. Too often, managers make general and vague
delegations. When the employee is not given enough
direction, especially on initial delegations, work
performance rarely meets your expectations. A personnel
manager, for example, who asks a benefits specialist to
"work on finding a new benefits plan for employees" has
omitted much essential information. A more thorough
communication would be "We'd like to find a new insurer
that is customer-
 Page 71
oriented but provides comprehensive coverage at a lower
rate. See if you can get at least three bids on benefits
packages that would reduce our cost by at least 3 percent
from last year's budget while maintaining the same level
of courage in all areas."
4. Indicate the responsibilities of the employee in
accomplishing the task and how performance will be
judged. Frequently, employees accept a delegated task
without clearly understanding what exactly they are
expected to do or what criteria will be used to evaluate
their performance. It is your responsibility to make these
issues clear, to encourage the person to ask questions, and
to check the individual's understanding of the delegated
project.
5. Empower the employee with enough authority to
complete the task. The employee must have free rein on
the task. That means defining an approach to the project,
obtaining information, utilizing other people, solving
problems, and making decisions. An essential element of
delegation is empowering employees with broad authority
to match their responsibilities. Employees or team
members must have the resources necessary to complete
their tasks and the freedom to operate fairly independently.
If you ask a team member to seek your permission for
small details of a project, you are violating the principle of
delegation and empowerment.
6. Establish a schedule for progress reports and task
completion. The manager who delegates must maintain
some control over the project in terms of periodic checks
to see progress and detect problems. Delegation does not
mean abdication. A good delegator gives employees
freedom while establishing a system to determine whether
satisfactory progress is being made toward
accomplishment of the objective. This reduces some risk
for the delegator. The team member benefits also by
having a clear schedule and the opportunity for periodic
feedback on performance.
7. Be accessible but not meddlesome. You should let the
employee know that you are available if the employee
wants to consult with you. This is not to encourage
dependence, but to promote dialogue and teamwork. Nor
does this mean that the employee has to check with you. A
confident, competent employee working on an assignment
that develops no snags will not
 Page 72
consult with you except for prearranged progress reports.
An accessible delegator provides some security to
employees on new projects. On the other hand, you should
refrain from repeatedly asking about the project or needing
to be familiar with all details. Accessibility means letting
employees come to you.
8. Give credit for tasks well done. An effective delegator
acknowledges the employee's success and gives public
recognition as well as private praise. You always look
good when a delegated project turns out well. Thus, it is
not necessary to take any of the credit. By letting
employees shine, everyone benefits.
Why Managers Fail to Delegate
There are many reasons why managers are reluctant to
delegate tasks to employees. Being aware of some of the
common excuses for the failure to delegate and empower
may help reluctant managers feel more comfortable with
the process.
· Perfectionism. The perfectionist has the attitude that
''no one can do the job as well as I can." Included in this
excuse is the view that "I want the job done my way."
· Fear. This excuse includes fear of looking bad if the
empowered employee performs badly, as well as a fear
that the team member might do too well and outshine
the manager.
· Lack of trust. Some managers do not have enough
trust in employees to delegate projects to them. These
managers may not perceive that any team member is
qualified to assume the project, or perhaps they have
suffered in the past because of an irresponsible
employee.
· Workaholism. Some managers want to do every task
themselves. They thrive on hectic schedules and
working around the clock, and need to have their
personal stamp on all projectsno matter the cost to their
work groups.
· Need for control. A fear of losing control or giving up
power keeps some managers from delegating or
empowering employees. The manager does have to give
up some authority and control when delegating to
employees. Managers who cannot tolerate any loss of
power or control avoid delegat-
 Page 73
ing and despise the concept of empowering others. Yet
ironically it is the sharing of power and control with
employees that leads to the ultimate power and
controlsuccess.
· Guilt. Some managers feel that they should do all the
work rather than burden employees with it. This excuse
also involves a fear of being caught with nothing to do
or guilt about accepting a salary without working hard
enough for it.
· Waste of time. The view that delegation takes more
time than it saves keeps some managers from
delegating. Some reluctant managers claim that "the
project is too complicated to explain to someone else,"
"I don't have enough time to train an assistant," or "I can
do it more quickly myself." This reason actually is
closely tied to the previous reasons.
· Organizational norm of nondelegation. Some
companies have a "do it yourself" philosophy. In this
setting delegation is neither encouraged nor supported.
Instead, managers are expected to "roll up their sleeves
and get their hands dirty."
Why Delegation May Fail
It is rare that all delegated assignments turn out well.
Mistakes do occur. Managers just beginning the process of
delegation should be aware of these common mistakes:
· The employee did not understand the task.
· Too much was expected of the empowered person.
· The schedule for the project was unrealistic.
· The empowered person did not feel free or
comfortable to ask questions.
· The employee did not have enough authority on the
task.
· The manager did not monitor progress on the task.
· Problems were not anticipated
 Page 74

Guidelines for Effective Delegation

Experienced delegators offer these additional five tips to
make the process of delegation smooth and effective:
1. Make sure that managers function as role models.
Employees learn how to organize, manage time, and make
decisions by observing their managers.
2. Delegate total projects, not parts of projects.
Employees learn better when they can handle entire tasks
themselves rather than merely doing detail work. Also, it
is too difficult for you to coordinate a project when several
people are in charge of many small pieces of the project.
3. Allow employees to make mistakes. An effective way to
develop employees is to let them make mistakes on their
own. You must resist the temptation to jump in to keep
them from making a mistake.
4. Realize there is no best way to handle a project. You
must allow workers to use methods different from your
own. Resist the tendency to become upset if things aren't
done "your way." By allowing employees significant
freedom, you will discover better ways to solve old
problems.
5. Delegate good and bad projects. Resist the tendency to
keep exciting projects for yourself while delegating boring
or distasteful projects. A motivated person will soon turn
sour if given only "grunt work" to do.
[See also Coaching Employees; Feedback; Motivation;
Time Management]
For Additional Information
Alster, Judith, and Holly Gallo, eds. "Leadership and
Empowerment for Total Quality." Conference Board
Report No. 992, 1994, p. 25.
Baslie, Frank. "Old Style Management Doesn't Work Any
More." Journal of Property Management 60, No. 1
(Jan./Feb. 1995), pp. 14-15.
 Page 75
Belasco, James A. Teaching the Elephant to Dance: The
Manager's Guide to Empowering Change. New York:
Penguin Books, 1991.
Boyett, Joseph H., and Henry P. Conn. Workplace 2000:
The Revolution Reshaping American Business. New York:
Penguin Books, 1991.
McConkey, Dale D. No-Nonsense Delegation. New York:
AMACOM, 1986.
Nelson, Robert B. Empowering Employees Through
Delegation. Burr Ridge, Ill.: Irwin Professional Publishers,
1994.
 Page 76

Disabled Employees
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
prohibits discrimination in the areas of private
employment, public accommodation and services,
transportation, and telecommunications against those
individuals with disabilities. This chapter addresses the
law's impact on employment practices.
What ADA Covers
The ADA defines a disability as any physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits a major life activity,
such as seeing, hearing, caring for oneself, performing
manual functions, walking, speaking, breathing, learning,
and working. A wide range of conditions are covered by
the ADA, including life-threatening diseases, physical
handicaps, learning disabilities, mental illnesses, and
substance abuse. ADA also covers family members and
friends who are caretakers of those with covered
disabilities.
The philosophy behind the ADA is that all individuals,
whatever the disability, should have equal access to
employment based on merit. The law requires employers
to determine whether current employees or job applicants
can perform the essential functions of a job with or
without reasonable accommodation. Employers are not
required to hire or retain disabled workers if they cannot
perform the job. Likewise, employers cannot
automatically assume that a disabled person is incapable
of performing a job. Employers cannot discriminate
against qualified individuals with disabilities in the areas
of hiring, job placement, transfer, training, promotion, or
termination.
Further, there are benefits implications to the ADA. An
employer cannot make a hiring decision about a disabled
individual based on the potential impact that hiring will
have on the
 Page 77
company's health plan. Disabled employees must have
equal access to benefits provided to nondisabled
employees. Let us examine the nature and types of
reasonable accommodations to be provided by employers,
the concept of essential functions of a job, and appropriate
organizational policies and procedures related to the
employment of disabled individuals.
Reasonable Accommodation
The ADA mandates that employers provide "reasonable
accommodation" that would enable qualified individuals
with disabilities to perform their jobs. Such
accommodations may take the form of barrier-free access
to the employment premises, technology to assist in job
performance, or flexibility in employment practices.
Changes that provide access might include specially
adapted computer software and hardware, wheelchair
access ramps, renovated restroom facilities, handicapped
parking spaces, wider doors, lower telephones and
drinking fountains, and door handles rather than knobs.
Assistive technology might include equipment to enhance
sight or hearing. Flexible employment practices may
include altered work schedules, job redesign, or job
sharing.
While the costs of providing such accommodations would
seem prohibitive for many businesses, research shows that
about 50 percent of disabled employees require no
accommodations at all. And many of the necessary
accommodations cost very little. Where there is cost in
providing the ADA's reasonable accommodation,
businesses can deduct up to $15,000 of that cost. It should
be noted that the ADA does not require an employer to
accommodate a disabled employee if, to do so, would
constitute a major hardship for the employer's business.
Determining what is a major hardship the reasonableness
of an accommodation is complex. Many factors are
considered, such as the cost and nature of accommodation,
the financial resources available to the company, the
impact of accommodation expenses on the operation of the
company, the number of persons employed, and the
overall size of the business. In most cases, the costs of
noncompliance with the ADA far outweigh the cost of
 Page 78
compliance. Noncompliance may result in the hiring,
reinstatement, or promotion of the disabled worker,
payment of back wages or damage payments to the
employee, mandated accommodations, and civil penalties.
Essential Job Functions
Organizations should create job descriptions that list the
essential functions, marginal functions, and physical
requirements of each job. Essential functions are the
necessary, central, or critically important aspects of the
job. Marginal functions are the supplementary aspects that
an employer might desire but that are not necessary for
minimal performance. Physical requirements could
involve the amount of weight to be lifted or the number of
words to be typed in a job. By specifically defining, and in
many cases quantifying, the aspects of a job, it is easier to
evaluate whether any employeedisabled or notis
adequately performing that job. Disabled employees who
can satisfactorily perform the essential functions of a job,
with or without accommodations, must receive the same
employment opportunities as able-bodied employees.
Employers may discipline or even terminate a disabled
employee who, with reasonable accommodations, is not
performing the essential job functions at a satisfactory
level.
Employment Practices
Employing disabled workers and complying with the
ADA means that organizations must examine their
interviewing, supervision, and human resources practices
with regard to sensitivity and legality. When interviewing
job applicants, a company representative cannot ask
questions about disabilities. Instead, questions must
address the applicant's ability to perform job-specific
functions. For example, an interviewer could not ask, "Do
you have total or partial blindness?" Instead, the question
could be phrased, "Can you analyze data from computer
printouts or when displayed on a computer screen, with or
without reasonable accommodation?" Only job-related
questions can be asked
 Page 79
of any applicant, and the same questions must be asked of
all applicants to avoid discrimination. Organizations must
educate everyone involved in interviewing job applicants
so that they are knowledgeable about the sensitivities and
legalities of interviewing disabled individuals.
Supervisors of disabled employees likewise cannot refer to
disabling conditions during work discussions, performance
reviews, or disciplinary meetings. Such communication
should focus only on standards of performance and not on
disabilities that may or may not affect job performance.
Supervisors and managers should receive training about
appropriate and legal behaviors in supervising all
employees, including those with disabilities.
According to the ADA, medical records of employees
cannot be retained by supervisors, as was past practice.
Now medical records must be kept either by the human
resources department or the company medical officer.
Finally, a company's human resource specialists should be
well acquainted with the requirements of the Americans
with Disabilities Act. These human resource specialists
should work with legal counsel to ensure that the
organization's policy statements, benefits plans, job
descriptions, interviewing practices, supervision practices,
and physical facilities are conducive to the full
employment of disabled individuals. It is advisable to
appoint an ADA officer in an organization. This individual
can assist the organization in its ongoing review and
evaluation of ADA compliance.
By understanding the provisions of the ADA, by providing
equal employment opportunity to individuals with
disabilities, and by creating a work environment free of
stereotypes and discrimination, companies may find that
disabled employees are excellent, productive workers.
[See also AIDS in the Workplace; Employee Assistance
Programs; Family-Friendly Management; Feedback;
Mentoring]
For Additional Information
Abrams, Andrew L. "Americans with Disabilities Act."
Business and Economic Review, July-Sept. 1992, pp. 27-
31.
 Page 80
Akabas, S. H., L. B. Gates, and D. E. Galvin. Disability
Management, New York: AMACOM, 1992.
Bennett, Linda. "The First Step in Complying with the
ADA." Supervisory Management, April 1993, p. 8.
Ledman, Robert, and Darrel Brown. "The Americans with
Disabilities Act: The Cutting Edge of Managing
Diversity." SAM Advanced Management Journal, Spring
1993, pp. 17-20.
Tracey, William R. Training Employees with Disabilities,
New York: AMACOM, 1994.
Vernon-Oehmke, Arlene. Effective Hiring and ADA
Compliance, New York: AMACOM, 1994.
 Page 81

Disciplining Employees
Employees find it comfortable to be part of a disciplined
workforce where expectations are clear, behavior is
predictable, and supervisors are fair and consistent in their
treatment of employees. Certainly employers benefit from
developing a disciplined workforce. There are fewer
performance and behavior problems; there is higher
morale and productivity; and the rate of discharge, with its
associated financial and psychological costs, is reduced.
While discipline often carries a negative connotation, a
disciplined workforce is an organizational asset. Managers
should reexamine their attitudes toward employee
discipline and strive for corrective rather than punitive
discipline. Developing employee discipline means
training, coaching, and molding employees to exhibit
appropriate behavior on the job. An effective and equitable
system of employee discipline should include a set of clear
rules, a set of progressive actions for rule infractions,
welltrained supervisors, and an understanding of
documentation procedures, legal constraints, and
employee rights of appeal.
Communicating Workplace Rules
If employees are to meet organizational standards of
behavior and performance, they must know the standards.
It is ironic that in some organizations employees learn that
a rule exists only by being punished for violating it!
All new employees should receive an employment
handbook that includes, among other things, the rules they
are to follow. Orientation training should explain the rules,
the reasons for
 Page 82
them, and the specific consequences of rule violations.
There should be no surprises about how employees are
expected to act. By providing a written statement of
expectations for conduct, by explaining the rules, and by
answering employees' questions about rules, managers can
help employees meet organizational expectations. Most
employees are reasonable and will gladly comply with
rules, if they know what the rules are. By making
expectations clear, you need not accept ignorance as an
excuse for breaking a rule.
Policy statements about appropriate behavior often include
specific requirements in the areas of attendance, use of
sick leave, tardiness, leaving the work area without
permission, adhering to work schedules, unauthorized
visitors, insubordination, use of alcohol or drugs, fighting,
disruptive behavior, safety regulations, smoking, theft or
destruction of property, sabotage, failure to meet job
performance standards, and falsification of records.
Include all rules that are relevant and reasonable. In each
area, there should be an explanation of what is expected,
what constitutes a violation of the rule, and what
disciplinary action occurs with each successive violation
of the rule.
For example, how is tardiness defined? Is the employee
considered late after one minute, five minutes, or ten
minutes? What action will be taken the first time the
employee is late? The second time? The third time? Some
employee-conduct statements are quite detailed in defining
the nature and severity of rule violations and quantifying
how violations result in certain disciplinary actions.
Establishing Progressive Discipline
Progressive discipline is a series of disciplinary actions
that progress in severity as rule violations increase in
frequency or seriousness. A system of progressive
discipline gives employees plenty of time and assistance in
correcting their behavior. It becomes punitive only after
various approaches to correction have been used and the
employee still refuses to follow a rule. A system of
progressive discipline increases communication between
you and your employees and ensures that they are treated
 Page 83
fairly. Likewise, progressive discipline helps you solve
problems, retain employees, and develop documentation
necessary to justify personnel decisions.
Typically, the sequence of disciplinary actions in a
progressive system of discipline includes counseling, oral
warning, written warning, reprimand, suspension, and
discharge. This means that for minor or first offenses, the
immediate supervisor begins by counseling and coaching
the employee to help alter problem behavior. In many
cases, this is successful in bringing the employee's
behavior into compliance with workplace rules. If the
particular problem continues, however, the supervisor
goes to the next step in the disciplinary sequencean oral
warning. Here, the supervisor indicates that the employee
has failed to correct the problem, reiterates the specific
change required, and warns the employee that
noncompliance will result in a more severe disciplinary
action. Finally, the supervisor maintains a written record
of the interaction.
If the misconduct continues or if the initial transgression
was severe, the next step in the progressive discipline
process is a written warning, which provides the employee
with a written statement of the rule violation, the desired
change in behavior, and the next consequence for
noncompliance. The employee receives a copy, the
supervisor retains a copy, and a third copy is placed in the
employee's file.
A reprimand is an official notification produced by a
higher level of management, such as a department head.
Again, the employee receives written notification of the
problem and desired change of behavior, as well as a
warning that termination may occur if the problem is not
corrected.
If the problem persists, suspension may be necessary. This
means that the employee is relieved of job duties for a
certain length of time without pay. A written notice of
suspension, authorized by the department head or higher
authority, is provided to the employee, maintained by the
supervisor and manager, and placed in the employee's file.
At this point, the employee is notified, in writing, that the
next step for noncompliance is termination.
Should discharge need to be used as the final step in the
 Page 84
progressive-discipline process, the manager must adhere
to various personnel and legal guidelines for conducting a
termination.
The progressive-discipline system is fair in that it
encourages supervisors and managers to work with
employees to help them correct problems. It gives
employees ample opportunity to change problematic
behavior and plenty of warning about ensuing disciplinary
actions. Indeed, in this system, the employee is included in
at least five separate communications about the problem.
The employer has accumulated a thorough record of
documentation and can demonstrate just cause for a
discharge.
Training Supervisors in Corrective-Discipline Methods
The key to developing a disciplined workforce is the
supervisor, who has the most contact with employees and
is the first line of authority in the organizational structure.
The supervisor is the person aware of the rule violations
who administers the steps in the progressive discipline
sequence. How the supervisor handles problems affects
whether the discipline is corrective or punitive. Well-
trained supervisors are essential for progressive discipline
to be effective. It is the responsibility of management to
develop supervisors' skills in the area of employee
discipline.
1. Supervisors should be helpful. Supervisors should be
collaborative, not anagonistic, with employees. The goal is
to help the employee correct problem behavior. By
noticing the problem early and bringing it to the person's
attention immediately, the chances for solving a problem
are improved. Effective supervisors are direct and specific
with feedback, and coach the employee toward
improvement.
2. Supervisors should be objective. It is important to view
employee behavior in an unbiased way. Supervisors
should not jump to conclusions or let attitudes toward
employees prejudice perceptions of situations.
3. Supervisors should show consistent behavior. The same
behavior should receive the same response no matter who
violates the
 Page 85
rule. Showing favoritism is a sure way to destroy morale
and expose yourself to legal liability. Employees become
confused and resentful when discipline is applied
selectively. The consequence for violating a particular rule
should be clear and predictable throughout the workplace.
4. Supervisors should be good communicators.
Supervisors must give feedback, coach for improved
performance, ask questions, and listen. Supervisors must
be able to remain calm and avoid being defensive when
dealing with the emotional behavior of subordinates.
Developing Adequate Documentation
Thorough record keeping is an essential ingredient in an
effective employee-discipline system. Written records
serve to maintain objectivity and to protect the rights of
both employers and employees. They eliminate problems
of recall and distortion of information. Whenever you
communicate with an employee about a performance or a
behavior problem, document the discussion. The elements
of the discussion to be documented include the following:
· The nature of the rule violation or performance
problem. Indicate the specific rule or performance
standard and the way(s) that the employee's behavior
fell short. Use quantifiable terms whenever possible.
· The date, time, and location of the problem. When and
where did the problem incident occur?
· The nature of the discussion with the employee about
the problem. Indicate what you said to the employee
about the performance or behavior problem.
· The nature of the employee's reaction to the indication
of a problem. Did the employee agree that a problem
exists? What reasons were given for the problem? What
was said during the discussion?
· The date, time, and location of the discussion about
the problem. When and where did the disciplinary
discussion between you and your employee occur?
 Page 86

· The nature of any agreements reached. What did the

employee promise to do in the future? What did you
promise to do in the future? What did you indicate
would be the next consequence for noncompliance?
Were any time frames for behavior change indicated?
· The tone of the discussion. Was the atmosphere of
discussion rational, emotional, professional, hostile, or
defensive? Did the employee cry, shout, or threaten?
In addition to recording these areas of content, be aware of
the process of maintaining documentation. Document the
incident immediately after it occurs. Recall is most
accurate at this point. Waiting even a few hours will mean
losing valuable information.
You should be as objective as possible when keeping
written records. Record only facts and clearly observable
behavior. Refrain from indicating motives, assumption, or
personal impressions of the employee. Maintaining
objectivity may be difficult if you dislike the employee or
if the discussion was heated. Nevertheless, for
documentation to be credible, it must be factual and not
emotional.
It is important to document the positive and negative
performance and behavior of all employees. Recording the
problems of one employee and ignoring the problems of
another is tantamount to discrimination. Selective record
keeping is perceived as building a case against an
individual rather than letting the facts speak for
themselves. While it is time-consuming, maintaining
documentation (good and bad) for all employees allows
you to make objective assessments of your staff.
Legal Constraints
Employers should be aware of laws regulating employee
discipline and employ personnel specialists who are
knowledgeable about current guidelines affecting
personnel decisions. Additionally, retain legal counsel for
advice and representation in areas of personnel record
keeping, discipline, and discharge.
There are a host of restrictions affecting actions regarding
 Page 87
employee discipline and discharge. Some of these include
state laws, union contracts, civil service regulations,
federal discrimination laws, case law, and statements in
employee handbooks.
Rights of Appeal
Where there is a system of employee discipline, there must
be a system of appeals to protect the rights of employees.
The right of appeal is a way for employees who believe
they have been disciplined without just cause to have their
case heard.
There are various ways to provide employee rights of
appeal. Many organizations set up mediation teams where
employees and management listen to the facts of a
disciplinary case and make a judgment about its fairness
and adherence to organizational procedures. Union
contracts specify grievance procedures for employees to
follow when they believe they have been disciplined
without just cause. Civil service boards, arbitration
proceedings, and court hearings are other vehicles for
employees to appeal disciplinary actions.
Whatever the process of appeal, the manager should be
prepared to answer the following questions about the
employeediscipline process:
· Was the employment rule or performance standard
reasonable? As part of the examination about the
employee's alleged infraction, the original rule will be
scrutinized. You cannot hold employees accountable for
unreasonable of harmful rules, standards, or procedures.
· Was the employee aware of the rule or standard?
Employees cannot be held accountable for rules of
which they are unaware. It is management's
responsibility to provide written statements of rules and
performance standards, to explain those rules, and to
make sure that employees understand the consequences
of noncompliance.
· Was the employee confronted in a timely and specific
manner about the rule violation? It is your
responsibility to discuss the problem with the employee
immediately after its occurrence and to explain the
problem in a direct and specific
 Page 88
manner. The employee must understand the nature of
the problem and the consequences of noncompliance.
· Was the employee given sufficient opportunity to solve
the problem? This means that you should have indicated
ways the employee could solve the problem, assisted the
employee in solving the problem, and provided a
reasonable time frame for change.
· Was a system of progressive discipline followed? The
employee should have been given several warnings with
progressively more severe disciplinary actions along the
way.
· Were the disciplinary actions appropriate to the
offense? The nature of the disciplinary action must be
commensurate with the severity or frequency of the
problem.
· Was the rule or standard applied consistently to all
employees? It must be clear that this one employee was
not singled out for disciplinary action.
· Is the documentation complete? There should be
thorough, objective, and convincing documentation to
show that the employee committed an offense and that
the disciplinary procedures were followed appropriately.
[See also Coaching Employees; Feedback; Terminating
Employees and Downsizing]
For Additional Information
Frierson, James G. Preventing Employment Lawsuits: An
Employer's Guide to Hiring, Discipline, and Discharge.
Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1994.
Grote, Dick. Discipline Without Punishment. New York:
AMACOM, 1995.
McAfee, R. Bruce, and Paul J. Champagne. Effectively
Managing Troublesome Employees. Westport, Conn.:
Quorum Books, 1994.
 Page 89

Diversity in Organizations
Most workplaces are becoming more diverse in terms of
their employee populations. And various types of diversity
characterize these contemporary organizations. Employees
bring to an organization differing sex, race, ethnicity, age,
sexual orientation, and physical ability, among other
factors. Such heterogeneity should be appreciated by
managers and the organization as a whole, for a diverse
organization has many advantages over a homogeneous
workforce.
Yet such organizational diversity can present challenges to
managers and employees alike. This chapter discusses
some reasons for the increasing attention being paid to
diversity in the workplace, the advantages of a diverse
organization, common pitfalls in dealing with diversity,
and recommendations for effectively managing diversity.
Aspects of Diversity
Organizational diversity is an increasingly important issue
because of demographic trends. Today white males
constitute a smaller percentage of the labor force than in
times past. Increasingly, new entrants into the workforce
are women, minorities, and immigrants. Since the average
U.S. life span is increasing and mandatory retirement no
longer exists, more older workers are in the workforce as
well. While gay men and lesbians have always been a part
of the workforce, their increasing political visibility makes
the issue of sexual orientation more salient today. Changes
emanating from the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) make
 Page 90
employing physically challenged individuals more
relevant. We are also seeing more diversity in the ranks of
management. Thus, to be successful, managers must
understand how to interact with people who are different
in a number of ways.
Advantages of a Diverse Organization
Managers must understand the diversity issues because
people applying for jobs will run the spectrum. Even if an
organization wanted a homogeneous workforce, it would
not be able to find such an employee base! But besides the
inevitability of a diverse labor force, there are many
compelling business reasons for seeking diversity in
organizations.
1. Greater ability to meet customer needs. Companies
benefit from diversity in employees because their
customers and clients likewise represent diversity. Having
a workforce that mirrors the customer base allows an
organization to better understand its customers.
Heterogeneous employees bring varied perspectives,
assumptions, cultural paradigms, and problem-solving
styles to a job. They can anticipate the needs and values of
a multifaceted customer base.
For example, women and minority employees would
likely have relevant ideas for marketing products or
services to women and minorities. An organization
without a varied employee workforce, or one that fails to
utilize the added value stemming from such diversity, may
not succeed with a marketing plan developed by white
males yet aimed at women and minority customers. With
increased global competition, all organizations will need
to deal with wider and more diverse audiences for their
goods and services.
2. A more contented, effective workforce. Organizations
that successfully manage diversity have lower costs owing
to absenteeism and turnover. If an organization functions
under a dominant heterosexual, white male culture, other
employees will experience the stress, job frustration, lower
morale, and lower productivity that come from being
excluded. Insensitivity, harassment, and discrimination
against employees because they are ''differ-
 Page 91
ent" results in indirect costs to productivity as well as the
possibility of real costs from litagation. Employees who
feel that they cannot behave authentically in an
organization are likely to leave the organization in search
of one that values their identity, perspectives, and talents.
3. A public relations advantage. Increasingly, professional
organizations and popular media are "rating" companies in
terms of their favorable working conditions for women,
minority members, the disabled, older employees, or gay
people. While the good press alone is difficult to measure
in terms of concrete benefits, organizations that value
diversity are better able to attract and retain good
employees. Being known as an inclusive organization can
only benefit a company. Seeking minority applicants helps
expand employers' choices, especially in light of the
declining pools of qualified candidates for many jobs.
4. Better teamwork. The increased emphasis on teamwork
in many organizations makes the ability of employees to
interact with diverse people a crucial workplace skill.
Diversity on a team means that there is a variety of
perspectives on an issue and groupthink is less likely to
occur, with better decisions made. Thus, employees today
need to know how to interact with people who are quite
different from them in a number of ways. They need to
tolerate differences that they might initially find
objectionable. Indeed, employees and the organization as a
whole need to value diversity, not only as a humanitarian
goal but as good business practice.
Pitfalls and Problems in Dealing With Diversity
When an organization moves from a homogeneous to a
diversified workforce, a number of problems can occur.
1. Token dynamics. When a minority group constitutes a
higher percentage of the population than is found in the
workplace, that situation is considered tokenism. Being
the only disabled employee in a department or
organization, for example,
 Page 92
means greater visibility, more performance pressure, and
stereotyping. Also, it is common for organizations to place
their "tokens" in highly visible positions as a way to
publicly demonstrate their commitment to diversity. But
being in the spotlight because of your "difference" can be
very stressful in the workplace.
Women or minority employees often feel greater pressure
to perform because they are taken to represent their entire
social category. Their failures are seen not only as
personal failures but as a setback for the entire group!
When only small numbers of women, minorities, gay men,
or lesbians are on the job, for example, stereotyping is
bound to occur. The majority overemphasizes its
similarities and exaggerates its differences from these
"other people." Employees are seen as the typical woman
manager, the typical black executive, the typical gay
supervisor, or the typical disabled worker rather than as
unique individuals who also happen to be female, black,
gay, or disabled.
2. Institutional racism or sexism. When there is wholesale
advantaging or disadvantaging of a segment of employees
without the organization even realizing it, this situation is
termed institutional racism or institutional sexism.
Privilege for the majority viewpoint is so ingrained as to
be invisible to those holding power.
For example, if emotional reactions in managers are
perceived as a liability and rationality is rewarded, then
the white male style of management is probably dominant
in the organization. Yet for many women and minority
employees, to display emotion is to be authentic, direct,
and competent as a manager. By privileging one
management style over another, the company
automatically puts some people at a disadvantage. Perhaps
the preference for rational-as opposed to emotional-
decision making is an organizational norm, a carryover
from when the organization was strictly white male.
Indeed, institutionalized sexism or racism may not even be
perceived as a diversity issue.
3. Hidden discrimination. A type of institutional
discrimination appears when company plans extend
medical benefits to spouses but not to same-sex domestic
partners. Such benefit plans privilege heterosexual over
homosexual employees. Likewise, holding major
organizational events during sacred Jewish
 Page 93
holidays may inadvertently tell some employees that they
are less valued than other employees. These are but a few
of the ways that organizational policies and practices often
value the dominant culture while offending less dominant
cultures in the workplace.
4. Prejudice and harassment. Employees frequently bring
their cultural biases to the workplace. Thus, ethnic jokes,
racial slurs, sexist remarks, homophobic comments, and
generally insensitive statements can cause conflicts that
result in disrupted teamwork, missed deadlines, and
formal complaints. In their most serious form, such
behavior can result in legal charges of discrimination or
harassment.
5. Reality testing. It is not uncommon for employees who
represent diversity to experience prejudice in the
workplace, to confront it, and to be told that it does not
exist. When your perceptions are different from most
everyone else's on your job, it is easy to begin questioning
your own sense of reality. Likewise, employees
representing the dominant culture experience reality
testing when the rules of the game seem to change without
their awareness. A behavior or remark that was once
acceptable and commonplace on the job now is grounds
for a reprimand or lawsuit. Many employees and managers
alike, be they members of a primary or a secondary culture
in an organization, express confusion about traditional
assumptions, changing rules, and evolving cultures in
organizations. Everyone's reality is being tested as we
make the transition from homogeneous to multifaceted
perspectives in the workplace.
6. Assumption of assimilation. Many organizations expect
a conformity of behavior, including similar styles of
professional attire, similar communication modes, and one
preferred style of management. In many organizations,
minority group members are expected to blend into the
majority culture, ethnicity is subordinated to
ethnocentrism, women are expected to behave like the
men, and the wisdom of older employees goes untapped.
Even organizations that recruit for diversity in employees
may inadvertently expect cultural assimilation as
employees are subtly absorbed into the dominant culture.
 Page 94
Recommendations for Managing Diversity
1. Replace ethnocentricity with multiculturalism.
Organizations must realize it is counterproductive to
business goals to perpetuate a workplace culture that
reflects only a traditional perspective. Organizations must
embrace the values, communication patterns, and behavior
of all groups. The previously dominant workplace culture,
which is probably based on white male norms, has to
adjust to, accept, and make room for other perspectives.
This may mean examining the subtle and not so subtle
ways that your organization privileges one group of
employees while disadvantaging another group. Until
managers realize the ways in which preferred styles are
based upon the views of a few, they will not be open to
embracing the views of many.
2. Actively recruit a diverse group of new employees. Keep
in touch with minority caucuses of professional
associations. Communicate with religious and civic
leaders representing diverse employees. Actively seek
employees from a range of backgrounds and orientations
by using the Internet and tapping into minority educational
and professional groups.
3. Use and reward diversity. It is not enough to have a
diversity of employees if that diversity is not used in
planning, managing, and decision making. Companies
should seek diversity in workgroups, teams, and projects
and then seriously consider the varying perspectives that
diversity brings to those discussions. Organizations should
purposefully shake up old ways of doing things and solicit
innovative approaches. The recognition of different
viewpoints should lead to a greater openness of new ideas
in general. Thus, appreciating diversity leads to more
organizational flexibility.
4. Provide equal career opportunities. In many cases,
organizations that have recruited a diverse workforce have
not successfully retained those employees because the
culture of opportunity still privileges one segment over
another. Organizations must examine who gets promoted,
who gets placed on key projects, who has the training
opportunities, and whose leadership is encouraged. If one
category of employee is routinely selected for such
opportunities, then the organization is not effectively
managing diversity.
 Page 95
5. Provide diversity training. Increasingly, organizations
are offering training that creates awareness of diversity
and improves intercultural communication skills. Some
companies have social events related to multicultural
issues, such as ethnic picnics and the celebration of
nontraditional holidays. Even just contacts between people
who are different from each other can reduce stereotypes
and prejudice. For example, African-American,
Caucasian, Hispanic, and Asian employees working
together on a meaningful project will, in and of itself,
improve racial understandings and interactions. In addition
to formal training programs, then, companies might think
of ways to create diversity on all projects.
6. Include accountability for diversity. For a company to
effectively promote diversity, all managers should be held
accountable for meeting diversity goals. A change in
culture from resenting or tolerating diversity to truly
valuing and using diversity will occur only if the
organization provides incentives and rewards for change.
The management of diversity can be incorporated into
goal-setting, team-building, and performance appraisal
activities.
7. Find common ground. The management of diversity, by
necessity, overemphasizes the differences between people.
Obviously, not all women in a workplace think alike. Nor
are the needs of one disabled employee identical to those
of another. There can be many common bonds among
employees who, on the surface, appear quite diverse.
While group differences should be respected and
appreciated, we must not lose sight of our common
interests and goals. Thus, the management of diversity
need not factionalize the workplace. Instead, it should
provide a level playing field by which all employees,
whatever their age, gender, color, religion, physical ability,
or sexual orientation, can succeed. Employee success
always means organizational success.
[See also Disabled Employees; Family-Friendly
Management; Intercultural Communication;
Organizational Culture
For Additional Information
Blank, Renee, and Sandra Slipp. Voices of Diversity. New
York: AMACOM, 1994.
 Page 96
Thomas, R. Roosevelt, Jr. Beyond Race and Gender:
Unleashing the Power of Your Total Workforce by
Managing Diversity. New York: AMACOM, 1992.
Tingley, Judith. GenderFlex: Men and Women Speaking
Each Other's Language at Work. New York: AMACOM,
1994.
Winfeld, Liz, and Susan Spielman. Straight Talk About
Gays in the Workplace. New York: AMACOM, 1995.
 Page 97

Employee Assistance Programs

An employee assistance program (EAP) is a method of
intervention in the workplace that focuses on a decline in
an employee's job performance to restore to full
productivity. The EAP provides for early identification of
performance problems and is a positive mechanism rather
than a punitive measure for the solution of those problems.
EAPs are designed to deal with a variety of problems
affecting productivity, including alcohol and drug
dependency, emotional or psychological health, and
marital, family financial, medical, legal, and career
problems. The EAP concept stems from occupational
alcoholism programs begun in the workplace in the 1940s
and is based on the assumptions that workers' personal
problems affect job performance.
Employers face substantial costs for impaired employees,
including higher rates of absenteeism, sick leave,
accidents, workers' compensation, and health-benefit
claims. In addition, there are the hidden costs of poor
decisions, morale of coworkers, threats to public safety,
corporate theft, turnover, and training of replacements.
Developing and Implementing an EAP
Clearly, it is both cost-effective and humanitarian for
companies to identify employees with performance
problems resulting from personal difficulties and to offer
qualified assistance for solving those problems rather than
prematurely or routinely terminating
 Page 98
troubled workers. The following sections discuss some of
the key ingredients in developing and implementing an
EAP in any type of organization.
Planning
Before an EAP can be developed, the concept must have
top-level support shown by commitments in attitude,
funding, personnel, and time. Conceptually, there are two
models of EAPs: in house and out of house. The in-house
approach uses an EAP staff employed by the organization.
In the out-of-house approach, the company contracts with
an outside provider of EAP services. Some programs use a
combination of these two methods.
Management at all levels, as well as union representatives,
should coordinate the development of the EAP. Input from
a variety of internal people in the planning process will
help ensure widespread company support of the EAP
Make sure current personnel policies and practices as well
as union contracts and benefits do not adversely affect the
EAR Small companies should decide whether to set up an
independent program or to join an EAP consortium
available in the community.
At this stage, the planning group should assess the
organization's needs, formulate program objectives, and
examine options for program type, staffing, and physical
location. One way to see the program options is to visit
other organizations with established EAPs to learn from
their models. Companies without an EAP specialist on
staff may want to hire an EAP consultant to assist the
project from the planning phase through the program
evaluation.
Companies can also elect to use an EAP-provider
organization, which establishes and maintains all aspects
of the EAP for a company on a contract basis. When
investigating EAP-provider organizations, you should
assess their philosophies, delivery systems, costs, and
capabilities in meeting the specific needs of your
company.
Assessment and Referral
The organization must provide a qualified counselor who
diagnoses the nature of an employee's problem, gives the
employee
 Page 99
short-term guidance, and makes a referral to an accessible
and effective treatment resource. Assessment-and- referral
positions are best staffed with mental health professionals
who have industrial-counseling experience, strong
administrative skills, and the ability to work with
managers, supervisors, and unions. To make an
appropriate recommendation for treatment, the
assessment-and-referral counselor must be part of a well-
developed community network of human services
professionals and agencies. In addition, the assessment-
and-referral counselor must keep thorough confidential
records, coordinate the company's benefits package,
provide follow-up care to troubled employees, help
educate employees and their families about the EAP, and
help train managers, supervisors, and union
representatives for their roles in the referral of workers.
Companies typically place the assessment-and-referral
counselor in an inconspicuous office in the personnel,
medical, or industrial-relations department.
The Community Resource Network
A successful EAP depends on a diverse network of
community treatment resources. Because it is a rare
treatment agency that can handle all types of problems, a
range of treatment resources is necessary. The EAP staff
should be familiar with the major care-giving agencies in
the community, their philosophies, the specialized
populations they serve, and their effectiveness. A
company's EAP staff should establish a liaison with the
key personnel at each agency to ensure smooth
coordination of referrals and follow-up activities. All
treatment resources should be located near the workplace
and be available at no cost to the employee.
Employee Education
Publicizing the EAP effectively means making employees
and their families aware of the program, allaying fears and
stigmas about the program, and encouraging its use. The
first step is to develop a written policy statement that
spells out such issues as the purpose of the program, the
relationship of the program to
 Page 100
the organizational structure, who is eligible for
participation (for example, employees and their families),
the confidentiality for participants, the locations of the
program, staff responsibilities, and step-by-step
procedures for using the EAP Notify all employees
directly about the program through a letter, brochure, or
copy of the policy statement. Inform families about the
program, emphasizing their eligibility, indicating that they
may refer other family members, and explaining methods
for easy access to the program.
The EAP can be explained in a special orientation and
should be part of all new-employee orientation training.
Use posters, films, videotapes, memos, electronic mail,
and articles in house organs or union periodicals to
announce, explain, and offer reminders about the program.
To encourage full use of EAP services by all employees
who need help, you should emphasize that (1) the
company is concerned about poor job performance caused
by personal problems, (2) personal problems can hinder
anyone's job performance, and (3) use of the EAP is
confidential and will not hinder the employee's future with
the company.
Companies with EAPs sometimes provide, as a related
component, ongoing education for employees and their
families on preventive topics such as wellness, nutrition,
exercise, stress management, financial management, and
communication. This can be done through speakers,
workshops, or flyers.
The Role of Supervisors and Managers
Supervisors and managers play a crucial role in identifying
job performance difficulties caused by personal problems.
You must be skilled in identifying such problems without
diagnosing them or counseling the employee in any way
about them. Familiarize yourself thoroughly with EAP
policies and procedures and work closely with the EAP
staff to learn how to identify performance problems, refer
an employee to the EAP, and document each step of the
process.
Essentially, your role is to discuss and document
unsatisfactory job performance, recommend use of EAP
services in the event of personal problems, advise the
union representative of this action (if applicable), and
stress concern, open-mindedness,
 Page 101
confidentiality, and the goal of performance improvement
to the employee. Even in programs where self-, peer,
union, and family referrals are common, managers still
play the primary role in referring employees to the EAP
You are, after all, the key individual evaluating job
performance. It is important that managers at all levels,
not just first-line supervisors, monitor performance of their
staff and make referrals to the EAP when employees'
personal problems affect productivity. Successful EAP's
are used by all employees, from executive to hourly level.
When referrals come from many sources and employees
throughout the hierarchy use the EAP, the fears and
stigmas initially associated with the program will
disappear.
Confidentiality and Legal Issues
Confidentiality is an important factor in the legality,
acceptance, and use of the EAP Federal confidentiality
regulations and dataprivacy acts of various states set forth
guidelines that a company's EAP and legal staff should
consult. Most companies with inhouse EAPs locate the
EAP staff within a larger personnel or medical function to
maintain privacy and confidentiality. All EAP files should
be coded rather than identified with an employee's name
or social security number. Both to encourage use and to
maintain confidentiality, most companies opt for a flat-fee
arrangement with community treatment agencies. For the
same reasons, most EAP-provider organizations charge a
set monthly fee for companies using their services. With a
fee-for-service approach, the company receives separate
billings for employees who use treatment services and
confidentiality is very difficult to maintain.
There are a number of legal issues affecting EAPs, such as
malpractice and employee and company liability, in
addition to questions of disclosure of records and rights of
privacy. Therefore, all EAPs should have legal counsel as
early as the planning phase and on a continuing basis.
Cost Analysis
Companies planning an EAP must consider both the cost
of implementing a new program and the cost of operating
the
 Page 102
program over a period of years. While there is no
universal formula, the following factors should be
considered:
· Salary of an assessment-and-referral counselor
· Materials for publicizing the EAP to employees and
families
· Orientation sessions to introduce the program
· Training for supervisors and managers
· Costs of counseling and treatment (beyond health
insurance coverage limitations)
· Program evaluation costs
· EAP specialist and legal consultant fees (optional)
· Ongoing wellness education for employees (optional)
Not all of these aspects require new allocations of funds.
Salaries to supervisors, for example, are paid whether or
not they participate in EAP referrals. The EAP can be
publicized through ongoing new employee orientations,
supervisory training programs, and existing house
publications. Also, most group health insurance policies
cover from half to all of the costs for most problems dealt
with by an EAP. Experience shows that EAPs, in the long
run, decrease insurance premiums as health, disability,
sick leave, and workers compensation claims decline.
Program Evaluation
Valid and objective methods for assessing the
effectiveness of an EAP should be a part of the program.
Criteria for evaluating the program should be tied into
initial program objectives. Have an impartial evaluation
team rather than the EAP staff or the original planning
group conduct the follow-up assessment. It is important
that confidentiality be maintained in this phase also.
Typical criteria used to evaluate EAPs include these
questions:
· How does the actual number of referrals compare to
the expected number of referrals (based on statistical
estimates of impaired employees per company size)?
· What is the recovery rate of those served?
· Have there been measurable improvements in job
performance of those served?
 Page 103

· Have health insurance claims and costs declined with

EAP implementation?
Consortium Approach
A consortium is a cooperative agreement among
companies and agencies that do not have enough
employees to warrant their own EAP Typically, they pool
resources to obtain a single assessment-and-referral
source. This person should be located at a neutral site
rather than in one of the consortium companies.
Companies and the agencies involved should have a
steering committee consisting of representatives from each
company to develop the consortium (if one does not
already exist in the community), to coordinate its
operation, and to evaluate the cooperative venture.
Experience shows that consortiums work best for
companies with fewer than 2,000 employees.
The company representative to the consortium should
work with key people internally to develop a company
policy statement, make employees aware of the EAP, and
train supervisors and managers for their roles. While it is
cost-effective for small companies to use a single
assessment-and-referral counselor, many support functions
should be separate and tailored to meet the needs of
individual companies. In many cases confidentiality is
easier to maintain and employees use the EAP more
readily when all EAP services (assessment-and-referral
counselor as well as community treatment resources) are
located outside of the company.
[See also Family-Friendly Management; Substance Abuse;
Management; Violence in the Workplace]
For Additional Information
Cunningham, Gloria. Effective Employee Assistance
Programs: A Guide for EAP Counselors and Managers.
Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, 1994.
Scanlon, Walter. Alcoholism and Drug Abuse in the
Workplace: Man-
 Page 104
aging Care and Costs Through Employee Assistance
Programs. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1991.
Sonnenstuhl, William J., and Harrison M. Trice. Strategies
for Employee Assistance Programs: The Crucial Balance.
Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press, 1990.
 Page 105

Ethics in the Workplace

There are many reasons why organizations increasingly
are concerned with matters of ethics. The pressure of
competition is one factor. When the very survival of an
organization seems at stake because of market
competition, a company and its people may engage in
behaviors once considered unacceptable but now deemed
necessary. As companies merge, acquire other companies,
downsize, or decentralize, organizational cultures often
change, with questions of ethics and values bound to arise.
Also, a more heterogeneous workplace reflects differences
in people's values, norms, and beliefs. A company with
employees from different cultural, ethnic, racial, and
gender groups may need to state explicitly its preferred
ethical positions.
Finally, some would say that today's society presents more
ethical challenges than earlier ones, and the workplace, as
a microcosm of society, must deal with those challenges.
Whatever the reasons, many organizations are making
ethics a topic of discussion, policy, and practice.
Contemporary organizations realize that good ethics
makes good business sense. This chapter examines the
role of ethics in the workplace, indicates the prevalence of
ethics codes in organizations, and presents strategies for
developing an ethics program.
The Role of Ethics
Whether managers realize it or not, their organizations
already have a system of ethics that influences the
behavior of all employees, from bottom to top. That
ethical system may not have been
 Page 106
developed consciously and may not have been
communicated explicitly. Nevertheless, the company's
ethical assumptions are revealed in its incentive system,
promotion policy, management behavior, decision-making
styles, and communication practices. And on a more
explicit level, organizational ethics manifest themselves in
top management speeches, board actions, concrete
decisions, policies, and orientation and training programs.
Some organizations communicate their ethical positions in
a written code of ethics.
But whether ethical assumptions are implicit and must be
inferred or are communicated explicitly to all employees,
the messages are there and influence day-to-day
functioning.
Prevalence of Ethics Codes
Various studies show that more organizations have explicit
codes of ethics now than did in the past. A 1987
Conference Board survey of over 2,000 organizations
showed that 76 percent of companies in the United States
have corporate codes of ethics. A similar 1992 Conference
Board survey reported ethics codes in 83 percent of all
U.S. firms. A 1992 study by the Center for Business
Ethics surveyed the Fortune 1000 companies and found 93
percent of respondents have corporate ethics codes. Taken
collectively these data suggest that ethics codes are
increasingly prevalent in today's organizations.
Developing an Ethics Program
In developing an explicit ethics program, management
must determine its goals or objectives for such a program.
Why is the organization embarking on the project? Of
course, there may be multiple objectives for establishing
ethical values for the company, communicating ethical
expectations to employees, and establishing an ethical
reputation, internally and externally. Once the goals are
clear, there is a three-stage process for developing an
ethics program.
 Page 107
1. Perform an ethics audit. The organization should assess
its existing state of affairs regarding ethics and values. The
ethics audit, which can easily be done by an outside
consultant, can help identify company values, both stated
and implied. It can determine employee beliefs about
company values as well as what employees value at work.
Discrepancies between stated and enacted values may
emerge. The audit can also identify issues on which
employees need or want ethical guidance. It is important
to develop such a picture of the status quo, so as to serve
as the foundation for a formal ethics program.
2. Determine the role of top management. There should be
discussion of the role of top management in setting the
ethics culture of any organization. It is generally agreed
that top management sets the tone for actions in a
company. To what extent does top management model and
support the ethical principles of the organization? How
can top management be involved in the development and
implementation of a formal ethics program?
3. Prepare a specific ethics code. Management must
create, disseminate, and enforce its organizational code of
ethics. Of course, the content of that code will depend on
the objectives for the program and the nature of ethical
challenges facing the organization. Some general
questions can help guide the creation of an ethics code:
 · What ethical problems have we encountered in the
past?
· Are there ethical issues that may create problems in
the future?
· What actions justify reprimanding or discharging an
employee on ethical grounds?
· Do our competitors engage in practices we consider
unethical?
· What is most important in this organization?
Organizations can look to the ethical standards developed
within the industry or by professional groups as models.
Another approach is to examine common elements in
organizational codes of ethics and determine which issues
apply to the organization. For example, studies show that
the following issues appear in many corporate codes of
ethics:
 Page 108

· Use of company equipment and supplies

· Use of company information
· Conflict of interest
· Policies on gifts, kickbacks, entertainment, and travel
· Harassment and discrimination
· Employee rights
· Political activity on company property
· Safety and security
· Moonlighting
· Whistleblowing
As part of the ethics policy, there should be procedures for
monitoring compliance and consequences established for
noncompliance. Ignoring ethics violations, no matter how
small, will immediately serve to undermine an
organization's ethics policy.
Implementing Ethics Policies
Typically, it is not enough to merely create a company
code of ethics. That code must be discussed and questions
concerning its application in the workplace be answered.
Employees must learn the implications of the ethical code,
and this is best done through orientation procedures, staff
meetings, and training sessions. Training can help
sensitize employees to the ethical decisionmaking
processes.
At such ethics training sessions, the written code should be
presented and discussed. Employees could complete
surveys of individual values, with results related to
organizational values. They need to see a fit between their
personal values and organizational ethics. Cases that relate
directly to a particular industry or profession should be
analyzed. The employees could participate in role-plays of
ethical situations applicable to their jobs. Ultimately, these
sessions will motivate employees to behave ethically and
to internalize the ethical values of the organization.
Effective ethics training allows employees to realize that
good ethics make good business sense.
Establishing an ombuds office is another way by which an
organization can operationalize its code of ethics. An
ombuds-
 Page 109
person can serve as a resource to interpret the
organization's ethics code as applied to real situations.
Further, the ombudsperson can evaluate questionable
actions or decisions, counsel individuals on particular
ethical dilemmas, and resolve ethical complaints. Having
an individual in such a role helps the organization live its
ethical code, rather than having that code be a lifeless
document.
As part of any ethics program, there should be an ongoing
system to evaluate the company's ethical climate, make
necessary adjustments, and reward ethical behavior by
employees. The ethics audit described earlier could be
used periodically to assess the program. Additional
evaluative input could come from training sessions or via
the ombuds office. It is not enough to merely develop an
ethics program and assume that ethical issues are resolved
as a result. That ethics program must be dynamic and
flexible as management, employees, and ethical questions
change and evolve.
To be truly effective, an ethics program must provide
recognition and rewards for decisions and actions
commensurate with organizational ethical standards.
Supervisors at all levels must be held accountable for
ethical behavior within their units. Once it becomes clear
that unethical behavior will no longer be tolerated, and
ethical behavior will be recognized and rewarded, ethical
practices will be embraced by all organizational members.
[See also Family-Friendly Management; Meetings;
Organizational Culture; Orienting New Employees;
Training]
For Additional Information
Berenbeim, R. Corporate Ethics Practices. New York:
The Conference Board, 1992.
Hodgson, K. Rock and a Hard Place. New York:
AMACOM, 1992.
Manley, W. Executive's Handbook of Model Business
Conduct Codes. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,
1991.
Navran, Frank J. ''Develop an Ethics Policy Now."
Transportation and Distribution, February 1992, pp. 27-
30.
 Page 110

Family-Friendly Management
Increasingly, organizations are instituting policies and
programs to help employees balance their work and family
lives. Essentially, this means having an understanding
attitude about the ways that family life impinges on work
life, and giving employees some flexibility about where,
when, and how their work gets done. While being family-
friendly can be considered a humanitarian effort, there are
compelling business reasons for such an approach. These
days, being family-friendly is necessary for companies to
recruit the best personnel from a diverse workforce.
Women and men alike are increasingly unwilling to
sacrifice their personal needs for the sake of a career.
More employees are selecting places of employment based
in part on the organization's tolerance and flexibility for
balancing work and family concerns.
Additionally, family-friendly companies appear to have
lower rates of absenteeism and turnover. By making
sometimes small changes and minimal cost adjustments in
workplace policies, organizations can retain good
employees who might otherwise leave. The costs
associated with absenteeism and turnover mitigate the
costs of developing family-friendly management practices.
Trends Encouraging Family-Friendly Management
There are many societal and workplace trends encouraging
family-friendly management practices. To begin, there is
the increas-
 Page 111
ing number of women in organizations of all types. While
large numbers of women are not at the top levels of
organizations, women have moved into middle-
management positions in sufficient numbers to begin to
affect organizational culture. In many organizations, the
culture may be evolving into a more family-friendly one
by virtue of women's management styles.
Correspondingly, men are taking a larger role with family
responsibilities than did men in previous generations.
Many men seek jobs that allow them to be full participants
in the lives of their children. Thus, family-friendly
management is not just a women's issue.
Another societal trend is our aging population.
Increasingly, employeesbe they male or femaleare caring
for elderly parents. These employees need flexible
workplace climates that enable them to fulfill these
caretaking roles. Government regulation is also a factor
leading to family-friendly companies. The Family and
Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 is one such
government mandate to provide a work environment that
accommodates employees' family demands. Thus,
increased competition for top-quality employees is making
family-friendly management a necessity for recruiting and
retaining a quality workforce.
The Impact of Family Concerns on the Workplace
When employees are unable to balance the demands of the
job with demands at home, their productivity suffers. Such
role conflict leads to stress, tardiness, increased telephone
usage for personnel business, absenteeism, sick leave, and
perhaps turnover. Estimates place the cost to business of
employees' dependent-care responsibilities at $3 billion
per year. Workplace surveys of employees show the
majority of employees have either child-care or elder-care
responsibilitiesindeed, about 40 percent of the U.S.
workforce is providing both child care and elder care
simultaneously. The stresses felt by this "sandwich
generation" inevitably impinge on workplace productivity.
Thus, the conflict between family and work
responsibilities is no longer an issue that organizations can
avoid.
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The Family and Medical Leave Act

Provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act became
effective for nonunion employees in August of 1993 and
for union employees in February of 1994. The act requires
organizations with fifty or more employees to provide
eligible employees with unpaid leaves for certain family or
medical situations. Eligible employees include those who
have worked at least 1,250 hours for the employer in a
twelve-month period preceding the leave. Such employees
may take a maximum of twelve weeks' leave per year to
provide care for a newborn or adopted child, foster care,
care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health
condition, or for the employee's own serious medical
condition.
The FMLA requires that the employee's medical benefits
will be continued during the leave and that the employee
will be returned, at the conclusion of the leave, to the same
or equivalent job with comparable pay, benefits, and terms
of employment.
The twelve weeks of leave may be taken consecutively or
intermittently. Intermittent leave means the employee may
take separate periods of time owing to a single medical
circumstance. For example, an employee may request one
day off per week or one hour of leave per day for doctors'
visits or elder care until the twelve weeks of leave is
exhausted. Intermittent leave may not be taken to care for
a healthy child.
Family-Friendly Options in Organizations
There are a number of ways that organizations can provide
a family-friendly workplace. The organization need not
provide all of these, but may select those that best fit the
needs of its employees and the type and size of the
organization.
1. Family Care. Family care includes a variety of needs,
such as day care for infants and toddlers, before- and after-
school care, summer care, sick child care, and elder care.
Organizations can assist employees in obtaining and
paying for child and elder care in a number of ways. For
example, some employers pay a portion of employees'
care-provider costs through dependent-care ac-
 Page 113
counts. Here, employees can designate pre-tax dollars
from their own salary to use for dependent-care expenses;
the only cost to employers is the record keeping.
Organizations can also provide referral services to assist
employees in finding quality dependent care. This entails
providing lists of dependent-care options available in the
community. Companies can contract with such referral
services at nominal costs. Referral assistance is useful for
organizations in which there are frequent transfers of
personnel.
Some organizations have established on-site day-care
facilities. This is a very attractive benefit for many
employees, but a costly one to employers. Another way to
assist with employee child care is for the organization to
help pay the costs of an offsite child-care facility in
exchange for preferential treatment for the organization's
employees. Organizations can join dependent-care
consortiums in some communities. By collaborating with
other organizations in arranging for dependent care, an
organization can lower its costs in providing such a
benefit. Some states offer tax credits to businesses for
providing child-care assistance.
2. Flexible work arrangements. Flexible work
arrangements take many forms, including flex-time, part-
time work, work at home, job sharing, and a compressed
work week. The family responsibilities of most employees
are not so demanding that they need to use the provisions
of the Family and Medical Leave Act. Rather, in many
cases family emergencies come up sporadically, and some
flexibility in the work schedule is all that is needed to
enable a productive employee to handle a family
responsibility. Flexible work arrangements may cost an
organization very little, but they serve to greatly
accommodate employees' needs.
Flex-time involves negotiating with the employee for
varied start and end times to a workday. For example, an
employee might start earlier in the morning so as to end
the work day at the same time as a child's school day ends.
The employee is still on-site the same number of hours,
but may have a slightly different work schedule than other
employees.
Since organizations increasingly are using part-time
employees, part-time work is an option that might first be
offered to existing employees before hiring new part-time
staff. Some employees may need temporary part-time
work during a family
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crisis, while others may elect part-time work on a
permanent basis. And advances in technology have
expanded the options for work at home. For certain job
categories, an employee working at home with a personal
computer, fax, and telephone can be more productive than
working on-site. Of course, not all jobs lend themselves to
off-site work.
In job sharing, two employees perform the functions of
one job. With dedicated employees, the organization may
actually get more work done at less cost in a job-sharing
arrangement. While each person presumably does 50
percent of the work at 50 percent of the salary, many
professionals in job-sharing arrangements actually do
more than 50 percent of the work for that half-time salary.
The company also realizes the costs savings for both
employees, while having two qualified employees on
which to rely.
Many organizations are moving to a compressed work
week, whereby employee work four 10-hour days in lieu
of five 8-hour days. Such an arrangement can lower
employees' child-care and commuting costs while
maintaining the productivity for the organization.
3. Work-life programs. While not as common as family-
care or flexible-work arrangements, work-life programs
can be a viable strategy for assisting employees with work
and family conflicts. Work-life programs provide training
to employees on whole-life planning, stress and time
management, conflict-resolution skills, communication
strategies, and exercise and nutrition programs. Such
programs not only help employees better manage their
family and work demands but also provide competencies
that can transfer to workplace behavior. By participating in
work-life programs, employees may improve their
communication and efficiency on the job.
4. Employee assistance programs. Complete and effective
employee-assistance programs (EAP) can serve to create a
familyfriendly organizational climate. While not designed
for that purpose, EAPs involve counseling services and
referrals to enable employees to better manage their
dependent-care and healthcare needs. Companies may
want to examine the range of services provided by their
EAP to determine if more family-friendly services can be
added.
 Page 115
Organizations can no longer expect employees to leave
their personal problems at the door. They must offer work
arrangements and benefits that enable productive
employees to remain productive in light of family
responsibilities. They must train managers to have
compassion for employees' family crises while continuing
to expect high levels of quality performance. To be family-
friendly is not to sacrifice productivity or profits. Rather,
family-friendly management enables a workforce to
handle family demands in a way that allows for maximum
productivity. Family-friendly management makes good
business sense.
[See also Disabled Employees; Employee Assistance
Programs; Motivation]
For Additional Information
Durity, Art. "The Sandwich Generation Feels the
Squeeze." Management Review 80, No. 12 (December
1991), pp. 38-41.
Geber, Beverly. "The Bendable, Flexible, Open-Minded
Manager." Training 30, No. 2 (February 1993), pp. 46-52.
Hand, Shirley, and Robert A. Zawacki. "Family-friendly
Benefits: More Than A Frill." HR Magazine 39, No. 10
(October 1994), pp. 79-84.
Olmsted, Barney, and Suzanne Smith. Creating a Flexible
Workplace: How to Select and Manage Alternative Work
Options. New York: AMACOM, 1994.
Wilkof, Marcia V., and Joy Schneer. "Is Your Company
and Its Culture Women-Friendly?" Journal for Quality
and Participation 18, No. 3 (June 1995), pp. 66-69.
 Page 116

Feedback
Almost all aspects of a manager's job involve feedback, or
giving and getting information about work-related
performance. You must give feedback to your employees
and receive information from your supervisors about your
own managerial performance. Customers give feedback to
organizations about products and service. Employees give
feedback through various means to their bosses. Smart
managers solicit feedback about their own behavior, new
ideas, and organizational procedures and programs. In
essence, feedback or information about workplace
performance permeates the communication system of an
organization. Feedforward and feedback are the first steps
in the cycle of continuous improvement.
This chapter examines the prevalence of feedback in
organizational life, the need for communicating clear
expectations (feedforward) prior to evaluating
performance, the advantages to managers of enhancing
feedback skills, and guidelines for giving and receiving
work-related feedforward and feedback.
Why Consider Feedback?
Though you may not use the term feedback to describe
sharing information about work performance, hardly a day
goes by when you do not evaluate others' work and
communicate your reactions to it. Anytime managers give
reactions to other people's work, they are engaged in the
process of giving feedback. Raising your eyebrow or
critically scowling constitutes feedback. It can be subtle
and fleeting or explicit and thorough.
Because feedback is inextricably tied to the managerial
role, you should be acutely conscious of the feedback
process. Become aware of unintentional displays of
feedback and realize the advan-
 Page 117
tages of developing feedback skills. By being direct and
clear with feedback to others, managers, employees, and
the entire organization will benefit. Here are some of the
advantages of developing feedback skills:
1. Feedback reduces uncertainty. Most people need to
know what is expected of them, and they crave reactions
to their work. We look for subtle signs from others and
then try to guess what they think of our performance. Not
knowing how supervisors, in particular, perceive our work
can be quite stressful. All employees need to know where
they stand on the job.
2. Feedback solves problems. If a subordinate has a
performance problem, then early feedback about that
problem can solve it before it magnifies or becomes
ingrained. A manager who has a problem relationship with
another manager can use feedback to attempt to resolve
their differences. Withholding information or reactions
will not make the problem disappear. Only through direct,
clear feedback about the problem and discussion of
alternative courses of action will problems be solved.
3. Feedback can build trust. Trust means being
comfortable in your predictions of others' behavior. You
are in a much better position to predict others' behavior if
they have been upfront with you in the past. By directly
communicating with others, you can help reduce
suspicions and fears among work colleagues. Managers
who regularly communicate feedforward and give
feedback to subordinates are predictable managers.
Subordinates know what to expect, appreciate that
predictability, and show less defensiveness.
4. Feedback can strengthen relationships. People who can
be honest in their reactions to each other tend to have
stronger relationships. While the feedback process can be
painful, the ability to communicate openly leads ultimately
to stronger relationships. Managers who care about their
subordinates' success will give them lots of performance
feedback and will coach them to greater achievements.
5. Feedback improves work quality. Employees cannot be
expected to improve their work quality unless they have a
clear understanding of what quality is and how their work
compares
 Page 118
to quality standards. Likewise, praise for performance
excellence creates incentives for even more quality. You
can build quality and productivity by continually giving
your employees feedback about their performance and
working with them to meet higher performance goals.
Communicating Expectations or Giving Feedforward
Before one's performance can be fairly and objectively
measured, that person must have a clear understanding of
the expectations the manager has for the job. Such
feedforward should include time frames, measures of
quality and quantity, financial parameters, factors for
formally measuring performance on performance
evaluations, and customers' expectations. The manager
should describe even subtle and less obvious expectations
for the employee. These subtle expectations may cover
such things as where to go for help, limits or expectations
for employee authority to get the job done, and training
progressions.
The best time to communicate feedforward is all the time.
Certainly, it makes sense to discuss expectations with new
or newly transferred employees. Managers also must give
detailed discussions of their expectations when starting
projects and before communicating employee evaluations.
Yet wise managers realize that routinely reviewing their
expectations, daily or weekly, increases the possibility that
employees will meet or exceed those expectations. Indeed,
feedforward motivates both employees and managers
alike.
Giving Feedback to Others
There are some managerial guidelines for giving both
solicited and unsolicited feedback about the work
performance of others.
1. Feedback should be specific. Give examples of the
behavior or performance at hand. The more specific you
can be with examples and complete descriptions of
behavior, the more the other person
 Page 119
will understand your feedback. Telling someone to take
more initiative, use more common sense, or change a
negative attitude are meaningless generalities. To be more
specific with the feedback, you must provide examples of
when the person should have but did not take initiative.
Explain what is meant by common sense. Show how the
so-called negative attitude manifested itself in a specific,
problematic job-related behavior.
2. Feedback should be descriptive, not evaluative. This
means describing behavior in observable terms rather than
using judgmental words. Notice the difference between
feedback that calls an employee irresponsible with
deadlines and feedback that describes the three times in
the last month when the person missed work deadlines.
Referring to observable behavior deals in the realm of
facteither the employee missed the deadlines or did not.
Using evaluative labels and character attacks moves the
feedback into the emotional arena and deals with opinions.
3. Feedback uses appropriate timing. Feedback is most
effective if given right after the work performance occurs
or immediately after it is solicited. Delayed feedback is
not as effective as immediate feedback. Timing also means
giving feedback privately and when there is enough time
for a discussion.
4. Feedback should be ongoing. Giving feedback should
not be a sporadic event in a work relationship, but an
ongoing, natural part of the manager-employee
relationship. Feedback offered only once a year at the
formal performance review is insufficient and will have
little impact on performance. If feedback becomes a
regular part of the work relationship and you comment at
least weekly on the positive and negative features of
employees' performances, the feedback process will be
less traumatic and more effective.
Soliciting Feedback From Others
Feedback should be a reciprocal process. Not only do you
give feedback to others, but you should solicit it from
others as well. Employee feedback on company programs,
for example, can serve as a barometer of the effectiveness
of those programs.
 Page 120
Participants in orientation sessions, training programs,
assessment centers, employee-assistance programs, quality
efforts, teleconferences, or career-development,
outplacement, or retirement counseling sessions always
should have opportunities to evaluate the programs. These
are but a few of the places where employees can give
feedback to management.
Additionally, employees can provide their reactions to
your behavior in such routine areas as performance
review, delegated projects, disciplinary procedures,
meetings, and decisions. Certain features of the workplace,
such as employee-involvement programs, exit interviews,
and suggestion boxes, exist for the very purpose of
soliciting employee feedback. Indeed, there are few areas
of organizational life in which employees cannot provide
feedback, and many managers are surprised at the insight
and professionalism of employee feedback to them.
When soliciting feedback, follow these guidelines in
obtaining and reacting to others' evaluations of your
performance or programs:
1. Try to get as much specific information as possible. The
more specific the feedback, the more useful it is. Whether
you informally ask for a colleague's reaction or structure a
questionnaire to solicit program participants' reviews,
make sure your questions are specific. Ask follow-up
questions to get more detail. It is up to the recipient of
feedback to probe for enough detail to make the
information useful. If you intend to use the feedback to
make changes in your performance or program, it must be
sufficiently detailed so you know what to change.
2. Do not become defensive when receiving negative
feedback. The automatic tendency when receiving critical
evaluations is to become defensive. We want to deny the
evaluation and to provide refutation. Sometimes we resent
the person who provides the negative feedback. Managers
who receive negative reactions from employees regarding
a new program or procedure may consider the employees
ungrateful or uninformed. In some cases, you discount
others' feedback by calling it wrong or incorrect. Such
defensive responses defeat the purpose of obtaining others'
feedback.
 Page 121
3. Use feedback. It is worse to solicit others' feedback and
not use it than to ask for no feedback at all. Employees
feel manipulated, for example, when they are asked to
provide input to management and their reactions are not
taken seriously or used in any way. Ignoring employee
suggestions has been the downfall of many employee-
input programs.
The feedback we receive from others is often very valid.
We should welcome feedback, study it, and use it to make
improvements in managerial performance, procedures, and
programs. Successful managers seriously entertain the
feedback they receive, no matter whom it comes from.
They appreciate others' evaluations, use feedback to make
improvements, and offer explanations to others when they
cannot implement their suggestions.
4. Conduct employee-opinion surveys. Employee-opinion
surveys are a great way of receiving candid, anonymous
reactions from employees. They can monitor discontent or
pinpoint problems among employees. By structuring a
series of questions on any number of issues and having an
outsider administer the survey and summarize results, you
can receive substantial feedback from employees. If done
regularly with findings disclosed and deficiencies
corrected, the opinion survey can be a valuable feedback
tool. The method can be applied to customers, the public,
or other groups whose feedback is important to the
organization.
[See also Coaching Employees; Delegation and
Empowerment; Motivation; Performance Appraisal, Time
Management]
For Additional Information
Baumgartner, Jerry. ''Give It To Me Straight." Training
and Development 48, No. 5 (June 1994), pp. 48-51.
Kilbourn, Brent. Constructive Feedback: Learning the Art.
Cambridge, Mass.: Brookline Books, 1990.
Kushel, Gerald. Reaching the Peak Performance Zone:
How to Motivate Yourself and Others to Excel. New York:
AMACOM, 1994.
 Page 122
Romano, Catherine. "Conquering the Fear of Feedback."
HR Focus 71, No. 3 (March 1994), pp. 5-10.
Stone, Florence, and Randi Sachs. The High Value
Manager: Developing the Core Competencies Your
Organization Demands. New York: AMACOM, 1996.
 Page 123

Innovation and Creativity

Once considered the domain of artists, musicians, and
writers, creativity is now regarded as a necessary
characteristic for leaders, managers, and administrators as
well. There is a growing literature on managing
innovation, aimed at business and nonprofit organizations.
Creativity workshops and materials are designed for
managers and executives in various types of organizations.
And today's managers must refine their own creativity
while also fostering creativity in their subordinates.
Such a focus on innovation can prove to be a good
counterbalance to the typical managerial emphasis on
logic, fact, data, and objective analyses. Successfully
cultivating the innovative side of management is
considered by many to be a key to survival and growth in
the increasingly competitive marketplace. Innovative
thinking and creative problem solving certainly are
necessary for such management activities as planning,
product development, customer service orientation, and
production improvements.
What Is Innovation Management?
Managing innovation means fostering the kind of
environment in which people can think outside of
established parameters. It means helping employees figure
out new ways to do a job better. It requires taking truly
novel approaches to tasks and decisions.
The concept of organizational innovation is somewhat
contradictory to the very ways that organizations are
typically managed. In large part, managing in an
organization means establish-
 Page 124
ing standard policies and practices, and then ensuring that
behavior follows established norms. Conformity is
necessary to prevent chaos. Yet innovation and creativity
mean breaking out of established ways of doing things.
Conformity does not promote creativity and innovation is
inherently nonconformist. So while the concept of
creativity may seem antithetical to the management role,
there is room within the managerial function to develop
and enhance creativity in self and others. This chapter
describes the characteristics of highly creative individuals,
examines the stages in the creative process, describes two
processes for engaging in creative thinking and decision
making, and provides suggestions for enhancing and
managing innovation in organizations.
Characteristics of Creative Individuals
While it is difficult to create a profile of the creative
individual, in part because creativity defies categorization,
highly creative people do seem to have a number of traits
and behaviors in common. Managers wanting to foster
innovative thinking would be well advised to seek out
employees with such characteristics. Likewise, such
behaviors can be rewarded in the workplace. Some of
these behaviors can also be the target of creativity training
sessions.
1. Curiosity. Creative individuals tend to have a highly
developed sense of curiosity. They are attentive to their
surroundings and see the world with a sense of awe and
wonder. Like children, they are interested in everything,
are not inhibited by established ways of doing things, and
often wonder "why" or "what if." Creative people are
imaginative. They like to daydream, fantasize, and
wonder. They can visualize, in their vivid imaginations,
new ways of doing things.
2. Self-confidence. Creative people have sufficient self-
esteem to be independent thinkers and nonconformists.
Creative individuals rarely take no for an answer. In other
words, they are persistent. They can find ways around
rules and procedures. Often, they are driven to create
despite obstacles.
 Page 125
3. Take risks. Risk taking is another element associated
with creativity. Creative people are adventurous and enjoy
the exhilaration of challenges, risks, and the unknown.
Oftentimes, highly creative people are very sensitive. The
artistic personality frequently is associated with
heightened sensitivity and a quickness of temper.
Stages in the Creative Process
Despite the fact that creativity is freewheeling and not
bound by rules, in business there seem to be some
recurring stages in the process by which people create.
1. Saturation. The initial part of the creative process
involves saturation, or total immersion in the topic or task
at hand. In business, one must be well read or experienced
in a subject before being able to have insight about that
subject. To become saturated in an area of business is to
become familiar with all the available information in that
area.
2. Deliberation. Deliberation refers to the careful thought,
study, or discussion of the task at hand. By giving a great
deal of unhurried thought to an issue on which one is
knowledgeable, creative insight can occur.
3. Incubation. The waiting period when one does not focus
on the task at hand, but allows a relaxed period for the
mulling of ideas, is referred to as incubation. During the
incubation period, the results of saturation and deliberation
can work in the subconscious. Setting a project aside
temporarily or "sleeping" on a problem gives a person
distance from the task so that ideas may incubate.
4. Illumination. Often there is a sudden insight during the
creative process. Indeed, the symbol of a lightbulb is often
used as a graphic representation of insight. Such flashes of
brilliance are a natural outgrowth of immersing oneself in
a topic, giving slow and deliberate thought to the topic,
and then resting the mind so that insight can occur.
 Page 126
5. Accommodation. This refers to the activity of revising
and refining the insight into a workable solution to the
task. The insight is altered, elaborated, and refined into a
clear or precise answer or direction.
Tools of Creativity
A familiar procedure that can assist with innovative
thinking is brainstorming. This is a structured technique
by which a group generates a large number of innovative
ideas. The assumption behind brainstorming is that the
larger the quantity of ideas, the greater the chance of a
truly innovative idea. To be truly effective, brainstorming
should follow some established procedures.
· There should be a "try anything" attitude.
· As people generate wild and imaginative ideas to a
question, freewheeling is encouraged.
· Participants should think of as many ideas as possible,
without commenting on or judging any.
· Ideas may be original or they may combine or revise
previously suggested ideas.
· While the group quickly lists all possible ideas,
someone records all the ideas in full view of the group.
Only after the group has exhausted all possible ideas do
the participants evaluate the ideas. Because of the
tendency of managers to approach decision making with a
critical eye, brainstorming is an effective tool for
withholding criticism so that imagination can run rampant.
Another technique for enhancing creativity is
storyboarding. This is a process by which ideas are placed
on movable cards so that they can be shifted and
reorganized. The ability to visually move ideas around lets
people perceive things in new sequences or combine ideas
in unusual fashions.
Storyboarding can be used in combination with
brainstorming. The brainstorming process generates a long
list of ideas on a given topic. Then the ideas are recorded
on cards that are organized in a variety of ways. For
example, the cards could be
 Page 127
grouped by similarities or by differences. They could be
rankordered by preference. They could be arranged by
most to least costly, or least to most disruptive to the
organization. There is no limit on the ways the cards can
be arranged. Indeed, the point of storyboarding is to find
as many different ways to order and combine ideas as
possible.
Suggestions for Managing Innovation
There are several ways a manager can encourage creativity
and innovation on the job.
1. Cultivate a sense of enjoyment at work. Innovation
rarely occurs when tasks involve drudgery. Managers can
create a work culture that is fun and enjoyable. Indeed,
employees who enjoy their work will be more productive
than those who dislike their jobs. Managers should
develop strategies to enhance the enjoyment of work.
2. Encourage silliness and risk taking. Some of the most
innovative organizations have toys in the workplace. By
encouraging a childlike sense of play and rewarding
employees for unusual ideas, managers can foster
innovative thinking.
3. Allow a balance of thinking and resting. A relaxed mind
is more likely to generate innovative ideas than will a
stressed mind. Managers who burden their subordinates
with inordinate amounts of work and unreasonable
deadlines hinder innovative thinking and creativity among
their staff.
4. Change organizational routines. Organizations thrive
on established procedures and regular routines. Since a
routine calls for repetitive behavior, it precludes original
or innovative approaches. One way of enhancing
innovation is to eliminate routines and to have employees
function in ways they think best.
5. Rely on instincts, intuition, and hunches. Often, we fail
to realize that for knowledgeable and experienced
managers and employees, instincts are not random but
informed. Intuitions are based on recall of past
experiences, keen observation, the
 Page 128
combining of ideas, and analogous reasoning. Such gut-
level reasoning is a most valid form of decision making.
6. Seek naïve views. The nonexpert on a task may bring a
very different perspective to a problem than will experts.
The layperson may have an innovative approach to a task
that experts cannot see because they are blinded by past
practice. Outsiders to a problembe they consultants,
clients, customers, or employees from a different
functionshould be valued for their unique perspectives and
creative insights.
7. Think in terms of opposites. Consider doing the very
opposite of what you would normally do on a task,
problem, or decision. This strategy breaks with established
patterns of thinking and keeps managers from getting
conditioned to respond in predictable ways.
8. Use trial and error. Many new discoveries occurred
because of an accident or an error. When attempting to
solve a problem, try various approaches until discovering
the one that works best. Remember, creativity involves a
willingness to take risks, even risks that prove to be
wrong.
9. Ask hypothetical questions. Questioning assumptions
allows for speculation and theorizing. It leads to the
imagining of alternatives. Like a child, ask "what would
happen if " when dealing with a task.
10. Practice envisioning. Most managers get so caught up
in the immediate, day-to-day activities that there is little
time to envision new things. To have vision is to imagine
the future, to think, to contemplate, to speculate. In other
words, envisioning is part of managing innovation.
[See also Change Management; Delegation and
Empowerment]
For Additional Information
DeCock, Christian. "Imagination: The Art of Creative
Management." Journal of Management Studies 31, Issue 1
(Mar. 1994), pp. 283-85.
Mattimore, Bryan W. 99% Inspiration: Tips, Tales, and
Techniques for
 Page 129
Liberating Your Business Creativity. New York:
AMACOM, 1993.
Van Gundy, Arthur B. Idea Power: Techniques and
Resources to Unleash the Creativity in Your Organization.
New York: AMACOM, 1992.
Vyas, Niren M. "Promoting and Managing Creativity."
Business and Economic Review 40, Issue 3 (Apr.-June
1994), pp. 7-10.
 Page 130

Intercultural Communication
Managers operate in a global business economy. Many
large corporations are international, with branches or
offices in other countries. American-owned companies
frequently use foreign labor or materials. Clearly, the
market for products and services spans the world. And the
number of foreign-owned companies operating in the
United States is growing. Indeed, the concept of jointly
managed firms, with Japanese and American partnerships,
for example, is increasing in popularity. Nor is
international exchange limited to the corporate
environment. The scientific, medical, educational, and
artistic communities are global in scope and cooperation
also.
The global workplace requires managers to travel
internationally. Some relocate to work in other countries.
You may be asked to entertain foreign visitors. Marketing
managers may be called on to develop plans for doing
business in other countries. Supervisors or managers in the
United States may work with a largely immigrant labor
force.
Thus, to enhance international success, managers must
understand intercultural communicationthe customs,
etiquette, and methods of communicating with people in
or from other countries. Organizations with the best
international agreements and relationships are those that
understand the nuances of international behavior and can
avoid offending business leaders in a host country because
of ignorance of that country's culture. A rudimentary
knowledge of cultural variations in values and work
attitudes helps in the supervision of a culturally diverse
workforce. Knowing the rules for intercultural
communication en-
 Page 131
hances the image of individual managers, as well as that of
their organizations and the nation as a whole.
Intercultural communication is a very broad concept.
Books are available on the culture of most every country.
Obviously, you will want to familiarize yourself with the
intricacies of the particular culture with which you will be
involved. Competent managers are aware of the various
categories of typical cultural differences and have basic
competence for communicating in another culture.
Areas of Cultural Difference
Almost any aspect of behavior may have cultural
variations. However, some categories of behavior related
to international business may have wide variations across
cultures. It is important to learn the target culture's norms
in each of the areas described below.
Greeting and Terms of Address
First impressions will be formed about the appropriateness
of your behavior when you are introduced to a colleague
from another country. What greeting behavior is
considered polite? By what term or title should you
address the other person? What degree of formality is
expected?
You may have to learn the pronunciations of certain names
and practice saying them. Some Spanish-speaking cultures
use double surnames; the first name is the surname in
China. In some cultures, the nonverbal greeting gesture is
a handshake; in others, it is a bow or a kiss on the cheek.
There can be variation within such greeting gestures as
well. How one shakes hands or how low one bows may
convey meaning. Of course, the rules become even more
complicated for a woman manager in another culture. In
certain cultures, appropriate behaviors for women differ
from the norms for men. In regard to greetings and terms
of address, it is always better to use the more formal style
until invited to become more familiar or informal.
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Dining Etiquette
Host colleagues will surely present the international
traveler with food and drink as a sign of hospitality.
Knowing how to behave while dining is crucial to
intercultural success. You may be expected to eat unusual
foods. To decline a food offering may offend the host. You
may be expected to engage in such rituals as offering
toasts or making elaborate welcome speeches. Who is
expected to sample the food first, host or visitor? Food
may be presented on individual plates, served by the host,
or eaten from a common serving dish. There may be
norms about whether food should be passed or received
with the left or the right hand. Lunch may consist of a
five-course meal spanning two hours. There may be
obligatory drinking and dancing until the early morning
hours.
Knowing how to entertain foreign visitors in your country
is equally as important. Among other considerations, it is
imperative that you not serve guests foods that are
prohibited in their cultures.
Gift Giving
The protocol of giving and receiving gifts is another
important area of intercultural awareness. International
business often begins with the exchange of gifts. Visiting
the host's home means bringing an appropriate gift.
Consider the nature of appropriate gifts, how to present
them, when to present them, how to receive a gift, and
how to communicate appreciation for a gift.
An appropriate gift for an international host can be an item
that represents your own culture of something appropriate
for doing business, like a pen or an office decoration.
Flowers, candy, or toys for the host's children may be
appropriate when you visit the home of your host.
Sometimes, gifts with the organizational logo are
presented. However, personal or intimate items should
never be given.
Learn the items that are considered offensive gifts in
certain cultures. For example, leather is inappropriate in
India, liquor is taboo in Islamic regions, and even the color
of presents may have negative connotations!
 Page 133
There may be cultural expectations about whether a gift is
presented initially in the relationship, before doing
business, after deals are negotiated, or at the time of
departure. Cultural norms govern whether to present it
publicly or privately. The appropriate value or expense of
the present varies across cultures. Always send prompt
written thank-you notes for gifts received.
Since gift exchange is a symbol of relationship
development and appreciation for hospitality, make
yourself aware of cultural norms so that you do not
inadvertently destroy the goodwill associated with this
behavior.
Dress and Appearance
Styles of clothing differ worldwide. Clothing is an obvious
sign of a foreign visitor, although managers worldwide are
increasingly adopting Western styles of business attire. It
is advisable to wear conservative business dress,
appropriate to the weather of the host country, when you
travel internationally. Local attire you are expected to
wear should be provided for you, since it may be offensive
to mimic local appearance customs without first being
invited to do so. Certain cultures may have rigid dress
codes for businesswomen. You may be expected to
remove your shoes in buildings in Eastern cultures. In
casual dress when touring a country, certain colors may be
considered offensive. For example, white (not black) is
associated with death in many Asian countries; green may
symbolize freshness in the United States but disease in
jungle areas.
Time Consciousness
People regard and use time differently in various cultures.
Americans tend to be very schedule-conscious and may be
perceived as rushing. When doing business in another
culture, you should know the meaning of time in that
culture and adjust to the host country's time values.
Will a meeting start at the scheduled time? Will there even
be a scheduled meeting time? In some cultures, you may
be kept waiting for hours or for days until the host is ready
to see you. Arriving early for a meeting may be evaluated
negatively. You
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may be expected to arrive promptly even though the host
is not subject to the same rule.
In some cultures, procrastination is a virtue and
punctuality is not. Deadlines and agendas may be regarded
as a sign of efficiency or of impatience. Each culture
emphasizes one time orientation (past, present, or future)
or another. Knowing this can affect your approach to
business. Appealing to tradition in some cultures may be a
more appropriate negotiation tactic than a reference to
future progress.
Communication and Language
Language obviously is a distinctive feature of nations and
regions within nations. Other aspects of oral
communication vary culturally. You would be wise to
learn some aspects of the host country's language and to
consider becoming conversationally fluent in that
language. Americans may be perceived as arrogant when
they expect the rest of the business world to speak
English. Surely there are business advantages to knowing
the language of the area in which you are conducting
business.
Even if the business transaction occurs in English, there
are other communication features to consider. Avoid using
jargon and slang expressions, as well as certain topics of
conversation. Politics, religion, and personal issues are
topics that probably should be avoided in all foreign
countries.
People have different styles of communicating in various
cultures. These are often subtle differences that can make
the uninformed businessperson seem impolite. For
example, Americans communicate directly and assertively.
In some other cultures, people may hint at what they mean
or soften the impact of messages. Americans may come
across as rude or pushy in such cultures. American
business leaders may develop impatience with foreign
colleagues who will not give a direct answer to a question.
In some cultures, people will not communicate rejection or
bad news. They may tell you what they think you want to
hear rather than what they actually believe. Emotion and
conflict in conversations may be appropriate in some
cultures, but not in others.
 Page 135
Nonverbal Behavior
The meaning attached to gestures, eye contact, and the use
of space is not universal. Nonverbal behavior is very
culture specific. So the manager doing business in another
country must be aware of the norms for nonverbal
behavior as well as those for oral communication. This
way you will not offend your host nor take offense at the
nonverbal styles of others.
People from Latin cultures use many gestures while
speaking; the British are more subdued. You may want to
adjust your own level of gesturing to approximate that of
people in the host country so that you do not come across
as listless or flamboyant. Certain standard gestures have
very different meanings internationally. For example, in
some countries, the thumbs-up gesture or ''A-OK" sign is
considered obscene.
Making eye contact shows respect in the United States,
while in many Asian cultures it is considered
disrespectful. Staring or pointing may also be considered
either appropriate or offensive.
Space is another nonverbal cultural variable. Japanese
work environments are open while Americans prefer
separate offices or cubicles. Arab and South American
people stand close and touch while talking, which is
considered crowding by people from cultures with larger
space zones. An Arab colleague may perceive an
American manager who feels an invasion of personal
space and who backs away as rude.
Work Attitudes
There are cultural differences in people's attitudes toward
work. What motivates a person from one cultural
background may not motivate someone from a different
culture. The priority given to work, family, or leisure time
is culturally determined. Competition is valued in some
cultures, whereas others prefer collaboration. Some
cultures are individualistic, and others value group loyalty.
Dignity and face-saving is paramount in some cultures;
harsh criticism has little effect in others.
Such essential features of cultural identity, values, and
habits affect all aspects of international business. Cultural
work attitudes affect hiring, supervising, motivating,
disciplining, selling, and
 Page 136
marketing strategies, among other things. Cultural identity
runs deep. An employer will have little success when
encouraging workers to behave in ways that contradict
cultural conditioning. Likewise, when doing business
outside of your own country, you must adjust your work
attitudes and behavior appropriately.
Developing Intercultural Communication Competence
Getting along well with people of other cultures is largely
a matter of opening your eyes to other ways of seeing the
world. Here are some tips for doing that.
1. Become aware of variations in cultural traditions.
Examine your own assumptions about greetings,
hospitality, appearance, work attitudes, communication,
and nonverbal behavior in order to recognize your own
habits and how they might be perceived by others. Self-
awareness will make you more attuned to the customs of
others.
2. Learn as much as possible about the target country.
Become familiar with the country's politics, economic
system, religions, history, social structure, educational
system, business customs, food, sports, music, art, and
daily life. Such information can be obtained through
libraries, by taking courses at local colleges or
universities, by watching travel videotapes, or by
contacting consultants, embassies, cultural organizations,
or experienced travelers.
3. Learn the language. Take a language course, hire an
individual tutor, or use self-study foreign-language tapes.
With an understanding of some of the basics of the
language, you will be surprised at how rapidly you
develop your proficiency once you are in the target
country.
4. Use a cultural go-between. This could be someone in
your organization or country who can coach you or call
ahead to make introductions and arrangements for youan
American expatriate living in the foreign country or an
interpreter who can travel with you.
 Page 137
5. Try cultural-awareness training. If your company or
industry frequently does business in other countries, you
might request cultural-awareness training sponsored by
your company or professional association. Such an
investment in training could have far-reaching business
benefits.
To develop intercultural communication competence, you
must be willing to learn, adapt, and adjust. You cannot
expect the culture to adapt to you, nor should you label
another culture's traditions as alien or inferior. Remember,
you are the foreigner. With open-mindedness, flexibility,
some knowledge about the culture, and support people,
you will find that international business travel or
relocation is a valuable and exciting experience.
For Additional Information
Brislin, Richard W., and Tomoko Yoshida. Intercultural
Communication Training: An Introduction. Thousand
Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1994.
Hoecklin, Lisa Adent. Managing Cultural Differences:
Strategies for Competitive Advantage. Reading, Mass.:
Addison-Wesley, 1995.
Munter, Mary. "Cross Cultural Communication for
Managers." Business Horizons, May/June 1993, pp. 69-78.
Thiederman, Sondra B. Bridging Cultural Barriers for
Corporate Success: How to Manage the Multicultural
Workforce. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1991.
 Page 138

Interviewing
Interviewing skills are essential to the managerial role.
Managers interview job candidates in order to make
selection decisions, conduct performance-appraisal
interviews with employees to give feedback about job
performance, and conduct counseling interviews with
troubled employees to seek behavioral change. Whenever
an employee is discharged or resigns, managers should
conduct an exit interview to get the employee's reactions
to various aspects of the workplace and to discuss
severance issues. Managers may interview consultants
before using their services or may interview staff members
before giving them delegated assignments, leadership
roles, or promotions. Then there are the situations in
which managers are interviewed by othersthe media, the
public, regulatory agencies, or students. This chapter
discusses selection, performance-appraisal, counseling,
and exit interviews and examines interviewing as an
information-exchange process.
Selection Interviews
The goal in a selection interview is to obtain relevant and
detailed information about job candidates in order to make
the best match between an individual and an organization.
The interviewer of job applicants functions like a detective
uncovering clues about performance and personality in
order to make a prediction of how well each candidate will
perform the job. The interviewer must dig out information
because candidates naturally will distort and hide
information to put themselves in a good light. While doing
the detective work, the interviewer must develop rapport,
facilitate a smooth conversation, and present an accurate
picture of the job and the organization.
 Page 139
The interviewer should develop a set of questions around
certain categories relevant to the job. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines prohibit
questions about marital status, children, age, national
origin, birthplace, religion, sex, race, ownership of a house
or car, credit rating, or type of military discharge.
Interviewers should become familiar with EEOC
requirements for wording questions in permissible areas of
inquiry.
The interviewer should plan the question sequence,
balance question categories with time limitations, know
how to probe for more information, become familiar with
the candidate's written materials, and plan a note-taking
method. The goal is not to amass a great deal of facts from
an interview, but to get at intangible information such as
how a candidate performed in past jobs, reasons for work-
related decisions, priorities and values, maturity,
temperament, shortcomings, and aspirations.
The interviewer must carefully structure the interview,
direct it, focus on relevant areas, probe beneath the
surface, and keep track of time. Yet the interview should
not resemble an interrogation. Questions should flow
easily. Probes should not be threatening. The format
should resemble a spontaneous and lively conversation
rather than a question-and-answer session.
Probing below the surface is key to effective selection
interviewing. First responses to a question typically are
well-thought-out answers that put the candidate in the best
light. It is important to seek the "why" or the "how"
behind the responses. Ask candidates to elaborate, go into
more detail, or explain their reasoning. Patient listening,
nonverbal signs of encouragement, silent pauses,
paraphrasing, and requests for elaboration will get the
candidate talking. The less talking the interviewer does,
the more the candidate will talk.
Novice interviewers waste time asking questions about
facts that have already been obtained through resumes and
applications. Becoming familiar with factual information
on written materials lets the interviewer move
immediately to substantive, new information.
Good note taking will record the wealth of information
disclosed in an interview. It is impossible to recall
information
 Page 140
after the interview, and details become muddled if more
than one candidate is being interviewed.
Performance Appraisal Interviews
The purpose of performance appraisal interviews is to give
employees feedback on how well their performance
measures up to job standards and to set future performance
goals. Just as in selection interviews, you must review
written materials, plan the interview, know how to probe,
use time wisely, answer questions and provide
information, and record responses. Prior to conducting a
performance appraisal, review the person's job description,
reread the last performance evaluation, and consult
documentation accumulated on the employee's job
performance. Interview time should not be wasted in
becoming familiar with written materials.
You should also plan the series of questions and
statements so as to structure the interview. Communicate
ratings on the various criteria, discuss the employee
perceptions of performance in various areas, uncover
reasons for performance problems, and coordinate with the
employee the objectives for the next work period.
Probing is an important ingredient of performance
appraisal interviews. Probe to see if employees understand
job standards and are capable of and motivated to meet job
performance expectations. Try to learn what motivates
employees so you can use appropriate incentive when
coaching them. Discover what resources would help them
perform the job better.
Finally, you must record information during and after the
performance appraisal interview. During the discussion,
employees typically provide information that helps you
understand their work performance, motivation,
constraints, and goals. Record agreements you reach
during the interview. After the interview, elaborate on the
notes you took during the performance appraisal and
record the tone of the discussion. Comprehensive
documentation of performance is necessary to support
discharge, demotion, or promotion decisions.
 Page 141

Counseling Interviews
In some cases, poor employee performance is due to
personal problems, such as alcohol and drug dependency,
emotional or psychological difficulties, or marital or
family concerns. When personal problems impair work
performance, conduct a counseling interview. This does
not mean that you conduct psychological counseling. In a
counseling interview, you attempt to get the employee to
recognize inappropriate behaviors and to commit to
change. You need not diagnose the personal problem that
allegedly affects work performance.
The best approach in a counseling interview is to indicate
the exact nature of the poor work performance and ask the
individual for explanations of that poor performance. If
the employee discloses a personal problem, then you can
recommend professional assistance, preferably through an
employer-paid benefit such as medical insurance or an
employee assistance program. If the employee does not
disclose a personal problem, you can suggest professional
referral options in case the employee has personal
problems that may be impairing work productivity.
As with other types of interviews, the counseling
interview presents similar challenges of reviewing written
materials, planning, probing, using time wisely, providing
information, and taking notes. This type of interview also
calls for assertiveness and empathy skills. You must be
assertive in confronting the performance problem and
suggesting professional help while simultaneously
showing a caring and supportive attitude toward the
troubled employee.
Exit Interviews
Whenever an employee leaves the organization, either
willingly or through termination, the manager should
conduct an exit interview. This allows managers and
employees to discuss the reasons for separation and make
separation agreements. You can learn a great deal from
terminated employees about how to restructure the job for
the next person hired. In the case of a termination, you
must explain to the employee the reasons for
 Page 142
dismissal and discuss both the cover story that others will
be told and severance benefits.
Whether the separation be through resignation or
termination, you should try to create a conversation to give
and get information. Plan initial questions and become
skilled at using follow-up probes. You must provide
information about the details of separation from the
organizationpaperwork to be completed, benefits to be
continued for a certain length of time, and the
organizational policy regarding references. Notes should
be taken about the content and tone of the exit interview,
as well any separation agreements.
The Interviewing Process
There are certain elements of the interview process that
cross all types of workplace interviews. Whether you
conduct selection, performance appraisal, counseling, or
exit interviews, you must know how to set the appropriate
climate, ask and answer questions, control the interview,
and take notes and maintain documentation.
Setting the Climate
Interviews present a certain degree of tension for both the
interviewer and the interviewee. In order to reduce tension
and to enhance the quality of information shared, you must
be skilled in creating rapport. Create an appropriate
climate by selecting a comfortable, private place for the
interview. There should be no interruptions or distractions.
You can develop rapport through some initial small talk
and then state the purpose of the interview. By making
smooth transitions between answers and subsequent
questions, and by listening more than talking, you reduce
threat and build a comfortable climate.
Certain interviews, such as counseling discussions with
highly emotional people or exit interview with very
defensive individuals, never develop a pleasant climate.
But it is the manager's responsibility to develop and
maintain a professional climate, however the person
behaves.
 Page 143
Asking and Answering Questions
Questioning is the heart of the interviewing process and
the most important feature of all interviews. In order to
obtain substantive, candid information, you must know
what questions to ask, how to ask them, and how to use
follow-up probes. Ask questions in such a way that they
are hardly apparent.
The best type of interview questions are open-ended,
neutral questions. Open-ended question call for broad,
lengthy responses. They cannot be answered with one-
word or short replies. Neutral questions do not cue the
respondent to the correct answer to lead to an obvious
response. You can create open-ended questions by
beginning the question with the words "What," "Why,"
"How did you,'' "To what extent," and "What would you
do if."
Prepared questions are just one type to use in interviews,
however. A more important type of question is the follow-
up probethat is, the spontaneous question that follows after
the interviewee has provided a response. You should probe
all answers to get more detailed, more accurate, and less
rehearsed responses.
To be effective, probes must be smooth, relevant, and
conversational. Interrogating probes will create
defensiveness and hinder spontaneity. This means that
interviewers must be skilled listeners so they can ask
logical follow-up questions. Obviously, the person's
answers determine the nature of the follow-up probes.
Vary the types of follow-up probes you use. An occasional
"why" will not threaten people, but following every
answer with a "why" question will sound interrogating. An
excellent device for getting an interviewee to elaborate is
to ask no question at all. Instead, a comment on the
previous answer, a paraphrase of the answer, or a silent
pause likely will produce elaboration.
Your job is not only to ask questions but to answer them as
well. Thus, you must know how to encourage
interviewees' questions, be skilled at understanding
questions, and be able to provide information. Managers in
all types of interviews must encourage the other person to
ask questions.
A pleasant climate, sufficient time for the interview, and
the
 Page 144
manager's encouraging style will help interviewees feel
comfortable about asking questions. Periodically
throughout the discussion, indicate a willingness to answer
questions. Imply that questions from the interviewee are
natural and expected, and that all questions are acceptable.
When presented with a question, you should paraphrase it
to check understanding. After paraphrasing the question,
provide an answer, and then check back with the
questioner to see if the response was satisfactory. It is
important to provide information at a level that the
questioner can understand. By considering the
interviewee's perspective, you can provide a sufficient
depth of information.
Controlling the Interview to Achieve Objectives
Managers must be skilled in controlling the interview
without appearing directive or overbearing. There are
several techniques for controlling an interview. First, plan
categories of questions with a tentative schedule. In
addition to planning an interview schedule, you must
watch the time closely and keep the pace moving.
Effective interviewers learn to tactfully and unobtrusively
interrupt statements to steer the direction of the
conversation. You can interrupt at logical points, such as
during pauses or during transitions.
Taking Notes and Documenting Information
Another feature crossing all types of interviews is the need
to take notes during the discussion and to maintain
documentation following the interview. Note taking during
the interview must be unobtrusive, a background activity
that does not hinder the communication or call attention to
itself. Some interviewers develop checklists or forms to
facilitate their recording of pertinent information.
After the interview is completed, spend some time
elaborating on your sketchy notes, writing down additional
information and impressions, and summarizing the
interview. Do this immediately after the interview, while
impressions are fresh. The
 Page 145
more detail you record during and after the interview, the
more informed and more justifiable your position or
decision will be.
[See also Performance Appraisal; Recruiting and Selecting
New Employees; Terminating Employee and Downsizing]
For Additional Information
Arthur, Diane. Recruiting, Interviewing, Selecting &
Orienting New Employees. New York: AMACOM, 1991.
Goodale, James G. One to One: Interviewing, Selecting,
Appraising, and Counseling Employees. Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.: PrenticeHall, 1992.
Mercer, Michael W. Hire the Best ... and Avoid the Rest.
New York: AMACOM, 1993.
Risser, Rita. "Interviewing Pitfalls for the Unwary."
Manage 48, No. 1 (July 1994), pp. 25-29.
 Page 146

Listening
Listening is a communication activity required of all
managers at any function or level. According to some
estimates, about half the total time a person spends
communicating is devoted to listening. While listening is a
process that many of us take for granted, poor listening
can be costly and can result in production errors,
disgruntled employees, conflicts, rumors, workplace
accidents, and lost sales. Listening mistakes waste time,
anger others, affect productivity, and hurt a company's
reputation. Many organizations realize the importance of
effective listening on the job and, consequently, train
employees to be better listeners. The following
information can help you identify poor listening habits in
yourself and in others and can provide the basis for
improvement.
The Listening Process
Listening involves more than just hearing a message.
When we listen, we receive a stimulus, convert it to
words, attach meaning to the words, relate the message to
our past experiences in order to comprehend it, and choose
a response. Because we do all this in a matter of seconds,
there is room for error. Let us examine each element in the
process of listening to understand where mistakes are
likely to occur.
Listening can be divided into four major steps:
1. Sensing
2. Interpreting
3. Evaluating
4. Responding
 Page 147
We must receive a signal through the sense of hearing.
That means that we must be paying attention and must
have good hearing skills. If we have hearing problems or
are not paying attention, then listening efficiently will be
hindered in this first step.
After sensing the stimulus, we interpret it in a way that
makes sense to us. We take sounds that we hear, translate
those sounds into words, and attach meaning to the total
message. What meaning we attach to the message is a
matter of individual interpretation. Our backgrounds,
experiences, attitudes, self-concepts, and moods will affect
how we interpret another person's words. Because we
differ, our interpretations of each other's messages differ.
Correctly interpreting another person's words entails some
negotiating and checking until our understanding matches
the other person's original meaning.
Once we feel that we understand the other person, we
usually have an evaluative reaction to the message. We
decide if the information is good, accurate, useful,
important, and so on. While listening, we tend to judge the
message: what is evidence and what is opinion? Is the
speaker believable or not? Do we agree or disagree with
the message? Do we need the information or not?
Sometimes our judgments are premature or erroneous.
There is the tendency to evaluate before completely
comprehending.
Finally, in the listening process, we respond. The response
is based on what we have heard, how we have interpreted
it, and the judgments we have made about the message.
Any errors along the way will lead to an inappropriate
response. The response is the only external element of the
listening process. Sensing, interpretation, and evaluation
occur in our heads. How we respond, then, becomes the
measure of our listening success. Until we make a
concrete response, the speaker does not know if the point
was made and understood.
Common Listening Problems
Managers who want to improve their own listening
efficiency or develop their employees' listening skills
should try to eliminate these poor listening habits:
 Page 148

· Tolerating or creating distractions. Noise interferes

with hearing. External noise in the physical environment
as well as internal distractions (lack of concentration)
will impede listening.
· Faking listening. Poor listeners pretend to be paying
attention when they are not. They fake facial
expressions, eye contact, and head nods to signal
interest while they actually daydream or go off on a
mental tangent.
· Tuning out dry subjects. Poor listeners quickly declare
a message boring, develop a "who cares" attitude, and
refuse to put forth listening effort. If the message is not
captivating or entertaining, poor listeners become lazy
and give up.
· Mentally disagreeing. Some listeners cannot remain
objective enough to understand a message before
evaluating it. They let their emotions take charge and
internally refute or argue all the points they hear.
· Focusing on the speaker's delivery. Poor listeners pay
more attention to the speaker's voice and appearance
than they do to the message. They have trouble paying
attention to content and instead focus on the speaker's
mannerisms.
 · Daydreaming. Many of us fall into the trap of
daydreaming because we can think faster than anyone
can talk. The average person speaks about 175 words
per minute but can think at a rate of over 400 words per
minute. Poor listeners do not use this extra thought
speed productively. They think about unrelated topics
and tune into the speaker only occasionally.
Ways to Improve Listening
You can improve your own or your employees' listening
efficiency by developing these good listening habits:
1. Develop powers of concentration. Good listeners can
ignore distractions in the environment and seem to will
themselves into listening. Also, they actively reduce
controllable noise by closing doors, holding calls, and
clearing their minds. The more we
 Page 149
work at concentrating while listening, the more our
powers of concentration develop and the easier listening
becomes.
2. Generate interest in information. Good listeners can
find areas of interest in most any message. They are
receptive to information and try to find ways to apply or
use the information, which builds tolerance and patience
into listening. Rather than declaring a subject boring and
tuning out, good listeners develop an inquiring mind.
3. Overlook speaker's mannerisms. If we focus on the
content of a message, the style in which the message is
delivered becomes secondary. Good listeners do not
prejudge the value of a message on the basis of a speaker's
delivery or appearance. Important information can be
obtained from an unimpressive messenger. The content of
the message is much more important than the way it is
packaged.
4. Focus on central ideas. Learning to identify the major
points of a message improves listening efficiency. Central
ideas and subpoints anchor the facts and details of a
message. It is difficult to grasp detailed information
without organizing it into a few major points. Good
listeners are concept listeners rather than fact listeners.
5. Hold your fire. Good listeners separate the tasks of
interpreting and evaluating messages. They make sure
comprehension is complete before judging the message
and resist the temptation to mentally debate instead of
listening. It is wise to slow down the listening process.
Ask questions to check your understanding before
agreeing or disagreeing with the information. Holding
your fire also means paying total attention to the speaker
without mentally framing a response.
6. Work at listening. Listening is not a passive activity.
Active listening is hard work. It involves an expenditure of
energy characterized by a rise in body temperature,
increased heart beat, and higher levels of adrenaline. Good
listeners realize that listening entails work, not relaxation.
7. Pay attention to body language. Visual cues can help us
more accurately interpret the meaning of a person's words.
When communicating face-to-face, we can look to the
speaker's facial
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expressions, posture, and gestures to give added meaning
to the message. A good listener observes as well as hears.
8. Capitalize on thought speed. Our capacity to think
faster than we can speak should not be a drawback to
communication. Rather than daydreaming, we can use our
thought speed to mentally summarize information,
anticipate the next point, and listen between the lines to
the tone of voice.
9. Paraphrase remarks. Good listeners practice the skill of
paraphrasing what they hear. This entails summarizing a
speaker's point back to the speaker to check understanding
and seeking feedback. This way misunderstandings or
faulty assumptions can be discovered early and corrected.
Eliminating any bad habit takes motivation, determination,
and support. Replacing bad listening habits with effective
listening techniques takes time and commitment.
Managers who want to improve their listening skills
should work one at a time on each suggestion provided
until mastering it. Trying to accomplish all of the
suggestions at once would be overwhelming. Through
self-discipline and practice, you can realize the benefits of
listening efficiency. Good listening is good business.
For Additional Information
Nichols, Michael P. The Lost Art of Listening. New York:
Guilford Press, 1994.
Robertson, Arthur K. Listen for Success: A Guide to
Effective Listening. Burr Ridge, Ill.: Irwin Professional
Publications, 1994.
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Meetings
Supervisors, managers, executives, and administrators
alike spend an inordinate amount of time in meetings. In
addition to the usual staff, department, sales, or team
meetings, we have special committees, task forces, or
projects that require us to work together in groups. The
increased emphasis on teamwork, employee involvement,
quality, and participatory management create the need for
more meetings. Business meetings can be useful tools for
communicating ideas, disseminating information, solving
problems, and making decisions. Unfortunately, few
meetings are as effective as they could be. By realizing
common problems, understanding the purpose of
meetings, and following guidelines for leading and
participating in meetings, we can eliminate all the wasted
time and make meetings useful and enjoyable.
Common Problems With Meetings
The following are some common pitfalls of business
meetings:
1. We are not informed of the purpose of the meeting.
Little work can be accomplished if members do not know
why the meeting was called or what the outcome of the
meeting should be. In this situation, the group spends the
entire time trying to figure out its task.
2. We are not given a detailed agenda ahead of time.
Participants should know exactly what issues will be
discussed, what items will be covered, or what reports will
be given. Without a specific agenda in advance, we come
to meetings unprepared. We do not have the necessary
information with us; nor have we given thought to the
issues under discussion.
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3. The leader does not control the meeting. Even with
clear objectives and specific agendas, meetings can go
astray. Some leaders do not follow the prepared agenda or
fail to keep the group on target. Once they go off on
tangents or other agenda items are introduced, the session
becomes disorganized and chaotic.
4. The meeting is long and tedious. Some meetings start
out organized but deteriorate into long, boring ordeals.
The meeting is scheduled for too long of a period of time,
or the leader does not keep the pace moving. Participants
lose concentration and energy in meetings that last longer
than one hour. Effective meetings are fast-placed. If the
group is not pushed through the agenda, it will become
bogged down on each issue.
5. Individuals are allowed to dominate. Many a productive
meeting has been ruined by one person who rambles, takes
the discussion in a different direction, or blocks the
group's productive work.
There may be other reasons why meetings fail. These are
merely the most common problems. If you and your
colleagues find yourselves dreading or resenting business
meetings, try to identify the pitfalls that plague meetings
in your organization. That is the first step in creating more
effective meetings in the workplace.
Reasons for Holding Meetings
Managers who lead meetings will want to give specific
thought to the particular reason they schedule a meeting.
Such reasons include:
· Obtaining information. We often present information via
reports (oral or written) in a meeting. If many people need
the information, then a series of succinct reports in a group
meeting can be an effective way to exchange information.
Report givers must be skilled at presentation for this type
of meeting to be effective. Listeners can ask questions or
engage in discussion about the material presented. If there
is no opportunity or need
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for follow-up discussion, then the meeting was
unnecessary. If there is no need to hear or discuss the
reports, then distributing the information in writing to
individuals would be a better approach.
· Solving a problem or making a decision. Some decisions
are best made by a group. We give more support to a
decision that affects us if we have input into the decision.
Many complex decisions need the deliberation of several
individuals who hold different perspectives. A problem-
solving team working together through meetings can
thoroughly analyze a problem and creatively discover
solutions.
· Motivating people. Bringing individuals together for a
meeting can be motivational. This is the basis of sales
meetings and major conventions. A group energy develops
when many people with the same goals assemble. The
excitement and interaction provides a momentum that can
be harnessed by the organization.
· Developing new ideas. Creative ideas can occur when a
group of individuals bounce thoughts off of one another in
a meeting. Members use their imaginations to discover
innovative concepts or approaches. They replace
evaluation and analysis with speculation and curiosity.
While one creative person can develop new ideas working
alone, a group meeting has the potential of producing
many more ideas. Members build on each others' ideas.
· Making announcements. You can use meetings to
announce and explain new policies, programs, systems, or
products. A meeting can be an effective alternative to
memos, electronic mail, and reports. By getting everyone
together, you can go into more detail, use visual
demonstrations, answer questions, and clear up
misunderstandings.
Characteristics of a Good Group Meeting
Effective group meetings look and feel different from
ineffective meetings. A good meeting could be
characterized by the following six attributes:
1. Participants have a strong sense of belonging or unity.
There is a sense of mission and cooperation. Members
want to be part of
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the group and see a common purpose. In essence, there is
a strong commitment and loyalty to the group, which
translates into good attendance at each session, prepared
and informed members, and a willingness to work hard for
the group or the company.
2. Everybody participates. In good meetings, everyone
feels comfortable contributing. There is a shared
interaction among members. Regardless of actual status or
position, each person feels that all remarks will be
considered by the rest of the group.
3. Discussion follows a clear plan. Effective meetings
have clear purposes, published agendas, and prepared
members who stick to the purpose and stay on course.
Everyone knows why the meeting was called, what the
group is trying to accomplish, and where it stands in
relation to the task.
4. Conflicts are managed. Whenever we meet in groups to
give or get information, to make decisions, to generate
ideas, or to solve problems, differences of opinion occur.
When meetings are operating properly, we feel free to
disagree. Organizations that stifle conflict restrict the good
ideas collegial bickering or friction can produce. On the
other hand, meetings must not deteriorate into aggressive
free-for-alls. In effective meetings, people can disagree
while maintaining respect for one another.
5. Task and people issues are considered. In effective
meetings, the group does its work while maintaining good
relationships among the people involved. Both the task
and the morale of the group are important considerations.
6. The group is aware of its process. Effective groups have
ways to examine themselves and their progress. At times,
they step back from their job and look at their procedures,
membership, and internal communication. Members can
suggest alternative meeting times, propose new ways of
operating, and comment on group problems.
The Leader's Role
The leader of a meeting has several tasks before, during,
and after the meeting. In preparation, you must decide if a
meeting is
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the best way to achieve a particular objective. If you
decide that a meeting is the best strategy, then plans are
necessary. You must decide who should attend, what the
agenda will be, when and where the meeting should occur,
and what information, materials, or equipment will be
needed.
Strategically selecting meeting participants is an important
consideration for effective meetings. Some meetings
automatically dictate the participants. Rather than having a
standard composition of members for all meetings,
however, consider the issue carefully. Selecting the right
mix of people for a meeting is a crucial factor in its
success or failure.
You should carefully prepare and circulate an agenda
ahead of time. It is important to be realistic about what can
be accomplished in the allotted time period. Some leaders
provide suggested time limits for each agenda item.
Sometimes it is necessary to circulate a tentative agenda
and ask participants to suggest additional agenda items.
You then circulate a revised agenda to members before the
meeting. If members are expected to bring information to
the meeting or to present reports, they should receive
advance notice.
The time and place of a meeting are other important
considerations. Choose a time that accommodates
members' schedules and energy levels. Monday mornings,
Friday afternoons, and time slots immediately after lunch
should be avoided. Likewise, people will not be at their
peak concentration level the day before holidays or
vacations. The location of a meeting can also affect its
outcome. Rooms that are too crowded, too hot, or have
poor acoustics lead to lifeless sessions. Chairs should be
arranged to best serve the purpose of the meeting.
Motivational meetings should be held in exciting, off-site
locations. This adds a note of importance and visibility to
the meeting and can make participants feel special.
You should also arrange for necessary materials and
technological equipment to be used at a meeting. Such fine
points of preparation give the meeting an atmosphere of
efficiency and enhance your credibility.
You must take an active role in running a meeting. The
following are some suggestions for conducting an
effective meeting:
 Page 156
1. Create a member-centered meeting. A dominant leader
will stifle a meeting. Members resent meetings where the
leader does all the talking and they cannot have input or
ask questions. Some authorities suggest that the leader talk
less than 20 percent of the time in a meeting. You should
not give opinions or evaluations until everyone has had a
chance to be heard. Good ideas are lost when subordinates
are reluctant to contradict or disagree with a manager who
has already stated a position.
2. Stimulate discussion by asking questions. An effective
meeting is more than a series of monologs. It should be an
exchange of information and ideas. To accomplish real
interaction, you should be skilled at questioning. A good
way to stimulate discussion is to ask open-ended
questions, which cannot be answered by yes/no responses
or short reactions. Examples of open-ended question are
''What do you think?" "How should we proceed?" "Why?"
"What should we do?"
3. Avoid idea killers. Make sure that everyone has a
chance to be heard and that everyone's comments are
taken seriously. Comments and behaviors that kill
enthusiasm must be prohibited. Treating a participant as
inferior, uninformed, inexperienced, or naïve will suppress
discussion. Sometimes the best comments come from
organizational newcomers whose ideals are not dimmed
by skepticism.
4. Keep the group on the subject. It is your role to move
through the agenda and keep the group from going off on
tangents. Frequent summaries are a good device for
keeping the group organized and for keeping the pace
moving. If several members are interested in discussing
another subject, make that a topic for a subsequent
meeting. Make sure that no one dominates or sabotages
the meeting. You must be skilled at maintaining control of
the meeting without being dominant.
5. Summarize the meeting and give assignments. A good
leader does not let meeting time run out. You should draw
the session to a close by summarizing information,
suggesting unresolved issues for future meetings and
giving participants tasks to work on before the next
meeting. Thus, people leave the meeting with a sense of
accomplishment and future direction.
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There are still some tasks after the meeting has concluded.
Prepare and distribute minutes, notes, or publicity of the
meeting as soon as possible. You may want to begin
planning the agenda of a subsequent meeting while ideas
about this meeting are still fresh in mind. Finally, good
leaders review and analyze the meeting process. Assess
the meeting effectiveness and your own leadership style,
then use that information to make the next meeting better.
Special Techniques
Some techniques are especially useful for achieving
certain meeting purposes or facilitating the meeting
process. Three techniques applicable to business meetings
are the problem-solving method, brainstorming, and
videoconferencing.
The Problem-Solving Method
The problem-solving method is a logical format for
working through a problem to a solution. Groups engaged
in problem-solving meetings should follow these five
steps:
1. Describe the problem. What exactly is the problem at
hand? Are there several interrelated problems? Are there
problems underlying the obvious one?
2. Discuss history, causes, and effects of the problem. How
long has the problem existed? Has anything been done to
solve it before? What are its obvious and subtle causes?
Who is affected by this problem? How serious are the
effects?
3. Suggest many possible solutions. What are all the
possible actions that could be taken to solve this problem?
What are some immediate solutions, long-term solutions,
and creative solutions?
4. Identify the best solution. Which solution is most
practical, easiest to implement, most cost-effective, most
acceptable, or most permanent? The best solution is one
that fits whatever criteria the group thinks is important.
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5. Make recommendations for implementation. Who will
implement the solution? How? By what timetable? What
resources will be required? Whose support is essential? By
what means will the effectiveness of the solution be
evaluated?
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a method for stimulating the creative
thinking of meeting participants. It encourages the free
flow of ideas. It is especially useful to generate many
ideas. The rules of brainstorming follow:
1. Members present ideas rapidly as they come to mind.
Do not self-censor thoughts. Free-associate without
worrying about the logic or quality of ideas.
2. Members should briefly suggest ideas. Speak just
long enough to present an idea. Do not explain it or
justify it.
3. Members should not analyze or evaluate others' ideas.
The goal is a quantity of ideas. The quality of the ideas
will be considered later. Members are not allowed to
comment on, criticize, praise, or debate ideas that have
already been presented.
4. Members are encouraged to build on the ideas of
others. The advantage of group brainstorming is that
 one person's idea can trigger another person's thoughts.
Piggybacking on previous comments is part of the
creativity of this activity.
5. Someone records each idea where everyone in the
group can see it. By putting ideas on newsprint or on a
board visible to the entire group, members can see and
build on previous comments.
Videoconferencing
Videoconferencing is the use of telecommunication
systems by groups of people at two or more locations for
the purpose of meeting with each other. Participants can be
geographically dispersed and meet via technology rather
than through face-to-face contact. Videoconferences can
range in size from three to
 Page 159
thousands of participants at two or two hundred different
locations.
Using videoconferencing for meetings has its advantages
and drawbacks. Perhaps its greatest attraction is that it
saves time because it reduces the need for travel.
Additionally, it allows more people to have easy access to
communication, provides a greater sense of participation
in the organization as a whole, and creates an improved
organizational image because of state-of-the-art
technology.
The limitations of videoconferencing include the cost of
the technology to provide full-motion, interactive video;
the resistance of some participants to this technology; the
impersonal nature of videoconferencing meetings; and
technical or security concerns.
The following are suggestions for conducting effective
meetings via videoconferencing technology:
· The individual scheduling a videoconference should
determine its purpose, set an agenda with time estimates
for each item, determine the list of participants, invite the
participants in advance, disseminate the participant list and
agenda ahead of time, gather all support material, and
moderate the meeting by keeping the group on the agenda
and time line.
· Those speaking in a videoconference other than for the
purpose of a lecture should keep their remarks short and
solicit frequent responses. Always give your name and
location before making a remark, and solicit responses
from specific individuals. Address other persons by name.
Wait for a break in the discussion before contributing. Try
to avoid off-microphone discussions in the background
and extraneous movement. Never call on an individual or
site without some warning.
· The videoconference room should look more like a
meeting room and less like a radio or television studio. If
the equipment and the technical production become the
focus, people will become formal, rigid, and
uncommunicative. It is important to preserve the
spontaneity and informal exchange of a face-toface
meeting.
· Use some techniques to enhance individuals' visual
images. Do not wear white or close-knit plaids. Look at
the camera.
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Do not read from notes. Avoid nervous mannerisms. If
image is very important, practice speaking before a
camera or with a teleprompter before the actual
videoconference.
· When using graphics, make sure all material can be seen
or read. Opt for less rather than more information per
graphic. Determine your worst-case viewing situation
when judging the readability of material.
[See also Team Building; Project Management]
For Additional Information
Daniels, William R. Group Power: A Manager's Guide to
Conducting Regular Meetings. San Diego: University
Associates, 1990.
Drew, Jeannine. Mastering Meetings: Discovering the
Hidden Potential of Effective Business Meetings. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1994.
Silva, Karen. Meetings That Work. Homewood, Ill.:
Business One Irwin, 1994.
Weissinger, Suzanne Stewart. A Guide to Successful
Meeting Planning. New York: Wiley, 1992.
 Page 161

Mentoring
Mentoring involves the formation of relationships between
senior and junior employees for the purpose of career
development. The mentor (or sponsor) holds a higher
position in the hierarchy and has demonstrated some
degree of organizational success. Thus, the protégé can
benefit from the mentor's information and advice. The
mentor is interested in the career growth of capable junior
colleagues and is willing to devote time and emotional
energy to helping them. The mentor receives satisfaction
and recognition from assisting the protégé. In some
organizations, mentors receive tangible rewards for their
involvement in mentoring relationships.
Benefits of Mentoring
Junior employees receive the most obvious benefits from
mentoring. But mentors themselves and the organization
as a whole reap advantages as well. Some advantages
mentoring relationships provide to protégés are:
· Assimilation into the organization. Mentors can help
newcomers learn about organizational norms, understand
the unique culture of a particular organization, and deal
with corporate politics. There is no way, other than
through observation over time, to learn about the subtle,
yet important aspects of a workplace without the help of a
seasoned veteran of the organization.
· Sharing information. A mentor can provide "inside"
information that a protégé cannot obtain as easily or as
quickly through other means. The mentor can be a direct
conduit to supervisors' thoughts and reactions. The wise
protégé listens
 Page 162
carefully, honors the trust in the relationship, and is
discreet with confidential information provided by the
mentor.
· Opportunities for career growth. The many valuable
functions performed by a mentor combine to offer career
growth opportunities to a protégé. Mentors can help less
experienced colleagues set goals, plan careers, and
develop skills necessary for career advancement. They can
nominate protégés for key projects, bring them visibility,
speak favorably about them to others, and introduce them
to key people in the organization.
· Support and understanding. Mentors are workplace
friends. They can listen to problems, calm fears, and boost
the confidence of protégés. Because mentors are more
experienced and trusted colleagues, they can be an
excellent sounding board for concerns and offer empathy
and advice.
· Provision of a role model. Individuals who have
achieved success in an organization can serve as valuable
role models to newcomers. Astute protégés learn by
observing the subtle behaviors and reactions of the mentor
and incorporating such observation into their own
repertoire of behavior.
Mentors can also realize benefits from their relationship
with protégés. The fresh insights of new talent can
challenge and motivate long-term employees. Protégés can
help senior employees stay abreast of new developments
in a field or refine their outdated skills. Mentors can obtain
information about employees from protégés that they
could not obtain from other employees, who are often
reluctant to share negative information with supervisors.
Competent protégés make a mentor look good. A senior
employee who has helped develop a young "star" shares in
the visibility and prestige of the protégé's success. The
protégé speaks favorably of the mentor and offers
admiration and respect to the mentor, who in turn realizes
great satisfaction by passing on information, insights, and
wisdom and seeing these ideas continue through others.
Some organizations formalize the mentoring process and
offer rewards such as recognition dinners, travel perks, or
funding for pet projects to those willing to serve as
organizational mentors.
Organizations benefit whenever talent is nurtured.
Mentored
 Page 163
individuals learn faster, become socialized into the
organization more easily, and enhance their chances for
success. Through mentoring, the talents of younger
employees are tapped and the motivation and skills of
older employees are maintained. Thus, organizations can
reduce turnover and realize a greater human resources
potential.
Issues of Cross-Gender Mentoring
Many organizations use mentoring relationships to assist
women and minority employees, who may face unique
career challenges in traditional organizations. There are
some dynamics of crossgender mentor relationships that
must be dealt with if such mentoring is to succeed in an
organization.
For example, some women report difficulty in using male
mentors as role models. What is considered appropriate
behavior for a male in the workplace may not be
considered appropriate for a female employee. At the very
least, a female protégé must adapt behaviors modeled
from a male mentor to fit her own style. The relationship
of a male mentor to a female protégé may reinforce
stereotypical roles of male power and female dependence.
Issues of intimacy and sexuality may surface in
crossgender mentoring relationships. Frequently, cross-
gender mentor relationships receive more attention and
resentment from coworkers than same-gender mentor
relationships do. Workers may become suspicious of and
impugn the motive of a male senior manager who takes
special interest in a new female employee.
It is difficult to provide remedies to problems of sex-role
stereotypes and sexual tensions that can affect cross-
gender mentoring. At the very least, mentors, protégés,
and organizations should be aware of such possible
complications and should ensure that mentoring facilitates
rather than impedes career growth.
Fostering Mentoring in Organizations
Mentoring is an aspect of human resources development.
To encourage it, organizations must relate mentoring to its
overall
 Page 164
human resources development effort. If a company pays
lip service to the importance of employees, then mentoring
will not work. An organizational culture to support
mentoring must exist. A teamwork environment is more
conducive to mentoring relationships than an environment
of individual competitiveness.
Managers should be made aware of the mentoring process,
functions, and advantages. Educational programs can
highlight the topic of mentoring and teach support skills
such as listening, coaching, counseling, motivating, and
giving feedback.
The mentoring function can be built into goal setting and
performance appraisal criteria for managers. If you are
aware of the need to mentor junior employees and possess
mentoring skills, you can allocate part of your time for this
activity. Likewise, if mentoring becomes a management
function in an organization, the performance appraisal
system can review and reward your success at mentoring
others.
Organizations committed to mentoring can establish a
formal mentoring program by disseminating a policy and
setting up procedures for paring senior- with junior-level
employees. In such programs, however, participation
should be voluntary. Once employees have expressed
interest, a formal system can encourage the development
of mentor relationships. There should be a mechanism for
reassigning mismatched pairs and for evaluating the
effectiveness of a formal mentoring program.
[See also Career Development]
For Additional Information
Hensler, D. Jack. "Mentoring at the Management Level."
Industrial Management 36, No. 6 (Nov./Dec. 1994), pp.
20-21.
Murray, Margo, and Marna A. Owen. Beyond the Myths
and Magic of Mentoring: How to Facilitate an Effective
Mentoring Program. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Publishers, 1991.
Shea, Gordon F. Mentoring: Partnerships for Exceptional
Employee Development. New York: AMA Membership
Publications Division, 1994.
 Page 165

Motivation
Because productivity is a goal in all workplace
organizations, managers must be skilled at motivating
others. You must understand the concept of motivation and
the complex array of factors that affect it in order to
influence others toward greater productivity.
The Concept of Motivation
The term motivation relates to the energy that initiates and
directs behavior and concerns the choices that we make
about our goal-directed behavior. Presumably, we have a
wide range of choices about behavior. Motives prompt us
to act in certain ways as opposed to other ways. Motives
are the "why" of behavior. An understanding of the
following five characteristics of motives will help you
motivate your employees more effectively:
1. Motives are hierarchical. The motives for our behavior
vary in strength and importance. Some are more powerful
than others. They exist in a type of rank order. When
contradictory motives exist, the more powerful motive will
guide our behavior.
2. Motives may be unconscious. Frequently, we are
unaware of the motives for our behavior. When asked why
we are behaving a certain way, we may state a variety of
reasons unrelated to our actual behavior. We may think
these are our motives or wish they were our motives.
Rarely are we fully aware of the inner needs and drives
affecting our behavior.
3. Motives must be inferred. We can observe behavior, but
we can only infer the motives underlying that behavior.
Trying to understand our own and others' motivations is
guesswork. At
 Page 166
best, we can try to extrapolate motives from observed
behavior coupled with stated beliefs and intentions.
4. Motives are individualistic. The motives of each of us
differ. We each have a different motivational hierarchy
composed of different desires and different priorities.
Because motives are based on needs, rewards, and values,
they obviously vary from person to person.
5. Motives change. Motives are not stable. Because our
motives fit together as a set, different ingredients of that
set may change or vary in importance over time. What
motivates us today may not motivate us tomorrow. Even if
we could ascertain all of the elements in a person's
motivational system, the dynamic nature of motives would
complicate our understanding.
Job and Organizational Factors Affecting Motivation
You must take many factors into account when trying to
understand the process of motivation. In addition to
understanding inner needs and goals, you must identify
factors of the job and the organization that influence
behavior if you are to understand the motivational process.
Many characteristics of a job affect an employee's
motivational level and either encourage or discourage the
desire to perform well. Some types of jobs are more
intrinsically satisfying than othersthat is, in certain types
of jobs an employee is motivated by the work itself.
Studies of motivation based on job content show that
employees want to feel challenged in a job, they want
feedback about their performance, they want to feel that
the job is valued or important, and they want some degree
of control or autonomy over setting work goals and
determining the paths to reaching those goals. Keep in
mind that because motives are individualistic, the extent to
which employees are motivated by these job requirements
will vary. But in general, employees find them intrinsically
rewarding.
Many features of the organizational environment also
affect motivation. Employee motivation can be affected by
the com-
 Page 167
pany's personnel selection and placement procedures,
training and development systems, performance appraisal
methods, supervisory styles and practices, and reward and
compensation system. Indeed, just about everything in an
organization can affect an employee's motivation to
perform.
If the wrong people are hired for jobs, then motivation will
suffer. An underqualified person will be discouraged by
the inability to perform well and may be motivated to
avoid workrelated behavior because of a fear or failure.
An overqualified person will be discouraged by the lack of
a challenge.
Employee training and development can be a valuable tool
for developing motivation. Through training, employees
can gain the skills necessary for success, can develop
positive attitudes toward performance, and can develop
challenging career goals.
Performance feedback is an essential ingredient of
intrinsically motivating jobs and a prerequisite to
performance-based rewards. It is difficult to encourage
employees to improve if you have no reliable way of
assessing their current performance. Likewise, you cannot
reward excellent performance without a means of judging
excellence. A good performance appraisal system should
support your methods of motivating employees.
Effective supervision is closely tied to employee
motivation. Employees will be motivated to perform well
if they have a good relationship with their supervisor and
feel that supervisory practices are fair. Indeed, supervisors
are the key motivators of their staff. Effective supervisors
motivate by giving regular and specific performance
feedback, by coaching employees to improve their
performance, by encouraging employee growth and
development, and by rewarding good performance.
Motivation increases when employees receive desired
rewards as a result of their performance. Rewards can take
the form of raises, bonuses, promotions, recognition,
prizes, or time off. The key points are that the employee
must value the reward and the reward must be based on
performance. Obviously, the importance of compensation
and rewards as motivators will vary from person to person.
But an organization with a fair compensation and reward
system is likely to have an easier time motivating its
members.
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Types of Motivators
There are a variety of strategies you can use to motivate
employees. Four types of workplace motivators are needs
satisfiers, rewards, job design, and employee participation.
Needs and Motivation
Some outcomes are desired by employees and others are
not. One reason for this involves the concept of human
needs. If certain needs are important to individuals, then
they will act in ways to satisfy those needs. By
understanding what pressing, unfulfilled needs people
have, we can motivate them. Psychologists have theorized
that any of the following sets of needs may govern human
behavior:
1. Need for achievement. Employees motivated by a need
for achievement want the satisfaction of accomplishing
something challenging. They want to exercise their talents,
to surpass others, to attain success. Such people are self-
motivated, given a sufficiently challenging job to do. They
set realistic goals and achieve them. To allow these
employees opportunities for meeting their needs for
achievement, you must provide new and challenging
assignments.
2. Need for power. Employees with a high need for power
derive satisfaction from influencing and controlling others.
They like to lead, to persuade, and have an impact on
situations. Such people are motivated by positions of
power, leadership, and authority. They become informal
group leaders, hold leadership positions in community or
civic groups, and strive for supervisory or management
positions. These people should be given opportunities to
influence others, to make decisions, and to direct projects.
3. Need for affiliation. Employees motivated by an
affiliation need derive satisfaction from interacting with
others. They like to be with people, develop friendly
relationships, and find the social aspects of the workplace
rewarding. You can motivate such people by providing
them with opportunities for interaction in
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the workplace: teamwork projects, group meetings,
company athletic teams, or jobs involving communication
with others.
4. Need for autonomy. Employees with the need for
autonomy want freedom and independence. They want to
direct their own efforts and will resist close supervision.
You can motivate them by allowing them to make their
own choices, set their own schedules, and work
independently of others.
5. Need for esteem. Employees with high esteem needs
like to be recognized and praised. They want others to
acknowledge and appreciate their work. Attention and
respect from others motivates their work. Give them
ample feedback, public recognition, or tokens of
appreciation for good work.
6. Need for safety or security. Employees motivated by
this need derive satisfaction from job security, a steady
income, health and life insurance, and a hazard-free work
environment. They will seek jobs with tenure or
protection. They may also want predictable work with
little risk or uncertainty. Salary and fringe benefits are
very important to them.
7. Need for equity. People driven by a need for equity want
to be treated fairly. They have a strong sense of conscience
or ethics. They may compare their work hours, job duties,
salary, and privileges to those of other employees and
become discouraged if they perceive inequities. They want
to see that standards are being applied consistently and
that dishonesty and favoritism are not being tolerated in
the organization.
8. Need for self-actualization. This refers to the
satisfaction gained from growth and self-development. It
may mean creative expression on a job or learning just for
the sake of learning. People motivated by this need may
take on challenging work not for the sense of
accomplishment or to gain recognition but only for the
sheer enjoyment of a new experience and self-discovery.
Such people need jobs that help them reach their potential.
Rewards and Motivation
Extrinsic rewards are another type of motivator. Managers
typically give tangible rewards based on performance,
such as raises, bonuses, status symbols, fringe benefits,
prizes, and incentives.
 Page 170
Employees who value such rewards put forth considerable
effort to obtain one. But extrinsic awards can be quite
costly to an organization. If you want to use extrinsic
rewards to motivate employees, make sure that the
following conditions are met, without which any reward
system can actually hinder motivation and negatively
affect performance.
1. Employees must perceive the rewards as valuable. Some
companies offer trinkets as rewards and wonder why
employees are not motivated to earn them. You should
determine what rewards employees desire.
2. The rewards must be tied clearly to performance. Both
the recipients of rewards and their colleagues who observe
the process must see that the reward was earned through
superior performance. If employees perceive that rewards
are given on a capricious or arbitrary basis, then
motivation will suffer.
3. There must be objective criteria for evaluating
performance. People must know exactly what they have to
do to obtain the reward. There should be no surprises.
When employees disagree on who deserves the rewards
because assessment methods are vague or invalid, then
morale and motivation will decrease. But rewards linked
to clear and attainable standards of performance are
effective motivators.
4. Information about the allocation of rewards should be
shared openly. There should be no secrecy about who got
what rewards and why. A performance-based reward
system will serve as a motivator only in an atmosphere of
trust and open communication.
Job Design and Motivation
Because certain job features are intrinsically satisfying,
redesigning jobs can be a way to motivate employees. It is,
after all, easier to change jobs in an organization than it is
to change the people in an organization. Basically, there
are three ways to redesign jobs:
1. Job rotation. Move employees through a variety of jobs,
departments, or functions. This is especially useful for
someone
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who has been on job for a long time, who is no longer
challenged by a job, or who has a strong need for activity
or change. By giving an employee the opportunity to
change jobs, you can prevent boredom and develop a more
versatile worker.
2. Job enlargement. Expand an employee's duties. Once an
employee has demonstrated the capacity to handle the
current workload and has indicated a desire to expand into
new areas, adding new responsibilities may be necessary
to keep the employee motivated. Talented employees
become especially frustrated and de-motivated if a job is
too simple or too limited.
3. Job enrichment. Make jobs more desirable or satisfying.
Give employees more autonomy, input into decision
making, more interesting projects, whole rather than
fragmented tasks, or more information about company
goals.
Participation and Motivation
Many organizations use systems of employee involvement
to increase motivation, company loyalty, and quality
performance. Organizing employees into teams can serve
to enhance both motivation and quality. Employees who
feel that they are an integral part of an organization will be
motivated to do good work. Those who merely put in their
time to earn a paycheck will care little about the quality of
their work. Through a teamwork approach, employees can
fulfill many of their job-related motivational needs, team
members can provide rewards to each other, and the
organization can benefit from a more engaged workforce.
[See also Coaching Employees; Feedback; Team Building]
For Additional Information
Jaffe, Dennis T., Cynthia D. Scott, and Glenn R. Tobe.
Rekindling Commitment: How to Revitalize Yourself, Your
Work, and Your Organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Publishers, 1994.
McCoy, Thomas J. Compensation and Motivation. New
York: AMACOM, 1992.
Smigel, Lloyd. Management Plus: Leadership,
Motivation, and Power
 Page 172
in the Changing Workplace. Chicago: Contemporary
Books, 1994.
Spitzer, Dean R. Supermotivation: A Blueprint for
Energizing Your Organization from Top to Bottom. New
York: AMACOM, 1995.
Whetten, David A., and Kim S. Cameron. Developing
Management Skills: Motivating Others. New York:
HarperCollins, 1993.
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Negotiation
Whenever we exchange information with the aim of
influencing or persuading others in order to meet our own
needs, we are involved in the process of negotiation.
Sellers and buyers negotiate the price and terms of large-
scale purchases such as real estate. Husbands and wives
negotiate to settle arguments. Teenagers negotiate with
parents for privileges and freedoms. Unions and
management negotiate labor contracts. And managers
negotiate with countless numbers of people in the course
of a week to make decisions, promote projects, or settle
problems. The managerial role fits the very definition of
negotiation. We share information for the purpose of
reaching an agreement that achieves our needs and the
needs of our departments and organizations.
The essential characteristics of negotiation, which
distinguish it from other types of communication, are the
notion of give-and-take, mutual fulfillment of needs, the
use of strategies to influence the other party, and some
amount of conflict that must be resolved. People usually
enter negotiations with predetermined objectives that they
expect to adjust along the way. Through the mutual
exchange of information and concessions, they expect to
be able to reach agreements. Needs fulfillment is the very
purpose of negotiation. Each party is dependent on the
other for something. Both parties want their needs to be
met. Conflict occurs because the needs of each party are
often different or mutually exclusive. The achievement of
one person's needs may automatically frustrate the
fulfillment of the other's needs. Finally, strategies come
into play whenever negotiators plan methods or tactics to
influence each other. Strategies of negotiation need not be
devious schemes to manipulate or deceive. More often
than not, they are merely well-conceived plans and
preparations developed prior to the face-to-face interaction
of a negotiation.
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Types of Negotiations
There are three primary types or styles of negotiations:
controlling or ''lose-lose" negotiation, competitive or "win-
lose" negotiation, and collaborative or "win-win"
negotiation. It is important for all negotiators to be aware
of the three types of negotiations so that you can identify
the style of the other party and make necessary
adjustments to your plans and strategy accordingly.
Controlling, or Lose-Lose, Negotiation
Some labor negotiations and political negotiations can be
categorized as controlling negotiations. Failing to agree to
a disadvantageous labor contract, thus causing a strike,
may be seen as winning control for your side. Lose-lose
negotiations are characterized by the following:
· The negotiator claims there is a central control such
that the negotiator has little control.
· Controlling negotiations drag on painfully slow, with
every minute detail seen as contestable. The controller
typically does not give an inch on any point.
· The negotiations start with tough, nearly impossible
demands and end in a similar state.
· Adversary concessions are viewed as weakness.
 · The negotiators and their organizations are feared by
the other party.
· Usually there is a prolonged history of animosity and
high levels of distrust between the parties.
· The style of making demands is more important than
the demands themselves. Appearing to be tough and
non-conciliatory are of paramount importance to the
lose-lose negotiators and their organizations.
There are several tactics you can use with lose-lose
negotiators.
1. Discuss the issue of control at prenegotiations
planning sessions and with the other party prior to the
negotiations.
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2. Insist that all negotiations be private and away from
media or public attention. Limelight is fertile soil for the
loselose negotiators.
3. Spend much time debating and negotiating the rules
and format for the negotiations. Rules surrounding
impasse or breakoff points are important.
4. Insist on stalemates as being acceptable only if they
can be resolved by subcommittee later during the
negotiation process.
5. Try to control the time, place, and environment of the
negotiations. Hostile turf or a neutral site for the
negotiations can be a deterrent to lose-lose negotiators.
Competitive, or Win-Lose, Negotiations
Competitive, or win-lose, negotiations are similar to lose-
lose negotiations in that they start with tough demands.
Adversary concessions are viewed as weakness, and the
negotiator claims there is a central control such that the
negotiator has little control. There are many differences,
though, as the following characteristics of win-lose
negotiation style indicate:
· Negotiators use premediated emotional appeals.
· Win-lose negotiators make concessions infrequently
 and grudgingly.
· Negotiators ignore and manipulate deadlines.
· Parties have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude.
· Competitive negotiators make one-time, exclusive
offers.
· Almost without fail, competitive negotiators have a
hidden agenda behind the smoke and mirrors of minor
issues. They use these items as positioning tools so that
when the true agenda surfaces, they are in position to
claim victory.
Such negotiations have drawbacks. Unless there is
historical precedence for such a type of negotiation,
competitive negotiations are good for only one deal. This
type of negotiation alienates opponents and friends of
opponents. The competitive negotiator also risks losing
past gains.
Your best strategy with this type of negotiator is to
strongly
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remind the person of the aforementioned drawbacks.
Personalize the risks to the negotiator and his or her
organization. Offer the alternative of the win-win style,
sometimes referred to as collaborative, or mutual gains,
negotiations.
Win-Win, Collaborative, or Mutual-Gains Negotiation
A simple and highly successful strategy for negotiation is
based on mutual gain; there is no fixed sum or set amount
of the pie from which one party wins and the other loses.
Instead, the pie itself is expandable and through joint
creative problem solving, can be enlarged so that both
parties stand to gain. This requires fresh ideas, an
understanding of the needs of both parties, and
collaboration to satisfy both parties. Rather than proposing
a single option for a tightly held position, the win-win
negotiators from both sides uncover numerous options so
that everyone wins.
Negotiators using a mutual-gains approach negotiate over
principles, not positions. In the previous styles, negotiators
usually articulate positions that must be defended. Egos
become inextricably linked to each position. Any
movement from a position is seen as a concession, a loss,
or a weakness.
Mutual gains offer a better approach. Identify your
principles or needs. State your objectives or needs rather
than a position. There can be many options for satisfying
an objective or need, but there is only one position. When
each party has directly communicated its needs, some
clear overlap will be revealed. By revealing principles or
needs, you are discussing a mutual problem. By stating
positions, you are imposing predetermined solutions. It is
wise to find creative solutions once you both understand
each other's needs.
This increasingly popular and effective negotiation style
has eight essential elements:
1. The outcome must call for either both parties to win or a
stalemate to occur so that neither party loses.
2. The negotiating environment must promote trust and an
open exchange of ideas, without any hidden agenda. Trust
involves an accurate prediction of the other person, means
for
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knowing what behavior to expect, having faith in the
accuracy of information, and seeing integrity in the other
person's motives. Negotiators can develop trust by
acknowledging common ground, by presenting accurate
information, by listening to each other, and by aiming for
an agreement that is fair to both parties.
3. Negotiators must be empowered to decide and must be
fully aware of one another's parameters.
4. Both parties must be willing to work hard as partners to
search for new options to satisfy the needs of both parties.
A key difference in the philosophies of collaborative
versus competitive or controlling negotiation is the
perception of each party as a partner rather than an
opponent. To view the other as an opponent automatically
creates an atmosphere of hostility and a style of
negotiation consistent with win-lose or lose-lose. Viewing
the other as a partner acknowledges that you depend on
each other for the fulfillment of needs and that you want to
be able to reach an agreement.
5. Negotiators must openly disclose their human needs.
Often, personal needs such as the need to win, to look
good to others, to have ideas accepted, or to save face
drive negotiators far more than do specific issues or
amounts. You must know the other negotiator and
determine his or her personal needs. Then you may satisfy
the negotiator's needs while resolving issues favorably.
6. There must exist a mutual desire to positively continue
the relationship.
7. Creative problem solving is a separate process from
decision making in win-win mutual-gains negotiations.
Creative problem solving relies heavily on brainstorming
techniques. Once the partners understand each other's
needs, they generate as many options for meeting those
needs as they possibly can. Many of the options will be
unfeasible or will be rejected by the negotiators after
careful consideration. But in that long list there may be
one or two unconventional or unusual options that have
merit and are acceptable to both negotiators. Other
suggestions for promoting creative thinking involve being
open-minded, having a questioning attitude, drawing
examples from seemingly unrelated situations, and
persevering in problem solving.
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8. Both parties must be satisfied with the outcome.
There are but a few drawbacks to this style: (1) both sides
must sacrifice on issues; (2) compromise now may lead to
future negotiations on these same matters; and (3) both
parties must be forthcoming with their needs and other
disclosures, unlike negotiators in either win-lose or lose-
lose negotiations.
Preparing to Negotiate
In many instances, effective negotiators spend more time
preparing for a negotiation than they do in a negotiation
session. The exact nature of the preparation depends on
the type and importance of the negotiation, though all
negotiations require that you set objectives, collect
information, analyze the other party's objectives, identify
needs of both sides, determine limits to concessions you
are willing to make, set parameters or boundaries for such
issues as time, money, personnel, etc; and give
considerable thought to the process of negotiating.
Setting Your Own Objectives
What do you want to accomplish by negotiation? You may
have several objectives or goals that may relate to long-
term or short-term needs. It is wise to establish some
priorities to your set of objectives: Which goals are least
important and most important? Clearly, some points are
major and others are minor. Make these distinctions ahead
of time. Also, whenever possible, think of objectives not
as fixed goals but as flexible ranges.
Collecting Information
The more informed you are as a negotiator, the more
effective you will be. It is imperative that you collect all
the facts related to a particular negotiation. What led up to
this negotiation? What agreements were made between the
parties in the past? What is the history of the situation?
What solutions have other groups used in similar
situations? What risks you are willing to take? You
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must begin to think of barriers to reaching your goals that
may arise and plan for contingencies to overcome them.
Analyzing the Other Party's Objectives
Besides knowing your own goals, knowing barriers to
these goals, preparing contingencies for these barriers, and
being well informed about the negotiation issues, try to
identify the objectives of the other party. With some
knowledge of whom you are negotiating with and why
you are negotiating, you should be able to estimate some
of your partner's goals and priorities. Imagine yourself in
your partner's position. If you were on the other wise of
the negotiation, what would you be attempting to obtain?
How would you go about obtaining your major goals?
Obviously, your negotiating partner can have many
objectives. The more accurately you assess your partner's
priorities, the more prepared you will be for the
negotiating session. Similarly, the more you know about
the other negotiator and the negotiation methods he or she
employed in the past, the more likely you will attain your
goals.
Analyzing Both Parties' Needs
All negotiators are trying to meet human needs, which
underlie all negotiation objectives. In fact, successful
influence or persuasion usually appeals to basic human
needs. By understanding how human needs relate to
motivation and action, we can be more skilled negotiators.
In addition to identifying the needs that underlie your own
negotiating goals, try to analyze the needs of your
negotiation partner. By matching your strategies to the
other person's needs, you will enhance your negotiating
success. Remember, in the mutual-gains approach of win-
win negotiations, both parties disclose their goals.
Successful negotiators also discuss their human needs.
Thinking About the Negotiation Process
The final step in preparing to negotiate involves learning
about the negotiation process. It helps to be aware of
specific skills
 Page 180
involved in negotiating. Think of all the situations in
which you practice negotiation. Analyze behaviors that
help and hinder the achievement of desired outcomes.
Give thought to the particular negotiating situation you are
about to face. What is the time frame for negotiating? Will
there be several interactions over a period of time before
agreement is reached, or is there only one shot for
agreement? Will you continue to have a relationship with
this person after the negotiation? Or is it unlikely that the
negotiating parties will ever interact again? Are you
negotiating as individuals or do you each represent
constituencies? What is the distribution of power between
you and the other negotiating party? While there are no
automatic strategies based on the answers to these
questions, it is wise to consider such aspects of an
upcoming negotiation.
Developing the Right Attitude and Atmosphere
Somehow, the process of negotiating has earned a negative
reputation. Negotiation conjures up images of stalwart
opponents in poker-faced deliberations who fight for their
positions by using misinformation and manipulation. In
reality, negotiators can be more effective if they discuss
principles rather than positions, promote trust, allow each
other to save face, use a collaborative style of
communication, and try creative problem solving. It helps
to create an atmosphere of collaboration and a goal of win-
war or mutual problem solving.
Conducting a Negotiation
A negotiation is a type of communication and should
follow principles that promote clarity and understanding.
If negotiators look at each other as partners trying to solve
a problem together, rather than as adversaries, they will be
clear and direct in their communication. They will realize
the value of stating specific needs, sharing information,
listening, questioning, and building
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a good working relationship. What follows are not
negotiating tricks but principles of effective
communication in negotiations:
1. State your principles directly. Early on, both parties
should clearly indicate their needs, principles, or
objectives. Remember, this is not a position, but a
statement of problem parameters. Do not hold back in
indicating your objectives. Do not exaggerate or distort
your needs.
2. Listen to each other. Pay attention to what is being said.
Paraphrase to show your understanding. Check out
assumptions. The sooner you understand the other's needs,
the sooner you will find points of commonalty and
divergence. Once you clearly understand where the points
of divergence are, you can begin to develop options to
satisfy differing needs.
3. Take your time. It takes time to find equitable solutions
to problems. Creative options do not come easily; they
require much deliberation and contemplation. Partners
must avoid defensiveness and be patient with the
negotiation process.
4. Use questions. Questions enable you to clarify your
partner's point of view, separate facts from assumptions,
and check out your perceptions. Straightforward questions
allow negotiators to deals in specifics. Imagine the
progress that a negotiation could take if each person
honestly answer the question "What would you like to
accomplish from this negotiation?" Effective questions in
a negotiation are sincere attempts to elicit information or
clarify understanding. They should not be devices to steer
the conversation or lead to a particular answer. They
should not come across as hostile or interrogating.
5. Allow emotions. It is appropriate to have an explicit
discussion of feelings in a negotiation. Feelings cannot
help but underlie issues and contribute to the atmosphere
in a negotiation. To deny emotions is to fuel an eruption.
When negotiators can release their feelings, they talk more
rationally. The best way to deal with feelings in a
negotiation is to state them and to discuss them rather than
to make a dramatic display of them.
6. Summarize agreements. Negotiators frequently focus
more on points of disagreement than on points of
agreement. It is important during a negotiation, and
especially at the closing of a
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negotiation, to summarize each element of an agreement.
That way, each party knows exactly what has transpired
and each defines outcomes similarly. A summary prevents
people from selectively perceiving agreements in ways
that favor them. If you hear an inaccurate statement during
a negotiation, say "No, that's not how I understood our
decision. I thought...." Then you can eliminate
misunderstandings.
Special Forms of Negotiation
Not all negotiations involve just two parties in a face-to-
face deliberation. There may be negotiating teams,
mediators, or arbitrators involved in the process.
Some negotiations are so complex that they require the
involvement of two groups of people. A labor contract
negotiation may involve various divisional heads and
personnel specialists from management as well as elected
union representatives. Team negotiations provide the
advantage of broader perspectives, informational
expertise, and specialized roles. With more people present,
more issues can be represented and more information
provided. Each person brings a particular skill to the
process, such as listening, questioning, creative thinking,
summarizing, or trust building. The disadvantages of team
negotiations include scheduling difficulties, human
resources costs, and role coordination. If each negotiating
team has four or five members, it may be difficult to find
time for discussions amenable to everyone's schedule. It is
also more expensive to use several people rather than one
person. Finally, team members may contradict each other,
may disagree about desired outcomes, or may have
difficulty working together as a team.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is a low-cost,
attractive alternative to resolving disputes typically heard
in expensive and time-consuming courtrooms. Arbitration
and mediation are longstanding forms of ADR. Until
recently, arbitration and mediation
 Page 183
have been available only to employers facing labor
disputes, and have been limited to cases involving labor
contracts or legal action. Now, some nonunion employers
are looking to ADR as a remedy for employment and
disciplinary conflicts. Federal, state, and local
governments also increasingly seek ADR for regulatory
disputes with employers, such as EEOC hearings
involving sexual harassment or the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Also, some employers are creating ADR
systems internally for such areas as employee appeals to
disciplinary decisions, potential employee lawsuits, and
employee-employee disputes.
Besides the cost and time savings of ADR, this alternative
gives both parties many benefits. They determine the
process rules and jointly determine a facilitator. Since no
juries are involved, decisions are more predictable and
consistent. When employees join in appellate panels on
disciplinary hearings, the decisions receive greater
acceptance from the parties involved and from other
employees. For most cases involving federal regulatory
agencies, employers using ADR have input in the
selection of the arbitrator or mediator. When outside
arbitrators are used, their decisions, though less costly, are
final and binding.
The role of arbitrators, mediators, or hearing panels is not
to determine right and wrong, but to find a durable
outcome that restores, perseveres, or enhances the
relationship between the parties. Since these hearings are
private, there is no public record, and both parties may
agree to keep the matter confidential.
Critics of ADR complain of the lack of regulatory control
over the process, the limited scope for review or appeal,
and that arbitrators, mediators, and panelists may lack
legal experience. Some who dislike ADR criticize the
secrecy or closed-door nature of these hearings.
Mediators can be used when a negotiation reaches an
impasse. If negotiators have taken sides and are rigidly
defending their positions, progress is impossible without
the help of a third party. The mediator intervenes to
promote understanding and agreement; the mediator does
not make decisions or impose solutions, but helps
establish cooperation. Mediation looks for areas for
mutual gain, with balanced decisions that promote a
healthy relationship for the long term. Also, mediation
allows parties to walk away from decisions. Mediators
help negotiators
 Page 184
clarify objectives, understand needs, and identify areas of
agreement and disagreement.
Arbitration is used when the negotiation process breaks
down and is beyond repair. While associated with
negotiation, arbitration actually discourages negotiation.
Arbitrators hear the issues of both sides and make a
binding decision. Once a problem is in the hands of an
arbitrator, the negotiators lose all power to make
decisions. In effect, because they cannot agree, they seek a
solution from someone else. Because not all traditional
faceto-face negotiations can produce settlements,
arbitration is a necessary and valuable option.
[See also Conflict Management]
For Additional Information
Hall, Lavinia, ed. Negotiation: Strategies for Mutual
Gain: The Basic Seminar of the Harvard Program on
Negotiation. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage, 1993.
Hawkins, Michael W. ''Alternative Dispute Resolution: An
Alternative for Resolving Employment Litigation and
Disputes." Northern Kentucky Law Review 20, No. 2
(1993), pp. 493-504.
Fisher, Roger, and William Ury. Getting to Yes:
Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. New York:
Penguin Books, 1983.
 Page 185

Networking
Successful managers usually develop methods for staying
abreast of developments in their fields; for meeting
important people in their organizations, professions, or
industries; for getting informal information useful for
performing their jobs; and for cultivating a circle of allies
or helpful colleagues. This process of establishing
connections within and across organizations is called
networking. Many women in the workplace have
embraced the concept of networking as a way to penetrate
the "old boys network." Successful managers, be they
male or female, understand the networking phenomenon
and engage in it for career advancement.
Networking is the process of developing and using
contacts for career support or advancement. Networking
means building a system of interrelationships of people
who can help each other's careers. By expanding the
number of people you know and linking together the
people you know with the people they know, a network of
organizational contacts can be created. The number of
connecting points in the network can grow exponentially.
An examination of the types of possible networks, their
purposes, and methods of developing networks helps
define and illustrate the concept.
Types of Networks
Some examples of career networks include the following
categories:
· Occupational. Anyone in a particular occupation can
affiliate with others in the same occupation. The affiliation
can be through informal contact or through formal
organizations. Accountants
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meet with other accountants; journalists, architects,
machinists, plumbers, or nurses meet with others in their
occupation to learn from each other.
· Horizontal. People at similar job levels, whatever the
field, meet together. Presidents of various organizations in
a city, for example, can have contact with each other.
Groups form for professionals or executives from a variety
of fields, with the assumption that people from similar
career levels have common concerns.
· Special interests. Individuals seek contact with others
who are demographically or philosophically similar.
Groups based on gender, race, age, ethnicity, or other
demographic factors related to career progress are
common network types. Likewise, employees can seek
contact with others, internal or external to their
organizations, who share views about their treatment,
benefits, or company policies. Professional groups of
women, blacks, Latinos, environmentalists, older citizens,
gay people, political activists, or handicapped people are a
few examples of special-interest networking.
· Occupation/horizontal. This type of network involves
people at the same level in the same occupation. Examples
include high school principals, hospital administrators,
construction company owners, general managers of
automobile dealerships, or personnel administrators in the
transportation industry.
Purposes of Networks
There are many reasons why people develop career
networks. Most important, you can learn from
organizational contacts. Talking to someone in the same
profession or someone with the same job title can give you
insights into how to better perform your own job. You can
share stories, examples, ideas, or advice. You can borrow
techniques from each other. By interacting with someone
else in your occupation, you may learn about new
developments in your field. Clearly, more heads are better
than one. Managers who do their jobs in isolation, without
seeking
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out professional colleagues, will tend to become parochial
and outdated in their ideas and methods.
Another reason to develop career connections is to acquire
sounding boards. If it is risky to test new ideas within
workplace organizations, an associate in a different
organization who understands your job can provide
valuable feedback about your new ideas, methods, or
projects. Likewise, when your job is frustrating or a
relationship with a supervisor is troublesome, complaining
to an associate across town or across the country can be
helpful.
A well-developed network of business associates can
provide referrals for a variety of needs. By meeting with
or interacting online with acquaintances in the world of
work, networkers have found clients, customers, new jobs,
consultants, partners, and friends, to name a few. Anytime
you need to reach a large number of people or to expand
the number of people you know, networking is an effective
strategy.
Networking is especially useful for people who feel
isolated in their work. The self-employed, employees of
small organizations, people in remote geographic areas,
salespeople in one-person branch offices, or the sole
woman in an organization all must develop a network of
people if they are to have work colleagues at all. Going to
a meeting or having lunch with others who can understand
your job is imperative to work motivation and career
growth.
Overall, people engage in networking to promote their
careers. Knowing someone in a particular company can
improve your chances of getting a job in that organization.
Attending meetings or conferences with colleagues in your
field keeps you current and enhances your promotability.
Having lunch regularly with other women executives
provides business contacts that may develop your
organization's revenues. Knowing influential leaders in
your city increases your visibility and prestige on the job.
Finally, networking can be fun. It gives you a chance to
meet new people, socialize with business associates, and
expand your horizons. For most managers, talking shop
with people in similar or even in different occupations is
an enjoyable way to spend time. Discussing common
business interests, empathizing with
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each other's workplace experiences, or discovering people
you know in common is an exciting part of the
organizational environment. Work would be boring
without networking.
Networking Methods
There are as many ways to cultivate career networks as
there are unique compositions of networks. Managers who
are skilled at networking use all the available resources.
You never know what the source of contacts, information,
or opportunities will be.
Meeting lots of people and discovering the ways in which
you can help each other's careers are the key points of
networking. Possible sources for meeting people who
could help your career include professional associations,
volunteer organizations, classes and lectures, network
directories, computer bulletin boards, community groups,
alumni associations, social events, and the people you
already know.
Every job has some type of affiliated professional or trade
association to which you can belong. Joining the groups
related to your occupation or industry is an excellent way
to make career contacts. But this method of networking is
effective only if you are an active, outgoing member of the
group. Merely paying membership dues or attending an
occasional meeting is not enough. Joining committees and
working on behalf of the organization will have greater
career payoffs than will passive membership.
The business and professional leaders of a community
often volunteer their time and talents to nonprofit
organizations in the community. Your willingness to
participate in volunteer organizations could have long-
term career benefits. By helping with artistic, educational,
or civic endeavors, ambitious managers contribute to their
own career contacts as well as to their communities.
Taking classes related to your line of work or attending
business lectures in the community is another method of
networking. Such educational activities attract a motivated
group of individuals who have a common interest in the
topic of the class or lecture.
There are countless formal groups that exist to unite
individ-
 Page 189
uals with occupational, demographic, philosophical, or
lifestyle similarities. Checking directories of network
groups would be a wise way to locate sources of
organizational contacts.
Many people with common interests interact electronically
through computer networks and bulletin boards. This is an
easy way to reach large numbers of people, to tap into a
wealth of business information, and to interact
spontaneously without ever leaving your office.
Having attended the same school often creates a
psychological bond between people. Strangers who are
graduates of the same school have been known to help
each other. Typically, the alumni of any school will
include many individuals with prestigious positions. Being
active in alumni associations and contacting fellow
graduates who may be valuable business associates is
another networking strategy.
Many astute managers have stumbled on valuable business
contacts at social events. Merely mingling with others and
introducing yourself to people in social situations can
expand a career network. Follow up on the casual meeting
with a lunch invitation or with some business
correspondence to develop the business relationship.
Finally, using your existing network of familiar people is
an easy and effective way to make career contacts. Think
of everyone with whom you have a relationship-relatives,
friends, coworkers, neighbors. Talk to them about the
people they know. Ask for an introduction or for
permission to use their name when contacting other
people. Make contact with potential business associates.
Discuss ways in which developing an association may be
mutually beneficial.
Do's and Don'ts of Networking
Networking can have a negative connotation because of a
seemingly callous purpose or because of inappropriate
methods. Some people are overzealous in making career
connections. Others try to use networking as a substitute
for professional competence. By following some
guidelines for networking, you can retain it as a valuable
tool for professional growth and career advancement.
 Page 190
1. Make sure networking benefits both parties. Just like
mentoring, networking should benefit both people in the
relationship. Some managers make the mistake of
developing contacts only as a way to benefit their own
careers. They forget that networking is a two-way street.
Successful networking means that you give as much as
you get from the relationship. It is presumptuous to expect
people to help you in your career if you cannot help them
in return.
2. Always practice businesslike conduct. Treat a
networking relationship as you would treat any important
business relationship. It is important that you not impose
yourself on the contact person. You must make
appointments and adhere to schedules. Realize that people
are busy and workplace demands must always take
precedence over networking activities. Networking
relationships should be characterized by respect and
professional integrity rather than pushiness and self-
interest.
3. Don't expect miracles. Effectively developing career
contacts should be an ongoing process of your working
life. It is not something that you do intensively for a short
period of time and then reap startling rewards. The
positive outcomes of networking are not immediately
apparent. The benefits often are subtle. A network contact
may affect your career without your even knowing it.
Networking is a slow, steady process of building
workplace alliances. It may be years before you realize the
benefits of a networking connection.
4. Make time for networking. Because the results of
networking are intangible and work deadlines must be
met, some managers claim that networking is not worth
the time. Attending meetings, actively participating in
professional associations, and cultivating business
relationships can be time-consuming activities. But if done
effectively, networking is time well spent. It is important
to schedule a certain amount of time into your work
routine just for networking purposes. Make sure you touch
base with business acquaintances often enough to maintain
the relationship.
5. Networking presumes competence. Competent
individuals make successful networkers. Nobody wants to
invest in relationships with incompetent associates.
Successful, capable managers want to surround
themselves with competent associates.
 Page 191
Networking is a tool to advance your career, but the
foundation of the career rests on competence in your
profession.
[See also Career Development]
For Additional Information
Baker, Wayne E. Networking Smart: How to Build
Relationships for Personal and Organizational Success.
New York: McGrawHill, 1994.
Olson, A. Andrew. "Long-Term Networking: A Strategy
for Career Success." Management Review 63, No. 4 (April
1994), pp. 33-35.
 Page 192

Organizational Culture
The concept of organizational culture refers to a set of
assumptions or beliefs that are shared by members of an
organization. A system of shared values in the workplace
can be considered a culture. Culture encompasses the
assumptions, habits, customs, stories, practices, and
traditions of a group. Corporate cultures specify how
employees communicate, dress, think, behave, work, and
make decisions. While the idea has been intuitively
understood for some time, the explicit discussion of
corporate culture is a relatively new phenomenon in
management literature.
Why Care About Organizational Culture?
Culture has a powerful influence throughout an
organization. It guides behavior, affects morale, and
creates an organization's identity. There are many reasons
why managers should understand their organization's
culture:
1. Fitting in. Being in a new culture creates uncertainty
and tension. You do not know what is expected of you in a
new organization, function, company site, or department.
Assessing the culture helps you to respond appropriately.
You can get cues about how to act and what to value. As a
newcomer, the only way to understand subtle
organizational norms is to observe them through
behavioral manifestations of the culture.
2. Understanding others' behavior. Effective managers
have insights into people and their behavior. Since an
organization's culture shapes its people's assumptions,
values, and behavior,
 Page 193
you must work to understand cultural forces in the
workplace. Perhaps a culture of competition is preventing
people from working effectively as a team. Or maybe
employee input is stifled because supervisors ask to be
alerted to problems but reward workers who keep quiet.
An awareness of culture helps you to understand people's
motivations, standards of performance, and seemingly
contradictory behavior.
3. Managing intraorganizational conflicts. Sometimes
subgroups in an organization do not get along because
they represent two very different cultures. Research and
development specialists may be accustomed to a data-
gathering, deliberate, slow, analytical type of environment
and may not be able to work effectively with the action-
oriented, fast-paced, flamboyant marketing people in the
same company. An understanding of these different
subcultures in your organization will lead to more realistic
expectations of cross-functional teams and prepare you to
handle intergroup conflicts.
4. Coping with marketplace diversity and international
business. In a heterogeneous society, organizations employ
and serve people who differ according to racial, gender,
ethnic, religious, age, geographic, and lifestyle factors.
Organizations that understand how culture affects people
can provide more enlightened and nondiscriminatory
places to work. You can use cultural information to market
products and services more effectively and to meet the
needs of a diverse clientele or customer base. For
multinational corporations or executives who travel to
different parts of the world to do business, an
understanding of culture as it affects the workplace is
essential.
5. Shaping or redirecting organizational cultures. If you
want to take a proactive stance in shaping your company's
image, values, and standards of behavior for employees,
you must understand cultural forces in the workplace.
Indeed, you shape organizational culture by most
everything you do: the behaviors you show as a role
model; your hiring, promotion, and termination decisions;
what you pay attention to and reward; organizational
creeds you create and stories you tell; organizational
structures and policies you develop; and the physical space
you occupy and allocate. Strategic planning or
organizational development goals must be developed in
light of the organizational culture.
 Page 194

Elements of Organizational Culture

Because an organization's culture derives from all its
structural, procedural, and personnel aspects, the concept
of culture is broad and elusive. There are identifiable
elements, however. Managers interested in examining the
culture of their organization should focus on these
elements:
Values
Strong business leaders clearly indicate what they consider
to be important. By communicating valuesthe underlying
assumptions upon which organizations are basedyou
establish common goals and standards of behavior and
help shape your organization's identity. By identifying the
values of your corporate culture, you discover preferences
for how the organization should be run and guidelines for
individual behavior in the organization.
Values as clues to organizational culture can be discovered
in a number of ways. Sometimes they are explicitly stated
in company philosophies, creeds, or policy statements. A
company's slogans and mottoes usually reveal the essence
of its mission. In addition, you can analyze the physical
environment created by an organization.
Communication
Every workplace culture will include assumptions about
the correct ways for people to relate to each other. Indeed,
the styles of interaction and rules governing relationships
in an organization reveal much about its culture. Some
cultures promote informal interaction, reward dissent, and
encourage social relationships between employees. Other
organizations allow communication only through a strict
chain of command or even discourage disagreement.
To discover communication aspects of an organization's
culture, pay attention to who communicates about what to
whom. Culture dictates the topics worthy of
communication in the workplace. An organization's
culture can be characterized by the
 Page 195
content, amount, and direction of its communication as
well as by the nature of workplace relationships.
History
Corporate founders are frequently colorful characters
whose visions shape the organizations they develop.
Founding figures and leaders throughout an organization's
history have a powerful influence on its culture. Major
developments or crises chart its course and image. An
organization's culture is the sum of the major leaders and
events of its past.
Thus, to understand your organization's culture, you must
learn its history. Just as a nation of people can appreciate
its culture by learning its history, so organizational
members can understand workplace culture through
learning about significant people, events, and crises that
affected the organization. Reading corporate histories,
talking to veterans of the company, and listening to stories
and legends can provide insights into presentday culture.
Symbols and Ceremonies
Organizations create objects and emblems to represent
themselves. These contribute to an organizational identity.
Employees can look to them as a source of pride, loyalty,
and personal identity. Outsiders recognize companies by
their symbols. Likewise, organizations stage many events
for both insiders and outsiders that reveal their cultures.
Company literature, advertisements, press releases,
meetings, recognition ceremonies, and social events say
something about the organizational culture.
To discover workplace culture through symbols, you can
analyze company logos, mottos, and slogans. What image
do they portray and what values do they embody?
Decorations, artwork, or interior design in company
facilities may be symbolic of organizational philosophies
or attitudes. Documents such as annual reports, recruiting
brochures, and employee handbooks serve symbolic as
well as informative functions. Routine events such as
departmental meetings or extravagant occurrences such
 Page 196
as trade shows or stockholders meetings shed light on
organizational culture.
Managing Organizational Culture
Astute managers are aware of the concept of culture and
understand their roles in shaping or redirecting the cultures
of their organizations. In essence, effectively managing a
corporate culture means understanding it, consciously
shaping it, and changing it, if necessary.
Understanding culture means recognizing the values,
communication rules, history, symbols, and ceremonies of
a particular organization and how they both affect and
reflect everyday decisions and actions of people on the
job. Paying attention to the more subtle aspects of the
workplace, including both human and structural factors,
provides a larger perspective on the organization.
Enlightened managers do not underestimate the role of
culture. They can articulate their organization's culture,
point to its elements, and understand how culture
influences their own and others' behavior.
Effective leaders of organizations realize that they can
actively shape the culture of their companies. In many
ways, business leadership is synonymous with the creation
of organizational culture. Strong leaders have a vision of
the type of organization they want to develop and they
take steps to bring that vision to action. Through your own
behavior, you provide role models of the values and
practices you want others to embody. You reinforce your
cultural vision every time you make decisions, delegate
projects, reward performance, or preside over
organizational events.
Rather than haphazardly affecting workplace culture
through random actions and messages, wise managers
build and shape the culture of their organizations through
clear and consistent actions. The ability to shape
organizational culture rather than be constrained by it can
distinguish legendary from average leaders.
When organizational leaders set out to change aspects of
their organization's culture, their motivation may stem
from changing marketplace dynamics, organizational
restructuring, or the need
 Page 197
for more effective management styles. They can affect
cultural change through such intervention strategies as
organizational development, team building, or training.
Leaders who seek to change the culture of an organization
must realize the enormous commitment their goal requires
and must follow certain basic tactics to succeed.
Because culture is so pervasive and deep-rooted, it is not
easy to change. Change projects may take years to
accomplish, cost considerable money, and try the patience
of leaders and employees alike. External consultants are
often necessary to help organizations embark on change
and to cope with the resulting upheaval, confusion, and
anxiety. Upper-level management must demonstrate
visible commitment to change and must help others
through the painful transition of organizational
assumptions and values. A strong, visible person to
spearhead a change project is necessary as a symbol and
consensus builder. To accomplish change in an
organization's culture, committed leaders must embrace
the change process, equip the organization with skills for
managing change, and have patience to let cultural change
evolve over time.
New Organizational Cultures
Contemporary scholars of corporate culture point to
evidence of a transformation in the American workplace.
Some predict that traditional, hierarchical organizations
with power centralized in the hands of a few will give way
to decentralized, smaller, entrepreneurial organizations.
Visions of this emerging work culture include information-
oriented business with increased levels of productivity
through the utilization of new technologies; more
participation and involvement of employees especially
through the use of telecommunication; smaller, highly
motivated work units; egalitarian and flexible workplace
structures; work environments that emphasize creativity,
reward risk, and enhance the quality of life; and increased
employee autonomy and control.
[See also Team Building, Change Management]
 Page 198

For Additional Information

Denison, Daniel. Corporate Culture and Organizational
Effectiveness. New York: Wiley, 1990.
Kotter, John P., and James L. Heskett. Corporate Culture
and Performance. New York: Free Press, 1992.
Lahiry, Sugato. ''Building Commitment Through
Organizational Culture." Training and Development 48,
No. 4 (April 1994), pp. 50-52.
McAuley, John. "Exploring Issues in Culture and
Competence." Human Relations 47, No. 4 (April 1994),
pp. 417-30.
 Page 199

Orienting New Employees

Some companies go to great lengths to recruit and select
the right employees for jobs and then fail to provide
adequate job orientation. For many new employees,
orientation consists of nothing more than a few
introductions, a brief tour of the facility, and the
suggestion that fellow employees can answer further
questions later. Consequently, the first few days on the job
are filled with tension, uncertainty, embarrassment, self-
doubt, resentments, and pessimism about future success in
the position. This bad start may spill over to affect long-
term perceptions about the job and the company.
Instead, an effective orientation program should ease the
employee into the organization, celebrate the new
employer-employee relationship, and provide information
vital to functioning productively in the organization.
Orientation sessions may seem like a waste of time
because the employee is not working, but the commitment
to new employee orientation will pay for itself in less
turnover and in more motivated, productive, and loyal
employees.
New employees should receive two kinds of orientation
training: orientation to the organization and orientation to
the work unit and job. Each complements the other and
contributes to a comprehensive new-employee orientation
program. A discussion of the purposes and components of
each follows.
Orientation to the Organization
The purpose of this information is to acquaint new hires
with the nature of the organizationits structure, mission,
philosophy,
 Page 200
and goals. Also, new employees should learn their
responsibilities to the organization and the organization's
responsibilities to them. This aspect of orientation gives
them a sense of organizational identity. The specific topics
of an organizational orientation should include:
1. Company history. Explain the founding of your
company, its progress, accomplishments, key figures, and
the path it took to its present status. This helps new
employees see the larger picture and feel proud to be
affiliated with the company.
2. Nature of the industry or profession. Explain how the
organization fits into the overall picture of the industry or
profession. This acquaints employees with the forces and
constraints affecting the organization and can provide
background information about why the company functions
as it does.
3. Organizational philosophy, mission, and structure. The
new employee should learn about the guiding principles of
the organization. A sense of the organizational structure
should be provided. Understanding the organizational
chart will help new hires see how they fit into its structure.
An introduction to the organization's philosophy, mission,
and structure provides a sense of identity, helps shape
work values, and creates pride in and loyalty to the
organization.
4. Employment benefits. New employees should be made
aware of the various benefits provided by the organization,
such as medical insurance, life insurance, sick leave,
vacations, holidays, retirement plans, education and
training, and child care. New hires should be aware of
their benefits options, and should schedule an individual
appointment with a benefits counselor to make decisions
and to process paperwork.
5. Organizational policies and procedures. These are
general rules about how the company functions. For
example, statements should be made about affirmative
action and equal employment opportunity (EEO) policies,
performance standards and evaluation processes, safety
and security practices, and any standards regarding salary
increases and promotions. New hires should acquire a
sense of what is considered acceptable behavior in the
workplace.
 Page 201
6. Facility tour and introduction to key people. It is
essential for new employees to see how the organization
operates, learn their way around the physical facility, and
be able to associate names with faces of key people. They
should be escorted to all departments, and receive a brief
statement about the function of each department and the
interrelationships of departments. The tour should point
out the location of employee lounges, lunch rooms,
vending machines, and other pertinent areas, such as
exercise rooms, lockers, or medical or child-care facilities.
During the orientation program, new hires should receive
an employee handbook that typically includes information
about company history, philosophy, mission, structure,
policies, procedures, and benefits. The personnel
department should provide brochures about various
benefits and distribute policy manuals, facility maps, and
organizational directories. New employees may be
overwhelmed with the amount of information provided in
orientation sessions. Written materials to read at home or
to consult later can ease the feeling of information
overload. All aspects of organizational information are not
pertinent to new employees on the first day of work. They
are more concerned with their daily jobs duties. However,
general information about the organization provides a
framework for doing a job and will interest the new
employee more after a few days in the organization. Thus,
it is important that the employee have written materials to
consult and avenues for asking questions both during and
after the formal orientation program.
Orientation to the Department and the Job
Once the new employee has been introduced to the
organization, it is time to provide an orientation to the
particular work unit and job duties. This session should
take place in the work unit and be conducted by a member
of that department. The topics to be covered in the
departmental orientation typically include:
1. Department mission and relationship to the
organization. What are the responsibilities of the
department? What is its role and
 Page 202
how does that role relate to the overall organizational
mission? The new employee should learn what the work
unit does in the short and long term, and how work flows
into and out of this work unit. It is important to explain
how the work in this unit affects and is affected by work
done in other units.
2. Departmental structure. Who is in charge of what in the
department? Who supervises whom? New employees
should be aware of their reporting relationship and, in the
case of supervisory positions, should know what
employees they supervise.
3. Work supplies. The person doing the departmental
orientation must show new employees their work station
or office and explain where to get necessary supplies,
tools, or equipment; the phone system; and policies
regarding the use of office equipment or clerical staff.
4. Job description and standards of performance.
Employees should know exactly what they are responsible
and accountable for. What tasks are they expected to
perform in the new job? How are they to complete their
job duties? What are acceptable standards of performance?
By what criteria will their job performance be measured?
During the departmental orientation, they should be
guided through the actual work performance. Perhaps they
can watch others perform the job and then do it themselves
with follow-up coaching. Information about work
priorities should be provided. Trainees should be
encouraged to ask questions and be given ample feedback
by supervisors.
One method of orienting new employees to the job is to
provide a work buddy or coach, who provides on-the-job
training for a limited period of time. This role must be
taken seriously and far surpasses the question-answering
role that colleagues often perform for new hires. Of
course, the buddy must show excellent work performance
and be skilled as a teacher or coach
5. Work schedule. Departmental orientation sessions
should acquaint new employees with expectations about
work hours: starting and stopping time, lunch and coffee
breaks, overtime, and scheduling sick days and vacations.
6. Departmental policies. New employees will need to
know work unit rules about dress codes, smoking,
personal calls,
 Page 203
visitors, and disciplinary and grievance procedures. They
should be apprised about norms of acceptable and
unacceptable behavior in the work unit.
Interspersed with all the orientation information, there
should be attempts at hospitality and rapport building.
Small talk about non-work-related topics can ease the
stress of those first few days on the job. New employees
should be invited to lunch during the orientation period. In
short, they should feel special and welcome during the
first few days on the job. The more coworkers take new
employees under their wing, the more successful and
formal orientation program will be.
Do's and Don'ts of New-Employee Orientation
1. Don't neglect new-employee orientation. Take the time
to provide a comprehensive introduction to the company
and to the job, which will reduce misinformation and job
errors and create a more satisfied and productive worker.
2. Provide follow-up to orientation training. Don't think
that a new employee is acclimated after a few days or
weeks. Provide detailed information, at a later time, about
policies and procedures and company benefits. Schedule
several feedback sessions about job performance. Give
new employees plenty of opportunity to ask questions,
even months into the job tenure.
3. Make orientation exciting. Since this is the introduction
to the firm and to the job, the first impression should be
positive. Orientation should not entail an endless stream of
factual information. Group orientation sessions for all new
hires in the company can lend an air of excitement to the
process. Social events mixed with various formats for
presenting information can have a memorable and
beneficial impact. Make sure speakers are dynamic,
discussions are lively, tours are productive, and orientation
leaders are helpful and friendly. Orientation should make
new hires happy about their decision to join the
organization and make them look forward to beginning
their actual work.
4. Don't sour new employees. All organizations have
problems, drawbacks, and troublesome people. Orientation
is no the time
 Page 204
to alert new hires to problems or to make disparaging
remarks about the company or any of its people.
5. Hold separate orientation sessions for exempt and
nonexempt employees. While information about company
history, philosophy, and mission will be applicable to all
levels of employees, much of the information and tone of
orientation sessions will vary according to employee
status. Supervisors and managers may be more interested
in organizational structure, training opportunities, and
career advancement issues than nonexempt employees
would be. Information on policies, rules, and disciplinary
procedures may vary across employee groups. Benefits
likely will differ. Rather than trying to orient diverse
employees together, tailor separate sessions to meet
specific needs.
6. Solicit feedback about orientation effectiveness. New
hires should provide feedback to orientation leaders about
the effectiveness of both organizational and departmental
information sessions. Participants should indicate to what
extent their needs were met and their questions answered
during the orientation period. The input should be used to
revise subsequent orientation training.
[See also Training]
For Additional Information
Arthur, Diane. Recruiting, Interviewing, Selecting, and
Orienting New Employees. New York: AMACOM, 1991.
 Page 205

Part-Time, Temporary, and Contingent Workers

Part-time, temporary, and contingent workers are
becoming a more prevalent and important part of the U.S.
workforce. For this reason, organizations need to learn
how to better manage these employees. We use the term
contingent worker here to mean anyone who is not a
permanent, full-time employee in the organization.
Independent contractors who provide services to a variety
of companies and who do not desire permanent work in
one organization are a type of contingent worker.
Likewise, interim or seasonal workers brought into a
company to handle projects or peak work loads are
another example of contingent workers. Employees
provided by temporary services agencies and part-time
employees may also be considered part of the contingent
workforce. Numerous terms, including leased employees,
contract employees, complementary workers, just-in-time
employees, outsourced labor, and supplementary workers,
are used to refer to this category of personnel.
At one time, temporary or part-time employees were
found only in clerical or low-level positions. This is no
longer the case. Contingent workers today typically
include professionals, such as doctors, nurses, lawyers,
scientists, engineers, professors, financial analysts, and
business executives, as well as secretaries, data processors,
computer programmers, and retail sales people. In some
cases, CEOs or CFOs may be brought into an organization
on a temporary or contingent basis. There is hardly an
occupation that has not developed its share of contingent
workers.
 Page 206

Prevalence of Contingent Workers

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that about 25
percent of the U.S. labor force consists of contingent
workers. This is the fastest-growing segment of the labor
market. Indeed, since 1980, the number of contingent
workers has grown three times faster than the labor force
as a whole. It is difficult to accurately determine the
numbers of contingent workers, but estimates do exist.
The National Association of Temporary Workers reports
that there are about 1.5 million temporary workers; about
24 percent of those are interim professionals. There are
about 21.5 million part-time workers, with the majority
being voluntary part-timers, according to Bureau of Labor
Statistics data. An approximate 10 million independent
contractors can be added to this mix, according to General
Accounting Office reports. By any estimate, contingent
workers constitute a sizable portion of the U.S. workforce.
Why Organizations Use Contingent Workers
There are many factors accounting for the high use of
contingent workers, related to issues of organizational size
and structure, finances, and employment philosophy.
1. Flexible staffing ability. The size and structure of
organizations continue to evolve, with organizational
downsizing creating leaner companies. When business
demands warrant adding personnel, companies are more
likely to hire temporary workers, whom they can discharge
easily during economic downturns rather than adding to
their permanent ranks.
Also, because of corporate downsizing, there are more
qualified people seeking work on an interim basis. Indeed,
it is less risky to use contingent employees than to hire
permanent employees when business climates are
uncertain. Using contingent workers allows organizations
to respond flexibly to the ever-changing marketplace.
 Page 207
2. Lower costs. There are many financial incentives for
organizations to expand their number of contingent
workers. With contingent workers, a company pays for
labor only when it needs it. An organization can rapidly
expand and contract the size of its workforce through
contingent staffing and thereby contain its personnel costs
while linking payroll costs directly to workload. Typically
there are no benefits costs or reduced benefits costs
associated with a contingent workforce. Because
temporary and part-time workers receive few benefits, this
can be an enormous savings. Hiring temporary employees
through an agency also saves companies recruitment,
selection, and training expenses. The agency typically
bears the costs of advertising the positions, screening
applicants, and training new hires.
3. Greater freedom. The increase in temporary and part-
time employees is also related to new individual and
societal philosophies of employment. The nature of the
relationship between employers and employees has
changed greatly in recent years. Whereas employees used
to seek lifetime employment in one field or even with one
company, many people today prefer to pursue various
careers in a lifetime. They enjoy the freedom and the
flexibility of working for multiple companies on a part-
time or temporary basis.
Contingent work arrangements can appeal in particular to
entrepreneurs, free spirits, college students, young
mothers, and retirees. Of course, one can question whether
these changing philosophies of employment result from
increases in contingent work or have created the
phenomenon of a contingent workforce. Whatever the
impetus for change, it is clear that more individuals are
willing to join the contingent workforce and, in some
cases, prefer this type of employment.
Advantages and Disadvantages to Organizations
Obviously, companies see many advantages in using part-
time and temporary workers. Studies that have analyzed
the role of contingent workers reveal that there are both
advantages and disadvantages to organizations in using
these types of employees.
 Page 208
In addition to the flexibility and financial benefits, some
companies make contingent employment a path to regular
employment. Employers can observe the skills of a
contract worker and assess the employee-organizational fit
before offering that employee a permanent position. By
using contract employees in such a probationary period,
employers can reduce the costs and risks of employee
selection.
The risks of litigation may be reduced when using
contingent workers. If the individual is defined as an
employee of the agency providing contingent workers, and
not as an employee of the company, then the company's
liability for discrimination or wrongful discharge claims is
reduced.
Opinions differ on whether contingent employees are more
or less productive than their regular-employee
counterparts. In many cases, temporary employees are less
experienced in the jobs they are performing, less familiar
with the organization in which they are working, and less
committed to the organization. These factors, coupled with
a second-class status in many organizations, less job
security, and fewer benefits, would seem to make them
less productive than regular employees.
On the other hand, contingent workers may increase an
organization's productivity because they are paid only
when they are working. Unlike regular workers, they are
off the payroll when the lack of work dictates. And
contingent workers are less likely to be involved in office
gossip and politics. A Bureau of Labor Statistics study
shows that temporary workers produce about two more
hours of work per day than do their counterparts holding
regular positions.
There are some clear disadvantages in using contingent
workers. Almost all analyses report tension between
contingent and regular employees in an organization.
Regular employees resent what they perceive to be an
invasion of temporary workers who perform less, address
more questions to permanent employees, and threaten their
job security. Many employees today fear that they will be
replaced with cheaper contingent workers. Some
forecasters predict a resurgence in unionism as more
regular employees watch full-time, permanent jobs erode
and the numbers of poorly treated contingent workers rise.
 Page 209

Effectively Using Contingent Workers

There are four steps for using contingent workers for
maximum results.
1. Determine your needs. The organization needs to
develop a staffing plan related to the use of both regular
employees and contingent employees. The company
should define what tasks need to be performed by regular
employees and what tasks could be performed by part-
time or temporary personnel. Such planning helps
determine the ideal ratio of regular to contingent workers
and eliminates hiring on an emergency basis. Most
organizations can anticipate the general volume of work,
the typical time needed to complete work, and the cyclical
nature of work, and they can plan accordingly, even for
contingent workforce needs.
2. Decide whether to use an agency. After developing a
staffing plan, organizations should carefully hire
contingent workers or carefully select the employment
agency that will provide the temporary employees. The
question of whether to hire directly or to use the services
of a temporary employment agency is a complex one,
affected by financial, legal, and other human resources
factors. With the proliferation of temporary services
agencies to provide professional and entry-level
employees of all types, many organizations find it more
convenient and cost-effective to work with an agency. As
stated previously, the costs of employee selection and
training are absorbed by the agency.
The employer's liability regarding EEO requirements
depends on how the employee's status is defined and how
the relationships are structured among the employee, the
agency, and the organization. Companies are advised to
consult an attorney to carefully define such relationships
and to screen agencies for past practices of discriminatory
conduct.
In small human resources departments, or when hiring
needs are very specialized, using an employment agency
can be preferable to directly hiring contingent workers.
Most agencies have greater resources than would be
available in house for identifying and screening job
candidates.
 Page 210
3. Review possible benefits to be offered. A consideration
in hiring contingent workers is the extent and nature of
any benefits to be provided by the organization. Some
companies provide prorated benefits, especially for long-
term part-timers or for contingent workers on specialized
projects. It should be noted that some employment
agencies provide some benefits as well.
4. Make them feel at home. After the contingent workers
are in place, it is important that organizations avoid
creating a twotiered workforce, with regular employees
getting choice assignments and contingent employees
getting the worst projects. Contingent workers should be
treated as an integral part of the workforce. This means
they should be involved in the social network of the
organization; they should be supervised to the same extent
as regular employees are; they should have opportunities
for input into decision making, training, and advancement.
Such policies help lessen antagonism between regular and
contingent employees.
Ideally, contingent and regular employees should not be
readily identifiable in an organization. Only if contingent
employees are treated as second-class citizens it will be
apparent who falls into which category of employment.
Distinguishing regular and contingent workers only by
their payroll classification, and not by the nature of the
work performed or the nature of treatment received, will
help to create one cohesive, productive workforce.
Forecasts indicate that use of contingent employees will
continue. It is in the best interests of all organizations,
then, to effectively and humanely manage the contingent
workforce so that these employees can be as satisfied and
as productive as possible.
[See also Coaching Employees; Delegation and
Empowerment; Motivation; Organizational Culture;
Orienting New Employees; Terminating Employees and
Downsizing; Training; Turnover]
For Additional Information
Caudron, Shari. ''Contingent Workforce Spurs HR
Planning." Personnel Journal, July 1994, pp. 52-60.
 Page 211
Ettorre, Barbara. "The Contingent Workforce Moves
Mainstream." Management Review, February 1994, pp. 8-
16.
Geber, Beverly. "The Flexible Workforce: Using
Contingent Workers Wisely and Humanely." Training
(December 1993), pp. 23-30.
Nollen, Stanley, and Helen Axel. Managing Contingent
Workers: How to Reap the Benefits and Reduce the Risks.
New York: AMACOM, 1995.
Olmsted, Barney, and Suzanne Smith. Creating a Flexible
Workplace: How to Select and Manage Alternative Work
Options. New York: AMACOM, 1994.
 Page 212

Performance Appraisal
Appraising performance is the act of observing and
evaluating an employee's work behavior and
accomplishments, with the purpose of measuring real
performance against expected performance. Such analysis
aids in making decisions about the employee concerning
wages, salary, and benefits; promotion, demotion, transfer,
or termination actions; and counseling, training, or career-
development options. Systematic methods of identifying
and measuring performance can assist human resources
planning and improve an employee's future performance.
Many benefits result from an effective performance
appraisal system. Organizations can control marginal
performance, reduce losses from ineffective performance,
and make more efficient use of personnel. Individuals can
realize rewards for effective performance, and have a clear
understanding of their career pathing.
Who Should Evaluate Performance?
There are various options for determining who will
perform the assessment. Possibilities include immediate
supervisors, self-appraisal, peer review, subordinate
review, evaluation committees, personnel department staff,
training department staff, and external sources. An
organization can use one or any combination of these
sources to conduct performance appraisals.
Probably the most common evaluator of performance is
the employee's immediate supervisor. Employers regard
supervisors
 Page 213
as legitimate performance evaluators who are qualified to
make career development-decisions.
Self-appraisals contribute to employee satisfaction with
the evaluation process. When employees participate in
setting performance goals, determining evaluation criteria,
rating themselves, and discussing their performance with
supervisors, they tend to be less defensive about appraisals
and show greater improvement in performance.
Employee evaluations of supervisors and managers allow
for multiple ratings and encourage employees to view
workplace demands through the eyes of their supervisors.
These workers are in an excellent position to comment on
their supervisor's leadership ability, and the method
promotes an environment of participation and provides
valuable feedback to supervisors. On the other hand, some
supervisors are threatened by employee evaluations and
apply negative sanctions to the work group for poor
reviews. On the other hand, employees may inflate ratings
because they fear reprisals. Also, workers may not fully
understand a supervisor's job requirements or may
emphasize criteria relevant to their own relationship with
the supervisor. Anonymity may remedy some of these
conditions.
360 Degree Reviews
With greater frequency, employers are utilizing the 360
degree review. This is a process by which all internal
people having contact with the person being reviewed give
appraisal input. The method works well when reviewing
all levels of management. In fact, it works quite well even
when appraising the performance of senior managers.
Contact people complete a questionnaire that includes
specific open-ended questions linked to the manager's
effectiveness and style. All input is based on observation
through direct contact. Often consultants help administer
the process and work with managers to develop an action
plan for communicating results.
External evaluators, such as consultants or assessment-
center raters, can also conduct performance appraisals.
While they often employ standardized techniques that are
statistically accurate and
 Page 214
legally protected, external evaluators are costly and
typically evaluate behavior in hypothetical rather than
actual situations.
Peer Appraisals
Peers often have firsthand knowledge of one another's
performance. Research has shown peer appraisals to be
reliable and valid predictors of job performance. The
average of several peer ratings is probably more reliable
than a single rating, however. Potential problems include
the unwillingness of peers to evaluate one another,
friendship biases, and competition within the work group.
In spite of these potential problems, often employees will
respond more earnestly to peer feedback than to
management or supervisory feedback, since the power
disadvantage is removed.
Additionally, some peer reviews remove the burden of
determining raises as the most important issue of the
appraisal process. Experts believe that discussion of raises
and promotions should be separate from performance
appraisal discussions. They believe that focusing on raises
muddies the waters of performance review talks. In other
words, appraisal discussions must focus on past
performance in view of expectations and needed
behavioral modifications to meet future expectations.
Simply put, talks on raises do not impact either phase of
appraisal discussions. Such talk may demotivate an
employee if he or she does not get a raise or the level of
raise expected. Instead, feedback should target work
performance relative to work demands and expectations.
The peer review, or any review which does not deal with
raises, reduces the likelihood that the employee will
respond with, "So what! Did I get my raise?"a remark so
often heard in traditional appraisal discussions.
Performance Appraisal Techniques
Just as there are many options for deciding who should
rate performance, there are numerous techniques for
structuring and guiding a performance appraisal.
Explanations, advantages, and disadvantages will be
presented for the following common per-
 Page 215
formance appraisal methods, such as trait-based measures,
narrative essays, the critical-incident technique, checklists,
graphic rating scales, behaviorally anchored rating scales,
cost-related outcomes, and management by objectives.
Trait-Based Measures
In some organizations, performance appraisals are based
on personal qualities or traits. Common traits included in
performance evaluation forms are dependability, honesty,
creativity, resourcefulness, integrity, decisiveness,
judgment, tact, initiative, leadership, cooperation,
enthusiasm, personality, and loyalty. The assumption
underlying this approach is that such traits manifest
themselves on the job and affect work performance. Raters
indicate their perceptions of the employee regarding these
factors via a checklist, yes/no scale, or graphic rating scale
indicating a relative quantity of the trait.
As might be expected, there is ample room for error when
you use trait-based measures. Raters may vary
considerably in their perceptions or understandings of
these traits, be forced into the role of judge, and have
difficulty defending their decisions. By what criteria does
a person award a numerical value of 3 versus 4 for
creativity on a five-point scale, for example? Judgments
based on trait-based measures are subjective and prone to
litigation. Research shows that high ratings on trait-based
measures do not necessarily correlate with good job
performance. Organizations would be wise to use trait-
based items sparingly, perhaps in conjunction with other
techniques, or avoid them altogether in performance
evaluations.
Narrative Essays
Essay appraisals involve a written description of an
employee's qualities, attitudes, and behavior. The
appraiser, who is familiar with the employee's
performance, produces an unstructured, candid statement
about the employee's strengths, weaknesses, and areas
needing improvement. The method provides specific
performance feedback to employees and can be a
springboard for communication between a supervisor and
an employee, as well
 Page 216
as a catalyst for goal setting and individual development.
Of course, the essay method is subjective, very
questionable legally, and dependent on the appraiser's
writing skills. Indeed, certain statements written by people
unfamiliar with affirmative action laws may be difficult to
defend in court or before federal, state, or local regulatory
commissions.
Critical-Incident Technique
With this method, the supervisor makes periodic notations
of important performance actions, both positive and
negative, of employees. In essence, the supervisor
develops files of effective and ineffective actions or
performance by employees. The files can help jog the
memory during a performance review, can give employees
meaningful feedback about specific work-related behavior,
can serve as the basis for completing other performance
appraisal instruments, and can provide written
documentation for personnel decisions in the event of
appeals or litigation.
This is a time-consuming technique when performed
conscientiously for all employees, however. Also,
supervisors may be biased in what they choose to record,
and for whom. They may record more negative incidents
for a disliked employee or fail to document poor
performance of a well-liked employee. Yet in a litigious
environment, it is wise to have documentation to base any
personnel decision, including performance appraisals.
Checklists
Checklists can range from lists of traits to descriptive
statements of job-related behavior. The appraiser indicates
with a check mark the traits employees manifest or job-
related behaviors employees perform. Because a checklist
ensures that all employees are assessed on the same items,
comparisons to standard are easier. The more specific and
descriptive the items are on the checklist, the more
objective the method is likely to be. Checking a form to
indicate whether an employee has "initiative," for
example, requires much interpretation on the part of the
evaluator. Checking an option on a continuum of
"initiative" indicators, however, depends more on
observation of an employee's behavior than on
 Page 217
subjective judgment. Such categories on a checklist might
include (1) "Needs substantial encouragement and
direction in beginning projects," (2) "Starts some projects
with minor prodding," and (3) "Launches new projects
through individual motivation.''
Graphic Rating Scales
Graphic rating scales contain a number of job-
performance qualities and characteristics worded into
statements. The appraiser typically responds in one of two
ways: (1) how frequently the employee demonstrates the
behavior or quality (always, often, sometimes, rarely,
never), or (2) the extent of agreement with a descriptive
statement about the employee (strongly agree, agree,
undecided, disagree, strongly disagree). Examples of
statements include "The manager takes corrective action to
solve poor performance problems of subordinates," "The
manager motivates subordinates to perform their jobs
well," or "The manager meets reporting deadlines."
The items on graphic rating scales typically involve job
behaviors rather than generalized traits. In that respect,
they are more objective than some other evaluation
techniques. Use specific statements, for example, of
general "corrective actions," such as "Gives employees
oral feedback about poor performance," "Sets goals with
employees to improve performance," or "Coaches
employees to improve work performance." Graphic rating
scales constructed carefully, and used with reliability and
validity data, can provide an efficient, standardized, and
legally sound means of structuring performance
evaluations. Graphic rating scales work well with peer
reviews and 360 degree reviews.
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
The behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) is a type
of graphic rating system with specific behavioral
descriptions for each point along the scale. The
descriptions are anchors to aid the appraiser in defining
outstanding, good, average, or poor performance.
Ideally, both evaluators and employees to be rated
contribute to the development of the scale, which is a
complex process
 Page 218
essentially involving the collection of incidents describing
competent, average, and poor performance of a particular
job; categorization of those incidents into overall
performance dimensions (technical ability, communication
skills, leadership, and so on); and assignment of numerical
values that translate into anchors along a continuum.
The following is an example of an item from a BARS for a
training manager:
Dimension: Organizational skills
3 Follows a training outline; presents material in
Excellent:logical units; ties one idea into the next;
summarizes information often.
2 Prepares a training outline but only follows it
Average: occasionally; presents material in no particular
order; ties some ideas to others; summarizes
information at times.
1 Poor: Neither provides nor follows a training outline;
presents material in random order; ideas seem
unrelated to each other; rambles.

There are both advantages and disadvantages to the BARS

method. The scales tend to be precise and objective because
there are behavioral anchors for each decision option. There
is little room for inference about what constitutes excellent,
average, or poor behavior on a certain dimension of a
particular job. The anchor descriptions, because they are
created by people familiar with the job, tend to be accurate
illustrations of the range of job performance. The
descriptions use actual job terminology. However, BARS are
time-consuming to develop for every job in an organization.
Also, to be legally defensible, ratings must be backed by
documentation for specific instances in which the employee
performed or failed to perform a certain action.
Cost-Related Outcomes
This technique uses quantitative measures of performance
outcomes or results. Criteria might include sales volume,
claims
 Page 219
processed, reports written, units produced, turnover rate,
absences, and accidents, which can serve as absolute
indicators of an individual's, a department's, or an
organization's cost/revenue/profitability effectiveness.
Measurement is very precise and objective.
The problem is that not all jobs or all aspects of jobs lend
themselves to quantitative measures. How does one
quantify problem solving or employee-development
activities, for example? Nor do cost-related outcomes
indicate how well something was done; they just tell how
often something was done. A variety of factors beyond an
employee's control can affect such quantitative criteria.
But for jobs that lend themselves to cost-outcome criteria,
such as sales, this method of performance appraisal may
be effective when combined with other measures.
Management by Objectives
Management by objectives (MBO) is a technique whereby
supervisors and subordinates mutually agree on
measurable performance goals for a certain period. They
develop plans of action and specify resources for
achieving the goals. Then they monitor progress and
evaluate goal achievement in a performance-review
session.
Problems with MBO can occur if supervisors and
employees disagree on performance goals for a given time
period. Whose goals become the evaluation criteria? Also,
MBO focuses on a number of small, specific
accomplishments to the exclusion of broader, less
measurable long-range objectives. Finally, resources must
be provided for the attainment of goals. Otherwise, an
employee's failure to meet objectives may be due to
external forces, and the performance appraisals become
unfair.
Problems With Performance Appraisals
Organizations must be conscientious about using an
appraisal technique that is fair, objective, and related to the
job requirements of the individual being evaluated.
Nevertheless, because performance appraisals are based
on human judgment, they are
 Page 220
prone to subjectivity and error. In order to make the
appraisal process as effective as possible, you will want to
be aware of these common problems:
· Appraiser inflates ratings in a desire to be accepted,
which interferes with objectivity.
· There may be friendship between appraiser and person
being appraised.
· Some appraisers are reluctant to make negative
evaluations of an employee's performance for fear of
violent reactions, reprisal, or making their own
departments look bad.
· Appraisers have fallible memories and fail to
document behaviors.
· Appraisers often lack motivation to do a task they
strongly dislike.
· Appraiser's often lack the skill or training to complete
and communicate performance appraisals.
· There is little opportunity to observe employee
behavior.
· Ranking employees is limiting and self-defeating to
the organization while demotivating to many
employees.*
· Errors occur because of unintentional bias or overt
discrimination based on the sex, race, age, religion,
political ideology, or any of a number of factors of the
employee.
· Appraisers may increase a grade in order to appease
an employee or because the employee needs a raise or
favorable appraisal.
· A halo effect occurs when a strong perception of the
employee's performance in one area distorts the
appraiser's judgment in other areas. For instance,
perceiving an employee as motivated may lead to
erroneous judgment that the employee is competent.
· A spillover effect occurs when conclusions from a past
*Several experts on total quality, including the late Dr. W. Edwards
Deming, believe that ranking people is grossly counterproductive.
Rather than encouraging companywide excellence, ranking
unnaturally limits high achievements to a few, thus disregarding the
many. Therefore, an increasing number of companies are employing
peer review and 360 degree reviews, without discussion of ranking or
raises.
 Page 221
performance appraisal interfere with judgments on the
current appraisal.
· A status effect is documentable when people in
higher-status jobs automatically receive better ratings
than people in lower-status jobs.
· A central-tendency effect refers to appraisers' judging
all employees at the middle or average point on all
performance dimensions on a rating scale.
· Sometimes appraisers are overly harsh or overly
lenient in their evaluations.
Research shows that appraisers who receive training in
how to conduct performance appraisals do a better job
than do untrained appraisers. Organizations committed to
the performance appraisal process should equip their
appraisers with the knowledge and skills to be effective
evaluators.
The Need for Documentation
There are many reasons why performance appraisals
should be supported with thorough written documentation.
Documentation, consisting of notes and files of specific
actions during a review period, serves as a reminder at the
time of a formal appraisal and guides the appraiser to an
accurate judgment. Also, the appraiser can provide
specific examples to clarify points and help employees
understand the ratings. Thus, employees know not only
how they were rated but why they received those ratings.
Finally, and perhaps most important, proper
documentation is imperative when you have to defend job
evaluations and decisions legally.
The following guidelines should be followed to achieve
proper and thorough documentation:
1. Be fair. Document all major job behaviors, not just
positive or negative ones. Trying to build a case against an
employee or showing favoritism toward an employee will
be seen as prejudice. Logically, any employee file should
include instances of good and bad behavior.
 Page 222
2. State facts, not opinions. The file should include
examples of observable behavior, not inferences of
attitudes or motives.
3. Be timely. Document actions when they occur.
4. Keep documentation on all subordinates. Keeping
performance records just for poor performers could be
viewed as unfair. It is important to keep thorough and
balanced documentation on all employees.
5. Be consistent. Make documentation match your oral
comments and actions.
Legal Considerations
Federal and state employee statutes, as well as court
decisions, point to the following nine prescriptions for
performance appraisal practices:
1. The appraisal process should be formalized,
standardized, communicated more than once annually,
and as objective as possible
2. The criteria in a performance appraisal method should
be as job related as possible, based on a formal job
analysis for all employment positions. Ratings should
not be based on attributes of the employee.
3. Appraisal ratings should be uncontaminated (not
affected by factors outside of the employee's control)
and nondeficient (important aspects of job behavior are
not omitted).
4. Employees must be aware of the performance
standards to which they will be held accountable.
5. Evaluators should have substantial opportunities to
observe job-related behaviors of the employees they
appraise.
6. The validity of ratings should be determined.
Organizations whose performance appraisal systems are
questioned must show that ratings are valid reflections
of past behavior and valid predictions of future
behavior. It is wise to have specialists in psychometric
testing document the adequacy of your performance
appraisal system.
 Page 223
7. When possible, more than one appraiser should be
used.
8. Documentation to support ratings should be kept.
9. Employees should have the recourse of a formal
appeal process. Assure employees that using the appeals
process will not result in punitive actions.
The Performance Interview: Feedback to Employees
The supervisor and employee should engage in an honest,
twoway discussion about the latter's performance and set
performance goals for the future. The interview process
can be divided into three phases: preparation,
communication, and follow-up.
Preparation
The appraiser should set a time, place, and agenda for the
appraisal interview and notify the employee of those
details. Both parties should have sufficient time to prepare
for the appraisal interview. If self-review is part of the
process, the employee will need time to complete a self-
rating scale or set performance goals, in the case of an
MBO approach. The appraiser must gather necessary data
and complete appraisal forms.
The interview should be conducted in a private and
comfortable location, preferably a neutral site, for the
session. There should be enough time for both parties to
discuss all points without feeling rushed. The appraiser
should consider how to deliver feedback, how to handle
employee reactions, and how to effectively coach for
improved work performance.
Communication
The supervisor should try to put the employee at ease,
discuss the purpose and agenda for the meeting, and then
get to the information about job performance. Comments
about job performance should be specific and illustrated
with examples. Basically, the appraiser evaluates the
employee's job performance against objectives and
standards that have already been agreed to
 Page 224
by the employee. If self-review has occurred, the
supervisor and employee should examine and try to clarify
areas of discrepancy in ratings. Together, in a problem-
solving format, the two parties should discern causes for
variations in ratings or causes for below-standard results.
The appraiser must be skilled in giving constructive
criticism, showing empathy, listening, probing, managing
conflict, and avoiding defensiveness. An appraiser skilled
in interpersonal communication will be nonthreatening,
sensitive, objective, firm, composed, and helpful in the
interview.
After communicating ratings on the various dimensions,
the supervisor moves on to plans for development. Areas
needing improvement should be discussed, one at a time.
Most important, the supervisor and employee should agree
on work objectives for the next period and determine how
each of them will contribute to meeting the goals. To
conclude the interview, the supervisor summarizes what
was discussed, what was agreed to, and what will happen
next.
Follow-up
The appraiser should record all pertinent information as
soon as possible after the interview. This includes an
objective account of the information exchanged as well as
personal reactions and impressions of the interview
climate and tone. Both parties should keep written
agreement of the understandings reached, actions planned,
and commitments made.
Informal Appraisals
Although the formal performance appraisal process is a
crucial aspect of all organizations, it should exist within a
larger appraisal system. It is not enough to give
performance feedback at periodic intervals, such as once
or twice a year. Informal discussions of job goals and
performance results, initiated by either the supervisor or
the subordinate, should be a daily routine of the
supervisor-employee relationship.
[See also Coaching Employees; Feedback; Interviewing]
 Page 225

For Additional Information

Allen, Peter. "Designing and Implementing an Effective
Performance Appraisal System." Review of Business 16
No. 2 (Winter 1994), pp. 3-8.
Mohrman, Allan M. Designing Performance Appraisal
Systems: Aligning Appraisals and Organizational
Realities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1989.
Sachs, Randi T. Productive Performance Appraisals. New
York: AMACOM, 1992.
Weiss, Donald H. Fair, Square and Legal, 2nd ed. New
York: AMACOM, 1995.
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Politics in Organizations
Everyone in an organization is aware of the concept of
organizational politics. Intuitively, managers realize the
need to have political savvy for surviving and thriving in
an organization. But just what is organizational politics?
And how does a politically astute manager behave? Being
competent at organizational politics means understanding
the concept of workplace politics, recognizing the ways
that politics functions in organizations, and adopting
appropriate behaviors to avoid political blunders in your
organization.
The concept of being political in a workplace can have
various meanings. Managers who are skilled in promoting
themselves up the organizational ladder and in gaining
power can be considered politically shrewd. Being
political can mean getting your views, actions, or
contributions recognized and accepted. Politically astute
employees tend to be well-liked and possess much
credibility. They see to it that their ideas are implemented
and that they have many loyal followers. They have much
influence on the organization, regardless of whether they
hold key leadership positions.
Because of the ways in which organizational politics
operates, the concept is somewhat amorphous. Politics is
like a persistent but elusive undercurrent in the workplace.
It operates with subtlety, below the surface. It is not
explicit, and therefore not easy to describe or to grasp.
Subtlety is one of the characteristics that makes political
behavior successful. Someone who is blatantly trying to
influence others or to gain power will meet with
resistance. Attempting the same behavior inconspicuously
will be more successful. For example, we are aware of the
persua
 Page 227
sive goal when a colleague is making a presentation in
support of a pet project. We assume a critical posture and
expect to question the validity of the proposal. The
speaker, by being obvious in the influence attempt, will
meet with resistance. But subtle attempts at influence,
such as repeatedly portraying the project in a good light
through brief comments exchanged in the hall or at lunch,
may be powerful. Because you see these remarks as
informational rather than persuasive, you will be less
resistant and gradually become a proponent of the project.
Another characteristic of organizational politics is its
pervasiveness. Political undercurrents exist in all
organizations, though organizations vary in the extent to
which political behavior is explicit and observable. But to
deny the existence of politics in a workplace is to be naïve.
If you think that a political atmosphere does not exist in
your organization, then probably you have been
overlooking or misinterpreting some signs. Because
influence, power, and hierarchical structures characterize
organizational life, political behavior is inevitable.
Anytime you talk informally in the workplace, you have
the opportunity to promote yourself and your projects.
Such influence occurs naturally, casually, and almost
imperceptibly during interpersonal conversations. If
politics entails affecting others' perceptions of us and our
work in order to gain credibility and power, then
everything we do is political. Managers who understand
the nature of politics in their organizations can see its
pervasiveness.
In addition to being subtle and pervasive, organizational
politics can be positive. Many of us think of workplace
politics as devious and manipulative. Some managers
leave certain organizations because they find the politics
to be too stressful or destructive. But political behavior is
not necessarily devious, back-biting actions, which are
merely one form of organizational politics. For some
reason, workplace politics has come to be equated with
selfserving actions that necessarily hurt others or the
organization. It is important to realize that organizational
politics can be positive. Presenting accurate information
behind the scenes to advance yourself or your project is
both ethical and appropriate. Perhaps organizational
politics becomes negative when false information is
presented, when others are slandered, or when too much
political activity interferes with work.
 Page 228
Many would argue that political savvy is necessary for
managerial success. Technical competence alone does not
ensure career advancement. Competent work, combined
with the ability to influence others while not offending
them, is the hallmark of successful managers. You must be
able to sell yourself and your ideas both publicly and
behind the scenes. Without an understanding of the
political dynamics of your organization, you violate
unwritten rules, undermine your own projects, and hinder
your credibility and career opportunities.
By realizing the subtle, pervasive, necessary, and often
positive nature of organizational politics, you will be well
on your way to developing political awareness. Each
organization has its own political rules of conduct. By
being patient, cautious, and observant, you can learn to
recognize and employ behavior that is appropriate to your
particular workplace. In addition, there are some general
guidelines for practicing organizational politics in most
any workplace:
1. Pay your dues. You should not expect to receive any
favors or support until you have contributed in significant
ways to your department or organization. This is
especially important advice for organizational newcomers.
You earn credibility, support, and the right to influence
others by working hard and demonstrating your
trustworthiness. By accepting unpleasant tasks, assisting
others, and working extra hours initially, you build up a
reserve of credit for advancing yourself and your goals
later on.
2. Listen and observe. Because the political atmosphere is
implicit and subtle in most organizations, skills of
listening and observing are important. By listening, you
can notice who advances what ideas, who supports whom,
what subtle suggestions are made, and what topics are
awkward. Keen observation can reveal what projects
receive high priority, where informal lines of
communication occur, and what the nature is of alliances
and animosities. The real power in organizations does not
always lie with the visible power holders. By noticing the
geographic placement of offices, seating arrangements in
meetings, alternate meanings to statements, and the pattern
of workplace friendships, you can begin to identify
informal power, norms, and expectations.
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3. Understand the people in your organization. In order to
get along with and influence others, you must pay
attention to the personality traits and organizational
interests of the political players. Being a good judge of
character is an ingredient of political savvy that helps you
determine allies and methods of influence. Who are the
fence sitters? Who are the opinion leaders? Which
colleagues make decisions based on tradition, evidence,
cost-effectiveness, or majority sentiment? Some people
need to be coaxed, praised, or reassured. Others welcome
directness and debate. Some people are risk takers and
others are cautious. Still others block every attempt to
change. Remember that employees in an organization
want to protect their self-interests. By identifying those
interests and styles of behavior, you will become skilled at
dealing with people.
4. Identify power sources. Because organizational politics
is so closely tied to power, it is important to appraise the
relative power positions of individuals and organizational
units. Who makes what decisions? Who controls what
resources? Who has influence with supervisors? Learn to
recognize both formal and informal power. For example,
those in legitimate positions with the ability to reward or
punish others are obviously powerful. But so are those
who possess valuable information, indispensable skills, or
charismatic personalities. Sometimes the least obvious
person wields the most power.
5. Build partnerships. Most people operate according to
the principle of reciprocal favors. If someone helps,
supports, or acts kindly toward you, you are likely to feel
obligated to return the favor. Maxims such as ''One good
turn deserves another" or "I owe you one" illustrate the
reciprocity ethic. Politically wise managers build alliances
base on this principle. By supporting each other, two
colleagues have more strength as a team than they would
individually.
Two points about the judicious use of this strategy are
worth mentioning. First, it is rarely necessary to remind
people that they owe you a favor. To make such an explicit
statement is to bring the political process to an awkwardly
obvious level. It also insults others to imply that they
aren't holding up their end of the bargain. Indeed, the best
alliances are implicitly understood
 Page 230
rather than fully expressed in the first place. The second
caution concerns the overuse of predictable alliances. If
the work group realizes that two people always side with
each other regardless of the issue, the group will discount
the partnership.
6. Never overuse power. Being blatant with power is a sure
way to lose it. Power can be regarded as your ability to
influence others minus the others' ability to resist. It is a
transaction between people, not an entity one person
possesses. A manager who is tyrannical with power will
create much resistance. A better approach is to avoid
obvious displays of power. Managers, for example, who
arbitrarily mandate new procedures for reports often get
complaints, refusals, and sabotage from their staff
members. By gradually and subtly influencing staff
members to see the value of the new procedure instead,
you will find compliance and support. Indeed, even in the
absence of supervision, the staff will continue to do the
reports in the new way because they have internalized
your perspective on the issue.
7. Learn to negotiate. Politically savvy managers are good
negotiators who know when to make concessions and
when to hold out. By compromising several smaller
points, they can often win on big issues. Effective
negotiations involve careful listening, a sensitivity to
nonverbal cues, the strategic use of questions, a
knowledge of options, a sense of timing, and a confident
style of communication. Negotiation is involved in many
aspects of the managerial role. You may find yourself
negotiating with supervisors, workers, colleagues,
potential employees, unions, customers, or vendors. It is
inherently a political process because it involves subtle
attempts to influence others to gain power or achieve a
goal.
8. Never alienate supervisors. It is political suicide to
alienate supervisors. You do not have to agree completely
with everything a supervisor does or says, because such
obvious attempts to gain favor would hurt your credibility.
But there are various aspects of maintaining a good
relationship with supervisors. Never disagree publicly
with them, nor create problems that make them look bad
to their bosses. Get a supervisor's approval for unusual
actions. Always follow the chain of command. Be a team
player, not a pest or a constant complainer. Credit the
contributions of your
 Page 231
boss to your own successes, and thank the supervisor for
assisting, supporting, or developing you. Find ways to
make your boss look good. Say yes to most requests your
boss makes of you.
9. Develop loyal and competent employees. Being
politically astute not only involves interactions with
supervisors and colleagues but also relates to how you
treat employees. Competent workers make you look good.
Treating employees with respect and fairness will result in
a group of loyal supporters. Managers who have good
relationships with their employees can also receive
essential information and perceptions from this level.
10. Be patient. Developing political awareness takes time.
It can't be rushed. Asking someone to acquaint you with
the political dynamics of your organization is self-
defeating because the process cannot be articulated
clearly; it must be sensed. Also, one person's perspective
gives a limited and distorted picture of the political reality.
Being patient also means taking time to build a reputation
gradually, to influence slowly and subtly, and to acquire
power incrementally. Being patient does not mean waiting
idly for things to happen. Listen quietly, observe, and
unobtrusively build good relationships and alliances, while
cultivating competence, trust, and power.
[See also Conflict Management; Delegation and
Empowerment; Negotiation]
For Additional Information
Buhler, Patricia. "Navigating the Waters of Organizational
Politics." Supervision 55, No. 9 (Sept. 1994), pp. 24-26.
 Page 232

Presentations
Periodically, managers must make presentations to internal
or external audiences. Internally, you may find yourself
speaking to a group of supervisors, subordinates, or
colleagues. External audiences include customers,
stockholders, the community, or the press. Through
presentations, you try to inform, educate, persuade, build
consensus, affect decisions, or stimulate action. Whether it
is an informal talk to a small group of colleagues or a
speech to an audience of hundreds of unfamiliar faces, you
need essentially the same skills to make successful
presentations.
Overcoming Anxiety and Building Confidence
Most of us, even the most experienced and effective of
speakers, feel some amount of anxiety before making a
presentation. It is normal to feel some emotional tension
when faced with a situation where performance is
important and the outcome is uncertain. Minor stage fright
can be advantageous. Such normal anxiety creates
physiological reactions that you can convert into
presentational advantages. For example, fear causes the
heart to beat faster and causes more adrenaline to flow
through the body. This mental and physical alertness can
produce energy for a dynamic and enthusiastic delivery.
The secret is not to let speaking anxiety run rampant but to
control and channel it effectively.
The first step in building speaking confidence is to
identify the specific causes of anxiety. Inadequate
information, audience evaluation, hostile listeners, a weak
delivery style, the attention of the spotlight, or question-
and-answer sessions can all produce
 Page 233
anxiety in a manager who must make a presentation. Some
speakers fear that they will bore the audience, make
themselves look foolish, appear overly nervous, or forget
what they were going to say. By identifying the specific
anxiety producers, you are in a better position to cope with
anxiety.
Developing an appropriate attitude and relying on some
anxiety-prevention strategies can help you build
presentational confidence. The following are some general
techniques. You can develop other devices for your own
unique needs.
1. Think positively. Expecting failure will help to produce
failure. By focusing on strengths and positive
expectations, you will enhance your likelihood of success.
Convince yourself that you will give the best presentation
you can.
2. Prepare thoroughly. Once you have collected your
information, organized your thoughts, and rehearsed your
talk, anxiety about the presentation subsides. Never take a
speaking situation for granted. Careful preparation builds
confidence and success.
3. Analyze the audience. The more you know about the
audience and can predict outcomes, the less nervous you
will be. Analyzing the audience means knowing how
many people will be present, who they are (gender, age,
race, position), how much they know about the topic, why
they are attending, and their attitude about you and your
information.
4. Learn to relax. Techniques such as slow, rhythmic
breathing, exercise, self-hypnosis, yoga, or meditation can
help you relax. Some speakers take a few minutes before
the presentation to think of something pleasant, go for a
walk, talk to a friend, sit quietly alone, or engage in small
talk with the audience. Discover whatever relaxation
techniques work best for you.
5. Acquire experience. As in any hobby or sport, the more
you do it, the better you become. Actual speaking
experience is the best way to control anxiety and develop
skills. Taking communication courses or volunteering to
speak in professional or civic organizations can provide
nonthreatening opportunities to practice presentational
skills. Analyze your performance and seek improvement
after each presentation you make.
 Page 234

Organizing the Message

An organized message is crucial if an audience is to pay
attention to, understand, accept, or remember your
information. It also enhances your image and credibility.
No matter how dynamic your style, the presentation falls
short if the substance of your message is not easy to
understand and follow.
The first step in organizing a presentation is to determine
the objective of the message. Every presentation needs a
single purpose or central idea. Managers who cannot
translate their purpose into a central idea of the
presentation tend to ramble and confuse listeners. A
central idea is a way to narrow the focus of the
presentation topic. For example, a branch bank manager
plans a presentation to inform customers about individual
retirement accounts. At this point, the topic is determined,
but the purpose or central idea is vague. A more specific
purpose would be "To convince customers to purchase an
individual retirement account by explaining its value and
showing them how to open an account."
Once you have determined the purpose, select a few main
points to cover in order to achieve it. In the preceding
example, the manager may want to include three points
regarding the value of individual retirement accounts:
current tax savings, favorable interest rates, and the
building of retirement income. After determining main
points, select facts, examples, statistics, quotes, or stories
to explain each point. This is the substantive information
of the speech.
Next, outline the main points and supporting information
to see that it flows logically. Points may have to be
rearranged, or material added or deleted as appropriate.
Some people use this outline as notes from which to
deliver the presentation. By seeing the arrangement of
points, you can plan smooth transitions between ideas.
Finally, the presentation needs an introduction and
conclusionimportant elements that capture attention and
provide lasting impressions of you.
By preparing a purpose, main points, supporting
information, transitions, outline, introduction, and
conclusion, you will present an organized, coherent
message. Of all the skills of
 Page 235
making presentations, organizing information is probably
most crucial to speaking effectiveness.
Delivering the Presentation
Delivery is the packaging of a message. While it is
essential to organize a message, the skillful presentation of
information is another important ingredient of presentation
success. Dynamic delivery keeps an audience's attention
and makes listeners more receptive to your ideas.
Excessive delivery problems can undermine your
credibility and information.
One way to improve presentation style is to realize
common pitfalls that managers encounter when making
presentations. Examine this list of presentation errors to
identify your own potential problems.
· Monotone voice
· Filled pauses
· Speaking too softly
· Speaking too quickly
· Distracting gestures
· Stiff, tense posture
· Lack of eye contact with listeners
· Mispronounced words
· Dependence on notes
 · Nervous habits
· Ignoring audience cues
· Losing train of thought
· Pacing
With practice, speakers tend to get better at delivering
messages. There are a few strategies for achieving the
dynamic delivery of ideas.
1. Be dynamic. A lively, energetic speaker is much easier
to listen to than a slow, deliberate one. As a speaker, you
should try to be outgoing and enthusiastic. This means
speaking loudly, using vocal variety, and keeping the pace
moving. A confident,
 Page 236
prepared speaker can be more dynamic than a nervous,
tentative one. Making presentations, at any level to any
audience, involves a degree of showmanship. Listeners
will pay attention to presentations that are interesting and
enjoyable.
2. Be conversational. The best speaking style mimics
ordinary conversation. Formal or pompous styles of
talking strain listener concentration. Listeners will be
captivated if they feel that the speaker is addressing them
individually. To be conversational, voice tones should be
informal, relaxed, and familiar. Avoid sounding as if you
are lecturing or reciting information.
3. Use appropriate physical movement. Making an
effective presentation involves nonverbal techniques as
well as vocal ones. Natural gestures can illustrate or
emphasize a point. Awkward or repetitive gestures can be
distracting. Physical movement can parallel the movement
through ideas in a presentation. Casually walking through
the audience can capture attention and create an
atmosphere of friendliness and informality. Remaining
behind a podium or stiffly clinging to notes can undermine
speaking effectiveness.
4. Be fluent. Speaking effortlessly and with grace
captivates an audience and enhances your image.
Successful presenters do not stumble over words, lose
their train of thought, or clutter their talk with meaningless
vocalizations. For many speakers, being fluent means
eliminating words like "um," "ah," "OK," and "you know''
from their delivery. By being aware of such pet,
distracting words and by being comfortable with silent
pauses, you can develop a fluent speaking style.
5. Give eye contact throughout the audience. Plan to have
eye contact with every listener. Even in large audiences,
you can scan all sections of the audience rather than
looking just in the center. Eye contact during a
presentation serves many purposes. It shows a speaker's
confidence, credibility, and sincerity. It lets listeners feel
that you are speaking directly to each and every one of
them. It allows you to get feedback from the audience. By
looking directly at all listeners, you can see signs of
boredom, confusion, or disagreement. The effective
speaker then adjusts to accommodate the audience mood.
 Page 237
6. Use notes effectively. Good speakers usually speak from
limited, unobtrusive notes. Notes should serve only as a
guide to the arrangement of ideas. Occasionally, they may
include information, such as a statistic or quotation, that
the presenter wants to deliver verbatim. Managers who use
extensive notes or complete manuscripts often fall into the
trap or reading from the notes. Reading information is not
the same as presenting a message. Too much dependence
on notes is a sure way of putting an audience to sleep.
7. Do not call attention to your delivery. The best
presentation delivery is unnoticed. A speaking style that
calls attention to itself defeats its purpose. Delivery is
merely the mechanism for getting ideas across. The
audience should be concentrating on the ideas, not the
delivery style. If listeners are paying attention to the
delivery, then you are probably using a distracting habit.
Choosing the Appropriate Language
To be effective, use words that are clear, specific,
inoffensive, and vivid. In written communication, the
reader can check the meaning of an unfamiliar word or
reread a passage until it makes sense, but it is your
responsibility to make sure that listeners understand the
language in a presentation. That means avoiding
specialized terms or jargon unless the audience
understands it. If you must use jargon, take the time to
define the technical or unfamiliar term. Simple concise
ways to make points are needed in oral presentations.
Avoid long, complex sentences and eloquent displays of
vocabulary.
Other devices for achieving clarity include sequencing
words, transition words, and frequent summaries. Words
such as "first," "second," "next," and ''finally" help the
listener follow your movement through a sequence of
ideas. Such sequencing words reveal the pattern of
organization of ideas. Transition words who the
relationship of ideas. Words such as "however," "on the
other hand," and "similarly" help orient the listener to your
points. Presentations need enough restatement to
emphasize points and to assist listeners' recall. A few well-
placed
 Page 238
internal summaries as well as a final summary can help the
audience grasp and remember your information.
In addition to using clear language, you should use
specific language whenever possible in a presentation.
Instead of saying, "We will know our budget allocations
soon," say "We expect to know our budget allocation by
July 1." Besides spelling out the meaning of ambiguous
terms, being specific also means giving examples to
illustrate a point. Instead of saying, "This company cares
about employees," say "This company has established
flexible benefits, a complaint procedure, and a new
lunchroom because it cares about employees."
Choose you words carefully to avoid offending listeners.
This means avoiding sexist language, racial slurs, ethnic
aspersions, or remarks that would provoke defensiveness.
Also, certain subtly offensive words hinder your purpose.
For example, asking a group "Would anyone be willing to
serve on a committee to plan the spring meeting?"
discourages response. However, asking "Would anyone
like the opportunity to help plan the spring meeting?" will
invite more volunteers.
Vivid language is descriptive and captivating. It paints a
picture for the listener. It uses active rather than passive
words. Note the difference between these two sentences:
"The report was done by us." "We did the report." Perhaps
a more exciting verb, such as "prepared" or "completed,"
would make the sentence even more vivid. ''Profits
soared" is more exciting than "profits rose." "Diversified
and increased attendance occurred this year" sounds
boring and vague. "Hundreds of new people attended this
year" is a more descriptive and vivid alternative.
Give careful thought to your word choice in presentations.
Clear, specific, inoffensive, and vivid language will
capture attention, emphasize points, and spur listeners to
action
Using Visual Aids
Most business presentations call for the use of visual aids.
Frequently, you place crucial information on flip charts,
transparencies, computer multimedia, or slides to include
in a presentation. Some information, especially numerical
data, is difficult to grasp
 Page 239
except in visual form. Talking about accident rates over a
ten-year period will overwhelm listeners, but showing
those rates in a graph presented on a transparency will
allow you to highlight points and the audience to study the
information. A chart to show redesigns in the
organizational structure or sales growth will have more
impact than words alone. Slides or a video showing a
foreign manufacturing location go far beyond a mere
verbal description.
As a speaker, you should determine whether visual aids
will enhance a presentation, the best form of visual aid,
and the effective use of visual material. Visuals will
enhance a talk if they allow you to accomplish something
you could not achieve through words alone. To visually
present a few key words from a presentation will probably
detract from rather than enhance a talk. Unless the words
represent technical jargon, there is no reason to display
them. When considering visuals, determine their purpose.
If you cannot identify a specific purpose, then they are
probably unnecessary. Another method for determining
whether you should use visual aids is to assess their
potential benefit in relation to the cost of preparation. For
example, slides that are expensive and time-consuming to
prepare are not worth the effort unless they make a
significant impact on the presentation. Putting some
figures on a flip chart may be worth the minimal effort
involved, even if their impact is not great.
Once you decide that visuals will aid your presentation, it
is important to select the appropriate form of visual
material. The type you use will depend on your speaking
purpose, the nature of the information you are presenting
visually, the size of your audience, and your visual
resources. An informative presentation to a few colleagues
will not require elaborate use of visuals. A slide
presentation in this situation is inappropriate. On the other
hand, convincing potential investors to support a new
project suggests the use of professionally prepared visual
material as opposed to a few figures scrawled on a flip
chart.
Certain information lends itself to particular forms of
visual presentation. Illustrating a distribution system may
require a manual; a film may be needed to show how a
piece of equipment operates; computation of data or tables
of information lend themselves to computer generated
multimedia presentation, and a
 Page 240
chart may be the best way to show operating costs. Give
careful consideration to the most effective means of
presenting information.
Finally, in terms of selecting visual aids, consider your
available resources. Do you have the time, the money, or
the professional assistance for producing slides? Is it
possible to have a videotape produced professionally?
Perhaps someone with excellent lettering skills could draw
flip charts by hand. It is better to use less sophisticated
methods such as flip charts or transparencies than to create
sloppy or amateur slide or video presentations. Remember
that visuals must not be distracting nor call attention to
themselves in any way.
You must be skilled in the use of visual aids. While it is
important that visuals be selected and prepared carefully,
they must be presented effectively as well. Even
professionally prepared visual material will fail if you do
not know how to use the material. The following are some
guidelines for the use of any type of visual aid in a
presentation:
1. Check legibility. Visual material should be large, bold,
and simple. Excessive amounts of information, small
printing, or delicate drawings cannot be seen even from a
short distance. Light-color markers on flip charts or
transparencies do not show up well. After preparing a
visual, test its legibility by positioning yourself at the back
of the presentation room. If you cannot easily see the
visual from there, then an audience member in that
position will not be able to see it either.
2. Have all materials with you at the time of presentation.
Many a presentation has been ruined by a missing chart,
by the lack of an extension cord to run the slide projector,
or by a marker that has run out of ink. Never search for
materials during a presentation or leave the podium to
retrieve anything. A practice session using the visual aids
will alert you to any malfunctioning equipment or missing
material. Some speakers have backup equipment or
material just in case.
3. Don't block the view of visual aids. You must be able to
refer to visual material without standing in front of it or
looking at it rather than at the audience. Practice standing
to the side of a flip
 Page 241
chart and using a pointer. Become proficient at using
overlays or pointers with overhead transparencies.
4. Plan time appropriately. Visuals add time to a
presentation. It is essential to determine how much time
you will need for showing visual material. Give the group
enough time to see, and in some cases to study, the visual
material. You can quickly pace a slide presentation, where
the impact comes from the total show rather than from any
one slide. You need to display financial charts or graphs,
on the other hand, for a long enough time for the audience
to examine them.
5. Make the visual aid secondary to the presentation.
Visuals assist, but do not replace, the speaker. Some
speakers fall into the trap of becoming narrators. Their
entire presentation is nothing more than a series of visuals,
with their announcing or reading from one. Orient
listeners to a visual presentation and summarize after
showing the visual material.
Handling Questions
It is a rare business presentation where the speaker is not
called on to answer questions. For most managerial
presentations, the question-and-answer session is more
important than the prepared talk.
Handling questions is the more difficult part of a
presentation. You can never be as thoroughly prepared for
this aspect of speaking as you can be for the planned
remarks. If you can handle listeners' questions effectively,
you have passed a major hurdle to the success of your
presentation. Follow these guidelines for becoming skilled
at fielding audience questions:
1. Anticipate questions. Most questions are typical and can
be expected to emerge from a certain topic or from a
particular audience. Put yourself in the place of your
audience. What questions would you be likely to ask? By
analyzing the common fears, assumptions, needs, or
problems that listeners experience, you can identify likely
questions.
2. Always repeat the question. This will allow the entire
group to hear the question. It is annoying for the audience
to listen to a
 Page 242
speaker give an answer to a question they did not hear.
Repeating the question allows you to see if you
understood the question correctly. Finally, it provides you
some time to frame a response.
3. Keep answers short and simple. Remember that what is
important to one person may be boring to the rest of the
group. If the questioner wants detailed information and
you can see signs of disinterest from the rest of the group,
plan to discuss the question privately after the session or to
send additional information to the questioner later.
Providing short and simple answers keeps the pace
moving.
4. Discourage monopolizers. Never allow one person to
ask several questions if there are others who have not had
a chance to ask a question. It may be necessary to interrupt
the monopolizer diplomatically. Say something like
"You're raising some interesting points, but in the interest
of time, let's move on to some other questions."
5. Realize that some questions cannot be answered. You
cannot be expected to have answers to all questions that
could possibly be asked. It is appropriate to say that you
do not have that particular information. You might suggest
an alternative information source to the questioner or
promise to provide information as soon as possible. Never
fake an answer.
In some cases, you may not want to answer a question
because it is sensitive or embarrassing. There are some
techniques for gracefully sidestepping a question. You can
talk generally about the topic of the question without
directly addressing the specific question. You can answer a
slightly different question. You can indicate that because
of a certain circumstance you are not at liberty to discuss
the question right now.
6. Maintain your composure. Some people will ask
irrelevant or hostile questions. Others will use the session
as a forum to state their own views. Some will attempt to
sabotage your plan or your credibility. It is imperative that
you remain friendly, calm, and composed in these
situations. Do not argue, blame, threaten, preach, or
ridicule. Do not become defensive, hostile, or attacking.
You must remain confident, professional, and in charge of
your emotions during a hostile question-and-answer
session.
 Page 243

For Additional Information

Bird, Malcom. The Complete Guide to Business and
Technical Presentations. New York: Van Nostrand
Reinhold, 1990.
Harris, Todd. "The Business Week Guide to Multimedia
Presentations: Create Dynamic Presentations that Inspire."
CD-ROM World 10, No. 1 (Jan. 1995), p. 97.
Leech, Thomas. How to Prepare, Stage, and Deliver
Winning Presentations. New York: AMACOM, 1992.
Simmons, Sylvia. How to Be the Life of the Podium. New
York: AMACOM, 1993.
 Page 244

Project Management
There is growing emphasis on project management, and
managers must increasingly function as project managers.
There are particular skills and activities relevant to project
management, which differ from the skills and activities
required of functional managers. This chapter discusses
the impetus for project management, the differences
between project and functional management, steps in
managing a project, and specific skills needed by project
managers.
A project can be defined as an undertaking with a clear
starting point and ending point. It is a one-shot task with a
defined goal. The project manager oversees the whole
undertaking and has responsibility for its success or
failure.
Organizational Emphasis on Project Management
There are at least three factors accounting for the
increasing emphasis on project management.
1. A project-management culture goes hand in hand with
team-based management. As more organizations make the
transition from hierarchical structures to flatter, team-
oriented approaches to work, project management
becomes more prevalent. In many organizations today,
employees work in teams that take responsibility for
planning, coordinating, controlling, and improving work.
These projects typically utilize the talents of cross-
functional, multidisciplinary teams.
2. Project management promotes employee involvement.
Evidence shows that when employees are involved in
decision
 Page 245
making and the implementation of change, the quality of
their work improves, as does their satisfaction. Projects
that once would have been done by managers themselves,
or by managers delegating work to employees, now are
more likely to be handled by project teams. Employees in
project teams have greater input into and responsibility for
the project activities and outcomes. This seems to be a
more effective way to get work done.
3. Project management is best to handle the complexity of
teamwork. The nature of some work requires the resources
of a project team, with members drawn from different
functions, disciplines, and levels of the organization.
Major research and development or engineering efforts,
for example, may depend on the expertise of people from
a wide range of functions. The only way to effectively
accomplish a complex task may be to assemble a diverse
team with the oversight of a project manager.
Understanding and coordinating a rapidly advancing
technology may depend on the talents of project teams and
project managers.
Differences Between Functional and Project Management
While there are similarities between functional and project
managers, the differences are many and worth noting.
Project managers differ from functional managers in their
degree of control, time, flexibility, and visibility.
Project managers actually have less formal authority over
project members than functional managers do over their
employees. Because project team members may be
borrowed from various other departments, they continue to
have formal reporting relationships to their department
managers. The project manager has a temporary and often
voluntary relationship with employees on the project team.
For example, the project manager does not have the
responsibility for hiring, evaluating, rewarding,
disciplining, or terminating team employees. Those
responsibilities continue to rest with the functional line
manager. The project manager's authority is limited in
scope to the particular project. The project team member
may have divided loyalties between
 Page 246
the project and the department manager. In short, the
typical manager-employee relationship does not exist with
project management.
Project managers also operate in a different time frame
than do functional managers. Functional managers oversee
ongoing functions over time, while project managers
oversee one-time efforts. The relationship between the
project manager and the team members is limited in
duration. From the start, it is assumed to be a temporary
relationship.
Because project tasks are nonroutine, project managers
may have to be more flexible than do functional managers.
And team projects in an organization often are highly
visible. Because employees are borrowed from their
functions, a project manager is assigned, and resources are
allocated to the project, the whole effort becomes well
known in the organization. Top management typically has
a large stake in the project. This high visibility can create
performance pressure for the project manager, though it
also provides greater rewards when the project is
successful.
Steps in Managing a Project
The project manager must follow a number of steps,
whatever the nature of the project. Careful attention to
each of these steps constitutes the "how to" of managing
projects.
1. Set the project objectives. The specific objectives of the
project must be clearly defined. This sets the scope of the
project as well. It is important to determine what the
project seeks to accomplish and what the expected
outcomes will be. The objectives and scope may be
revised over time, but the goals must be delineated from
the start.
2. Develop a schedule and budget. By attaching deadlines
and costs to particular tasks within the project, the project
manager builds the schedule and budget. If upper
management sets a project completion date, then the
schedule is determined by working backwards from the
end date. A certain amount of time and cost is allocated to
each task.
 Page 247
3. Set the project standards. The project manager must set
standards for acceptable levels of performance. Quality
levels for both human and equipment performance should
be established. This provides a baseline against which
actual performance is measured and deemed acceptable or
adjusted to meet quality requirements.
4. Compose the project team. The project manager must
select team members by matching task requirements to
individual skills. Typically, people are selected from
various functions, disciplines, and levels based on the
skills they bring to the project. Certain project members
may be leaders of particular tasks in the project.
5. Initiate the project. This phase includes a variety of
activities, such as motivating and coaching team members,
communicating with team members and within the
organization, coordinating tasks, facilitating work, and
rewarding performance.
6. Gather data on progress. The project manager must
monitor progress. This involves assessing whether the
work meets established standards, determining if the
schedule is being met, and analyzing costs as they relate to
budget. Various software tools are available to graphically
show the relationships between tasks, the duration of
tasks, and the resources allocated to and used in aspects of
the project. The project manager likely will have to report
progress at various points. Good data are essential to such
reporting.
7. Solve problems. All group projects have their share of
problems. Project managers must anticipate problems, be
able to recognize problems, and assist the team in problem
solving. Because the tasks in one-time projects are not
routine, and because this particular group of people has
not worked together before, unexpected difficulties are
bound to arise. It is wise for project managers to consider
problem solving as an inevitable aspect of project
management.
8. Close out the project. Once the tasks of the project are
finished, there needs to be a final report, which describes
the completed project. The report may address such
questions as: Were the objectives met at the acceptable
levels of quality? What was the final cost of the project?
Project close-out also should
 Page 248
include an assessment by the project team. It is useful for
team members to discuss what they learned, what aspects
of the project went well, and what could have been done
differently. Such a meeting helps to put closure on the
project.
Skills of Project Managers
Project managers must have good people skills. They must
be good communicators, since they interact one-on-one
and in groups, and they must make formal oral and written
presentations. Project managers must be team builders,
since employees working on a project must function as a
team. Project managers must be skilled motivators and
coaches. The skills of working well with people are most
essential for effective project management.
Project leaders also must have analytical competencies.
They must be able to analyze and schedule tasks, compare
task performance to quality standards, and understand and
manage the technical aspects of a project. They must be
able to analyze and interpret data as they relate to
monitoring the progress of the project. Project managers
also must be skilled at analyzing the organization and its
culture. Because they facilitate projects that span
organizational boundaries, project managers must be adept
at analyzing the structure, power, politics, and
personalities of the organization.
While project management utilizes many of the same
skills as does functional management, the unique
requirements for leading organizational projects staffed by
a cross-section of employees makes project management a
challenging role for today's manager.
[See also Coaching Employees; Conflict Management;
Feedback; Meetings; Motivation; Team Building; Time
Management]
For Additional Information
Dinsmore, P. C. AMA Handbook of Project Management.
New York: AMACOM, 1993.
Gannon, Alice. ''Project Management: An Approach to
Accomp-
 Page 249
lishing Things." Records Management Quarterly, July
1994, pp. 3-13.
Heindel, Lee E., and Vincent A. Kasten. Vertically
Integrated Project Management: An Enterprise
Management Systems Approach. New York: AMACOM,
1995.
Knutson, Joan, and Ira Bitz. (1991). Project Management:
How to Plan and Manage Successful Projects. New York:
AMACOM, 1991.
 Page 250

Public Relations
Public relations (PR) involves the communication of
accurate information about an organization in order to
enhance the image, growth, and survival of that
organization. Public relations involves the sending and
receiving of information with individuals and groups who
affect and are affected by the organization: employees,
unions, customers, distributors, the community,
stockholders, the media, and the government. Simply,
public relations is the function of making the organization
look good to its many constituents and customers.
Public relations is a complex and vital function for any
organization, large or small. To a large extent, the public
relations manager or department coordinates the
organization's responses to the social, political, economic,
and business communities. Managers at all levels need to
be aware of public relations objectives and realize that
they too carry the organization's image to the public. Even
recruiting and interviewing prospective employees has
strong PR overtones. Progressive organizations orient their
managers to the new business environment while
encouraging them to make decisions and demonstrate
behavior consistent with the company's image. Managers
are the organization's ambassadors; they, not just the PR
department or the chief executive officer (CEO), must be
responsible for promoting the company's image and
reputation.
The following general orientation to the field of PR and its
various aspects provides information that can help an
organization develop or enhance its PR function, help
acquaint management with its role in PR, and help public
relations specialists better understand their job
responsibilities. Seven aspects of PR are discussed: media
relations, community relations, customer relations,
employee and labor relations, financial relations,
government relations, and crisis management.
 Page 251

Media Relations
Public relations involves communicating to the press,
handling press inquiries, preparing others in the
organization to interact with the media, and working with
the advertising department on ads that fulfill a public
relations role. The PR manager may write and disseminate
news releases or feature articles on corporate social-
responsibility programs, technical or environmental
achievements, positions on legislative action, employee
accomplishments, or human interest items. It is important
to develop an extensive and up-to-date network of media
contacts. The PR manager becomes the clearinghouse for
information about the organization, prepares that
information for media consumption, and knows the people
to whom the information should be forwarded.
The PR manager often acts as the organization's
spokesperson in print and broadcast media inquiries. PR
specialists appear on televised news programs,
entertainment or magazine shows, or talk shows to
communicate with the public about almost any aspect of
their organizations. They also grant studio or taped
interviews, make prepared statements for the news, or
participate in call-in shows on the radio. PR specialists
grant interviews to journalists and represent the
organization's interests in newspaper and magazine
articles. Likewise, if the company has some information of
interest to all the media, the PR manager will coordinate a
news conference.
Sometimes the media want access to top-level executives
in the company. In that case, the PR manager may work
with CEOs or other top management to prepare them for
radio or television appearances. Such executive coaching
is especially important when the media or public is critical
of the company. The PR manager may hire an outside
consultant specializing in preparing executives for media
appearances.
Finally, in terms of media relations, the PR manager may
be called on to coordinate institutional issues or
advertising with the organization's advertising department
or agency. While advertising is not a function of public
relations, some types of ads fulfill a PR role. Institutional
ads promote a company's image by
 Page 252
highlighting its history, achievements, or civic
contributions. Issues advertising is a type of advocacy in
which the organization states its position on some
controversial topic. Because these advertising vehicles
involve public relations goals, the PR manager should
have input into them.
Community Relations
This aspect of PR involves the cultivation of a good
business-community relationship. Because organizations
need the physical and human resources of communities in
which they are located, they must be concerned with the
health and prosperity of those communities. It is not only
sound ethical practice but good business practice to be a
responsible member of the community. The PR manager
plays a vital role in community relations by coordinating
and publicizing such organizational activities as corporate
philanthropy and sponsorship, leadership in community-
improvement projects, employee participation in social
and civic groups, and cooperation with local government
and educational institutions. In large organizations, a
separate community relations specialist may coordinate
these projects. The public relations manager must work
closely with this person; however, the PR specialist would
likely be responsible for publicizing, if not spearheading,
community activities.
The business world realizes its responsibility to contribute
to charitable organizations and encourages employees'
charitable donations as well. Likewise, small companies
and large corporations alike typically sponsor cultural,
athletic, and recreational activities for the community and
frequently provide funds and personnel for such
community projects as neighborhood rehabilitation, child
care, youth training or employment projects, and
recreational programs. Many organizations encourage
employees to join social and civic groups and to
participate in local government. Wise organizations also
make their facilities and personnel available to educational
groups through company tours and speakers' bureaus. It is
the job of the PR manager to apprise management of these
obligations, help carry them out, and
 Page 253
coordinate the company's information regarding all aspects
of community affairs.
Customer Relations
An organization's products or services provide the direct
link between the organization and the public. What a
customer says about a company is probably the biggest
influence on the company's image. Customers talk to
friends, families, and colleagues about their
interactionspositive and negativewith businesses.
Customer satisfaction, then, is the foundation for effective
public relations. While the PR manager is not directly
responsible for customer relations, a concern for
customers must be part of a PR objective. People who
purchase directly from a company are not the only
"customers" whom organizations must court; consumer
affairs groups, dealers, distributors, retailers, contractors,
and suppliers also interact with a company and shape its
reputation.
While most organizations have separate customer relations
or consumer affairs departments, the PR manager often
must act as a liaison and help with the publicity activities
of those departments. Thus it is important that the PR
specialist have an understanding of customer and
consumer relations.
Many organizations take an active role in educating
customers about product information, health and safety
concerns, and consumer rights. This may be done through
owners' manuals, pamphlets, audio and videotapes,
speakers, or training seminars. Likewise, progressive
companies solicit customer feedback through surveys, hot
lines, comments cards, and panel discussions. Two-way
communication and the satisfactory handling of
complaints strengthens the buyer-seller relationship, which
makes the company look good and increases its profits. An
effective PR manager helps others in the organization see
the relationship between customer relations and public
relations.
Dealers, distributors, retailers, contractors, and suppliers
are a customer segment that must be informed, supported,
and listened to. Frequently, organizations provide liaison
personnel, brochures, sales literature, newsletters, and
audio or videotapes
 Page 254
to these groups to enhance relationships and promote the
company's image.
The PR manager may be directly responsible for preparing
customer-oriented news stories about new products or
services; representing the company position to consumer
activists; presenting statements about pending consumer-
rights legislation; or communicating with the media in the
event of a product recall, boycott, or liability suit. The PR
specialist helps the company coordinate actions affecting
consumers with overall public relations objectives.
Employee and Labor Relations
Organizations are developing a heightened sense of
employees as a "public." Indeed, employees are a conduit
through which organizational information reaches the
larger community. The field of employee and labor
relations uses knowledge of human behavior to improve
the employer-employee relationship. Public relations
departments can help promote the exchange of accurate
information among employees, labor leaders, and
management. By helping to build good employee
communication, the public relations manager influences
the positive image employees carry to their families,
friends, and neighborsall of whom are potential customers.
The public relations manager or the communications
manager may be responsible for internal communication
or may cooperate with the employee and labor relations
specialist in promoting communication with employees. In
either case, organizations use a variety of means to
promote the exchange of internal information, including
employee newsletters, magazines, handbooks, manuals,
internal television programming, personal letters,
meetings, and hot lines. Where many of these sources used
to focus exclusively on social information such as
promotions, retirements, marriages, births, and company
recreational events, they now include information about
substantive issues affecting the organization. Internal
public relations means keeping employees informed about
company plans for growth, new products or discoveries,
economic news relating to the
 Page 255
company, government regulations, employee training
opportunities and benefits, key personnel changes, and
company involvement in community affairs. Likewise, an
employee feedback program is necessary for employee
trust and satisfaction. Attitude surveys, quality circles,
suggestion boxes, hot lines, and face-to-face
communication give employees the chance for input. The
effective exchange of information with employees
provides a building block to a comprehensive public
relations program.
There is another area of employee and labor relations that
directly pertains to public relations: The dissemination of
information during layoffs, contract negotiations, and
strikes. The public relations manager may be called upon
to issue statements to employees, the community, and the
press during personnel cutbacks. The PR manager
typically presents information about progress in labor
negotiations, being careful not to jeopardize those
discussions or violate legal guidelines. Finally, the public
relations manager usually acts as a company spokesperson
during labor strikes. So in many ways, employee and labor
relations impinge on the public relations function in
modern organizations.
Financial Relations
Most organizations release some information about their
financial condition. Public institutions have greater
responsibilities in this area than do private organizations.
They must communicate with stockholders and meet legal
requirements for financial disclosure set forth by the
Securities and Exchange Commission. A corporation's
annual meeting and annual report serve not only a
financial function but a public relations one as well. While
company financial officers, legal counsel, and investor
relations departments handle these functions, the wise
public relations manager realizes their potential as
vehicles for developing positive attitudes in the financial
community. The public relations specialist may also issue
statements or write press releases concerning company
acquisitions and mergers.
Government Relations
All businesses must be concerned with government
decisions. Legislation regulates business and affects its
bottom line. As a
 Page 256
result, organizations have a role in informing legislators of
their positions on issues, and they communicate with
government as one of their "publics." Organizations work
with industry councils or professional organizations for
legislative counseling of lobbying. Lobbyists carry
business information to government officials in the
attempt to influence legislation. They also transmit
information from government officials back to corporate
executives. In essence, they act as ambassadors of
goodwill, communicating an organization's image to the
government and to the public at large. Although lobbying
is handled by public affairs departments in organizations,
the public relations manager must be aware of its impact.
The PR department may also have a role in explaining a
company's need for involvement with political action
committees (PACs) to employees via internal
communication media. The PR department may cooperate
with the employee relations and public affairs departments
to educate and involve employees in government
advocacy and political issues. The PR function can be
instrumental in changing negative perceptions about the
relationship of government and business to society.
Finally, public relations specialists sometimes assist
business leaders who are called on to testify at government
hearings. While the public relations job does not
encompass public affairs duties, it is important to realize
the interrelationship between PR and government.
Crisis Management
Another aspect of public relations involves the ability to
deal with the communication problems that occur during
emergency situations. Types of crises organizations face
include industrial accidents, product tampering, product
failures, damaging rumors, boycotts, or well-publized
litigation. Any time a company receives negative
publicity, the situation should be considered a crisis. A
company's ability to handle a crisis and restore public
confidence can affect its very survival.
The public relations department has a direct role in crisis
management. Before a crisis develops, the public relations
manager should develop a plan to follow in the event of an
emer-
 Page 257
gency. A company credo of management philosophy and
social responsibility can provide a foundation. In a crisis,
the public relations function may have to set up a twenty-
four-hour press office; staff hot lines to handle calls from
the public; and coordinate communication with the public,
the media, senior management, the legal department,
security, employees, the union, federal agencies, and
community leaders. A crisis calls for the widespread and
immediate dissemination of accurate information by the
public relations department in order to preserve an
organization's good image.
The Public Relations Specialist
As the diverse aspects of the field reveal, public relations
specialists must have numerous skills to perform vital
functions in an organization. PR managers contribute to
corporate policy making, collect information to survey
attitudes and reactions, communicate with various publics,
coordinate communication among different groups, and
prepare organizational personnel to act as company
spokespersons.
PR specialists must possess numerous skills, including
news writing and editing, technical writing, broadcast
media production, graphic design and layout, public
speaking, persuasion, group dynamics, and interpersonal
communication. They must understand all the aspects of
the business, be good managers, have excellent
communication skills, and get along well with people.
Some large organizations with broad needs hire PR
generalists who can use the services of consultant
specialists in aspects of public relations, such as crisis
management, financial relations, government relations, or
special promotions. On the other hand, some small
organizations take care of all their needs through external
PR consultants or agencies. Whatever the method, it is
imperative that organizations appreciate the complexity
and importance of the PR function and that managers
realize their role in promoting a positive image of their
organization.
[See also Customer Service; Presentations]
 Page 258

For Additional Information

Berry, Jay. ''Thinking the Unthinkable: Helping Clients
Manage Emergencies." Journal of Management
Consulting 8, No. 2 (Fall 1994), pp. 51-53.
Devereaux-Ferguson, Sherry. Mastering The Public
Opinion Challenge. Burr Ridge, Ill.: Business One Irwin,
1994.
Mathews, Wilma K. "Do Unto Media as Ye Shall Do Unto
Your Customers!" Communication World 1,No. 7 (August
1994), pp. 17-19.
Sweep, Duane, Glen T. Cameron, and RuthAn Weaver-
Lariscy. "Re-thinking Constraints on Public Relations
Practice." Public Relations Review 20, No. 4 (Winter
1994), pp. 319-31.
 Page 259

Quality
The concept of quality in the workplace has continued to
evolve. The emphasis today seems universally strong,
while the approaches are varied. On the whole, there is a
progression of quality by many companies away from
mere lip service to a sincere and consuming effort to
improve their systems. This section examines what
constitutes quality in today's business environment and
how it is achieved.
What Is Quality?
Simply put, quality is meeting or exceeding the
expectations and requirements of customers. Quality
means meeting the highest standards and continually
improving processes or steps to satisfy customers by
empowering employees to prevent problems or errors.
Quality does not mean correcting problems after they
occur or allowing a certain margin of error in production
or service. Many companies have embarked on the path of
total quality management (TQM), which integrates all the
process improvements in all functions into one
interrelated, organizationwide quality system.
The Costs of Lack of Quality
In some organizations, a shortsighted and costly definition
of quality has reigned. To them, quality depends on
inspection after production to pinpoint defects or
problems. Often this is coupled with a system of
correction, so that a small rate of rejection is tolerated.
Ironically, this approach promotes the absence of qual
 Page 260
ity. The inspectors making a product or delivering a
service decide what passes and what doesn't, not the
workers. Thus, the direct producer or deliverer has no
input and no commitment to improve the process or
prevent further variance or defect.
An inspection or correction approach to quality is costly.
Whenever work must be redone, the organization incurs
unnecessary double costs: the cost to do the job the first
time and the cost to redo it, with labor, materials, people,
and equipment unavailable to work on other orders. Errors
in production or services can result in exorbitant costs
associated with warranty replacements, product liability
suits, product recalls, malpractice suits, consumer actions,
or lost customers. Therefore, quality truly takes root when
producers and deliverers of products and services
understand customer requirements and expectations,
define the processes they work with, improve the
relationships between internal customers and suppliers,
develop and adhere to their own quality measures, and
continually endeavor to improve these processes.
Emphasizing quality in production not only saves money
but can also be key to survival. Customers naturally
gravitate to the product or service that best meets their
needs. From a customer's standpoint, quality means that
the product or service does what it is supposed to do
consistently, without exception. If the product or service
does not provide 100 percent satisfaction, customers will
turn to the competitor. In the long run, the cost of not
providing quality is business failure. Organizations must
meet their customer's requirements and expectations in
order to survive.
The Renewed Focus on Quality Dr. W. Edwards Deming
Managers cannot discuss quality without crediting the man
responsible for sharpening the international focus on
quality, the late Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Dr. Deming, a
tireless educator, consultant, and crusader, began his work
on the total quality systems approach by helping Japanese
industry go from manufacturing laughing stock to global
benchmark. The Japanese im-
 Page 261
mersed themselves in the teachings of Dr. Deming, and
then showed their appreciation by establishing the Deming
Medal for Highest Achievement in Productivity and
Quality, the ultimate Japanese business award.
In his eighth decade, Deming finally attracted the attention
of corporate America. Now his structured, holistic
approach to total quality, statistical process control, and
employee involvement is standard fare. To understand
Deming's philosophies, one must become familiar with his
fourteen points.
Deming's Fourteen Points
1. Create a constancy of purpose. Organizations must
have a clear mission, with all their actions, decisions,
and practices relating directly to that mission.
Constancy of purpose requires constancy of
management personnel. Constancy cannot be
achieved when people hold short stays in top
management
2. Adopt the new philosophy. Practice it in a zealous
and religious way throughout the organization. Instill
the philosophy in every thing you do and think about
it within the organization.
3. Cease dependence on mass inspection. A proactive,
preventive approach makes more sense than a
reactive, corrective philosophy. It is always cheaper to
prevent problems before they happen than to try to
correct them once they happen.
4. End the practice of awarding businesss on price
tag alone. You get what you pay for! Instead,
establish long-term, trusting, and accountable
relationships with suppliers.
5. Improve constantly and forever the system of
production and service. Improvement is not a one-
time event.
6. Institute modern training. Organizations and
individuals must grow. Skills can be taught internally.
Continuous learning and continuous improvement are
inseparable.
7. Institute Leadership. Quality starts at the top.
8. Drive out fear. Management by fear, supervision by
fear, and appraisals by fear cost dearly. People
become afraid to innovate, experiment, and problem-
solve.
 Page 262
9. Break down barriers between departments.
Customers do not want to pay for internal turf wars,
or their by-product, poor quality.
10. Eliminate empty rhetorical slogans, exhortations,
and unrealistic targets for the workforce. Slogans and
unreachable goals generate worker skepticism.
11. Eliminate numerical quotas. Quotas are usually
either inflated or too low. Replace fixed targets with
ranges of acceptability. Then, with worker
participation, tighten the range as improvements to
processes are made. Typically, evaluation by
performance, merit rating, or annual review of
performance are short-term, often subjective
measures. These undermine teamwork, increase turf
wars, demotivate people, and build fear.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and
retraining. Everyone in an organization should learn
the new philosophies, practices, and systems. Allow
employees continuous learning opportunities. Certain
jobs may become obsolete, but people can continue to
learn new skills for new jobs.
14. Take action to accomplish the transformation.
Develop an action plan and institute an organizational
commitment to carrying it out.
Developing Quality
In many cases, developing quality means changing the
entire culture of the organization. Creating a system-wide
philosophy and an implementation plan for quality can
take years. Quality is not produced just because we
espouse it or reward it. However, there are some tools
management can use to develop a culture of quality. In
addition to Deming's fourteen points, organizations must
institute all of the following over a long period of time, so
that quality becomes the organizational norm, rather than
the exception.
1. Understand process variation. Every process for every
task has variation. That is, there is some deviation or
variation from
 Page 263
the optimal or ideal for everything produced or every
service delivered. The more attention paid to improving
the process, the less variation there will be.
There are two types of variation, variation from common
causes and variation from special causes. Common cause
variations occur from differences in workers' abilities,
clarity of procedures, age and capability of machinery, and
so on. These usually require management intervention to
fix. Special cause variations, on the other hand, are easier
to eliminate, such as defective material from suppliers,
malfunctioning machinery, and untrained workers. To
conform to customers' requirements work teams must
understand that variation exists and they must recognize
the difference between special causes and common causes
of variation.
2. Measure variation. Work teams must document their
processes so that they know when special causes force a
process out of control. The most recognized tool for doing
this is a statistical process control (SPC) chart. An SPC
chart can monitor a process to eliminate special causes and
to keep the process in control when special causes arise
again. Team members chart defects or gauge
measurements as they produce products. They take the
mean average of a batch of products made or gauges read,
and plot those points on a graph, similar to the one shown.
When plot points fall above the upper control limit or
below the lower control limit, it is time to identify the
special cause and take a problem-solving approach to
putting the process back in control. In other words, it's
time to eliminate the special cause. This process replaces
inspection and blaming workers for problems.
For example, a quality operation in a hotel might be
defined in this way: All guest rooms must be cleaned
between 11 A.M. and 3 P.M.; guests must be helped by a
reservation clerk within ten minutes of their arrival; room-
service deliverys should be made within thirty minutes of
placement of the order; and the hotel operator must answer
the phone by the third ring. Each employee should chart
his or her own work. If a process (answering the phone) is
out of control (excessive calls answered after three rings),
employees in that process meet to identify the source of
the problem and find ways to correct it so that the process
is once again "in control."
 Page 264

3. Make customers the foundation for the quality system.

Identify your customers, both external and internal. For
example, in an educational system, the external customers
are students, their families, alumni, communities, and so
forth; internal customers might be faculty, clerical,
maintenance, administration, and support services. For a
hospital, external customers are patients, their families,
and insurance carriers; internal customers include
physicians, nurses, social workers, administration,
maintenance, and the business office.
Customers, whether internal or external, never ask for
specific products or services. They describe their needs,
then expect the supplier to come up with something to
meet those needs. For example, no one ever asked for
xerography; office workers did say they wanted a faster,
cleaner way to make document copies. Then these
customers asked for a way to stack copies. Some wanted
color. Listen to your customers' needs, and develop ways
to meet those needs.
External customers cannot be satisfied if internal
customers have not received satisfaction from their
internal suppliers. Territorial claims must be put to rest.
Infighting and bickering serves only your competitors.
Bring the internal customers and suppliers together to
solve problems.
 Page 265
4. Provide the necessary vehicles for achieving quality.
Traditional systems of quality control, already in place in
many organizations, are one tool for maintaining quality.
But keep in mind that quality control is just a tool, not a
complete system, for achieving excellence. To be
effective, quality control systems must be in place in all
functions of an organization, including management.
Many companies have turned to employee problem-
solving work teams, sometimes called quality circles, or
Q-teams. These teams equip employees with the tools for
solving problems so work can conform to acceptable
quality standards. Employees who work together in the
same department or function routinely meet to analyze
process problems and determine solutions. They seek to
reduce waste and costs, while increasing conformance to
quality. Quality circles and similar programs build
teamwork, improve communication, increase commitment
to quality, and solve problems before they become
unmanageable. They help spread the concept of quality
throughout the organization.
There are many other tools for helping employees produce
excellent products and services, such as process mapping,
or laying out a detailed map of each process and showing
how work flows from one process to another. Businesses
must examine their quality standards and their existing
resources. Quality control procedures, additional human
resources, training and education of the workforce, and
quality circles are but a few common means of promoting
quality.
5. Reward quality when it happens. When assessments
show that standards are being met, recognize and reward
the achievement. Individuals or units meeting quality
standards should be singled out for praise, given visibility
and rewards of some type. Examples of excellence can
serve as models for the entire organization. Once
employees realize that company recognizes the rewards
excellence, they will be motivated to excel.
6. Coach for improvement. Where assessments show that
quality standards are not being met, management must
direct its efforts at coaching for improved performance.
The organization must never tolerate failure, nor should it
lower standards to accommodate weakness. Individuals
whose work fails to meet quality requirements should
receive coaching, training, or other
 Page 266
assistance to improve their work. Management should
examine whether there are constraints affecting
employees' abilities to meet quality requirements, then
remove those constraints or barriers. The organization may
have to discharge employees whose work consistently fails
to meet standards, despite ample assistance.
7. Keep the quality process operating throughout the
system. Quality can never be taken for granted. The
process for developing and implementing a quality culture
must be ongoing if quality is to be maintained. The
workplace organization is dynamic: new jobs emerge, the
composition of employees changes, and new requirements
develop. Organizations should continually cycle through
the various steps to achieving quality so that emphasis on
quality becomes perpetual.
Pitfalls in Achieving QualityDeming's Obstacles
Many organizations have failed to institute quality because
they encountered pitfalls along the way. But most
organizations can achieve consistently high quality by
avoiding these six pitfalls:
1. Impatience. Some companies hope for instant success
through acclamation or affirmation of faith. They give up
on quality because they do not see immediate results.
Because quick turn-arounds do not occur, some managers
believe that quality is impossible to achieve. Committed
organizations must be prepared to spend years developing
quality and never abandon the goal.
2. Limited effort. Some organizations assume that
problemsolving techniques, new gadgets, and automation
will create a transformation to a quality company. These
are but small parts of a total quality change. Such a
transition requires full organizational commitment to
continual improvement and transformed thinking.
3. Simplistic solutions. Many companies attempt to use
cookie-cutter solutions or follow too closely the examples
of
 Page 267
other companies, hoping to make them fit their situation.
Each company must formulate its own roadmap to quality.
4. Half-hearted commitment. Some companies avoid the
difficult quality path under the pretext that "Our problems
are different or unique." Every problem can be solved, and
every process can be improved. The organization must be
fully committed and prepared to spend much time, on and
off the job.
5. No top management involvement. Starting at the bottom
of the organization won't work. As with most any
program, change must begin at the top. Employees must
be sure that upper management is behind a program before
they will embrace any change. Why should lower-level
employees dedicate themselves to quality if they do not
see their supervisors doing the same?
6. Focus on inspection. Quality improvement programs
that emphasize inspection after work has been completed
are doomed to failure. Thinking that after-production
inspection can improve quality is short-sided and prevents
organizations from finding the real causes of problems,
much less how to fix these problems. The key to
generating excellence is planning.
Ultimately, quality is about satisfying the customer. To do
this, companies must discover what the customer wants,
how the customer wants to be treated, and what it takes to
thrill them. Then employees and managers must examine
all their processes to ensure that the company can deliver
what the customer wants, first time and every time.
[See also Customer Service; Team Building; Training]
For Additional Information
Rabbitt, John, and Peter Bergh. The ISO 9000 Book: A
Global Competitor's Guide to Compliance and
Certification. New York: AMACOM, 1994.
Bhote, Keki R. World Class Quality: Using Design of
Experiments to Make it Happen. New York: AMACOM,
1991.
Brown, Mark G., Darcy Hitchcock, and Marsha Willard.
Why TQM Fails and What To Do About It. Burr Ridge Ill.:
Irwin Professional Publishing, 1994.
 Page 268
Deming, W. Edwards. Out of Crisis. Cambridge, Mass.:
M.I.T. Center for Advanced Engineering Study, 1986.
Joiner, Brian L. Fourth Generation Management: The
New Business Consciousness. New York: McGraw-Hill,
1994.
Walton, Mary. The Deming Management Method. New
York: Perigree Publishing, 1989.
 Page 269

Recruiting and Selecting New Employees

Recruiting and selecting new employees are very
important functions. Increasingly, organizations are
coming to regard people as their most important asset. By
developing appropriate hiring practices, you can avoid the
costly error of hiring the wrong person for a particular job.
Poor hiring decisions can cost thousands of dollars in
advertising, interviewing, travel, training, and
administrative expenses. Then there is the time lost in the
selection process, disruption to the work unit because of a
position needing to be filled, and the negative effects on
productivity and morale when a new hire performs a job
unsuccessfully.
Many managers erroneously believe that recruitment and
selection are functions of personnel specialists and that
operating managers need not be involved in the process.
But there are many reasons why all managers should be
skilled in recruiting and selecting new employees. In many
small companies, for example, sophisticated human
resource departments do not exist. Managers are expected
to do their own hiring. And even in large corporations with
selection specialists, the human resource staff can never
know as much as departmental managers about the
requirements of the position, the nature of the department,
or the type of individual who could best perform the job.
Only in very low-level, routine positions should managers
consider leaving the whole process to the human resource
specialists. In short, recruiting is an essential skill for all
managers. Increasingly, some organizations empower
work teams to interview and to make hiring decisions for
vacancies on their teams.
 Page 270

Elements of the Recruitment and Selection Process

The key steps in recruiting and selecting new employees
are discussed in the following sections.
Preparing a Job Description
You must be thoroughly familiar with the duties and
requirements of a job before you can select the best person
to perform it. In order to acquire familiarity, you must
conduct a job analysis, which entails learning about the
daily tasks and special assignments required of the
employee. Observe the incumbent employee at work,
interview the employee, administer a questionnaire about
job requirements, and use written job descriptions. All of
these methods will provide you with an accurate and
comprehensive picture of the job.
In addition to outlining job duties, the analysis should
determine other job specifications, such as education level,
prior work experience, specialized abilities, and necessary
personality characteristics. It is essential that these
determinations not be arbitrary. For example, if the job
could be done by someone without a college degree or
without five years of experience, then to demand such
specifications would be discriminatory. All requirements
must be directly linked to job performance. The
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that job
descriptions describe only essential functions of a job. For
example, loading paper in a copier machine is not an
essential function for a clerical job, since other people can
do it and since the job would still exist if you removed
loading paper as a job requirement.
After analyzing what the job entails, prepare a realistic and
specific job description. This should include all the duties
and responsibilities performed in the job, arranged in order
from most often to least often performed. Some job
descriptions include the percentage of daily time devoted
to each specific responsibility. Other items to include are
job title, reporting relationship, salary grade and range,
and work schedule. These elements are especially
important for job descriptions you provide to candidates.
 Page 271
Delineating the job specifications is an essential step that
precedes the actual recruiting. By identifying the job
duties, necessary skills, and important personality
characteristics ahead of time, you can make more efficient
use of your interviewing time and enhance your hiring
decisions. This step also can reduce the number of
unqualified applicants, since some people will not apply if
they lack certain skills or do not want to perform certain
job duties.
Selecting Recruiting Sources
There are many sources you can use to find job applicants.
Some sources lend themselves to certain levels of jobs;
others produce large numbers of applicants who may or
may not be qualified. Common sources for recruiting job
applicants include:
· Newspaper advertising. This method is inexpensive and
produces large numbers of applicants in a very short time.
But it is time-consuming because help-wanted ads can
attract many unqualified applicants. Someone must then
take the time to screen a potentially large number of
applicants.
· Job posting. This entails advertising a job opening
within your organization. In many companies, jobs must
be made available to insiders before jobs can be advertised
externally. The advantage is that you are able to hire
someone who is already familiar with the company and
whose performance record is known. Disadvantages
include the fact that the company still has another opening
to fill and that employee applicants not hired may become
disgruntled.
· Internal referrals. Current employees recommend
candidates for a job. Some organizations provide bonuses
for employees whose referrals are hired. Because
employees know the realities of a company, they can
provide an accurate description of a job to potential
applicants. On the other hand, the method can create
''inbreeding," with close friends and relatives working
together. Organizations using this method should combine
it with other recruiting sources. Word-of-mouth alone is an
insufficient recruiting practice, according to equal
employment opportunity (EEO) requirements.
 Page 272

· Campus recruiting. Many organizations turn to college

campuses for a large pool of talented applicants for entry-
level professional positions. Likewise, high school and
vocational schools can provide a pool of qualified
applicants for secretarial or technical jobs. These sources
provide, for the most part, applicants who lack work
experience, however.
· Employment agencies, temporary employment agencies,
or executive search firms. Using these outside sources can
save a manager or personnel specialist a great deal of time,
but they can be very costly to the hiring organization. In
each case, the agency should take the time to learn of your
staffing specifications, scout the market for qualified
talent, and carefully screen applicants so that they refer
only the most qualified candidates.
Executive search firms have the advantage of locating
talented employees who are already employed and may be
difficult to recruit through any other means. Because these
recruiting sources vary in quality, you should screen them
as carefully as you would any other employee or resource.
Temporary employees afford you the opportunity to take
an on-the-job view of their work.
· Government agencies. State or federal employment
agencies can provide, at no cost to organizations, a pool of
applicants for entry-level positions. Since these applicants
are unemployed, they can usually start work immediately.
Often, government agencies will train the employees at
little or reduced cost to the employer, or the government
agency may offer tax incentives to employers who hire
specific types of people, such as those trying to remove
themselves from government support services. Contact
your local, state, or federal government for further
information. Government agencies can provide qualified
applicants only for limited types of jobs, however.
· Professional societies and trade or business
associations. People in professional careers or skilled
trades usually belong to associations affiliated with their
specialty. Such associations may offer job-placement
services, hold conventions where you can scout for
qualified candidates, or publish job advertisements in their
newsletters, magazines, or journals. This method is useful
for recruiting for highly specialized positions such as
engineering,
 Page 273
law, architecture, and medicine. Also, highly motivated
individuals in a particular field are most likely to be
members of professional associations. The method is
limited, obviously, by the type of job you need to fill.
· Walk-in applicants. Frequently, people will apply for
jobs in a particular organization even if no openings exist.
These applications can be kept on file and examined when
a job opening occurs. While this recruiting method does
not cost an organization, accepting large numbers of
unsolicited applications can be time-consuming, especially
if they are acknowledged and taken seriously.
Screening Application Materials
After the application deadline for an open position has
passed, you begin to examine the application materials. In
most cases, each applicant will provide a completed
application form and a résumé. Depending on the position
and the organization, a large number of application
materials may have to be reviewed. You can solicit
assistance from the personnel department or other
qualified individuals to screen out the obviously
unqualified applicants. In some cases, this will reduce the
applicant pool substantially.
It is important that the hiring manager take the time to
review the materials of all qualified candidates. While this
may be time-consuming, time spent in the careful
evaluation of written materials prevents unnecessary
interviews and reduces the possibility of an inappropriate
selection decision. You can review application materials in
an unstructured fashion to determine the most preferred
and least preferred candidates or develop systems for
awarding points to applicants according to important job
criteria, thereby rank-ordering the applicants. Whatever
the method, you must screen application materials so that
a limited number of top candidates emerge to be
interviewed.
Naturally, the requirements of the particular job and
culture of the hiring organization will dictate the criteria
you use in screening applications. However, there are
some standard considerations to use as you review a pool
of application materials:
 Page 274
1. What is the appearance of application materials? The
application form should be complete, legible, and neat.
The résumé should look professional, should be easy to
scan, and should be free from grammatical or spelling
errors.
2. Are there inconsistencies in information presented? For
example, are the dates of previously held jobs sequential
and without interruption? If there is a gap in the work or
educational history of an otherwise qualified candidate,
ask the candidate for an explanation. Does it appear that
the candidate was involved in activities in two widely
different geographic locations during the same period?
Has the candidate been obviously overqualified or
underqualified for previous positions? You need not
disqualify an applicant because of perceived
inconsistencies in written information, however
inconsistencies should alert you to seek clarification.
3. Is there evidence of an irregular employment history?
An excessive number of job changes in a short period may
indicate a problem employee. This may be confirmed if
the applicant is ambiguous about the reasons for such job
changes. Keep in mind, however, that some applicants
have justifiable reasons for making frequent job changes.
An erratic career pattern can result from company mergers
or relocations, the job transfers of a spouse, changing
employment trends in society, or ambitious career goals.
4. Are there indications that the applicant is particularly
well suited to your job or organization? Perhaps the
person has performed very similar duties in a previous job
or has worked for an organization in a related field.
Volunteer or civic activities may have helped the applicant
develop relevant job skills.
The role of the manager in screening applicants is to
objectively review materials to determine possible
strengths and weaknesses of each applicant and to decide
if that applicant should be interviewed.
Interviewing Candidates
Interviewing candidates is a key step in the selection
process. This is when the majority of information about a
candidate is
 Page 275
obtained, when the candidate develops impressions about
the organization, and when decisions about the match
between applicant and position occur. It is important to
allocate enough time to prepare for, conduct, and
summarize each interview.
1. Prepare. You should prepare for selection interviews by
reviewing job descriptions and job requirements, by
familiarizing yourself with the applicant's written
materials, and by preparing some standard and specific
questions. Managers who are unprepared for interviews
make inefficient use of interview time, present a poor
image of the company, and fail to obtain pertinent
information. You should develop a set of questions around
certain skill categories relevant to the job.
You and your colleagues should first develop a list of
defined skill categories, then prepare several questions for
each skill category. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) guidelines prohibit questions about
marital status, children, age, national origin, birthplace,
religion, sex, race, ownership of a house or car, credit
rating, or type of military discharge. EEOC guidelines
suggest that all candidates for a job be asked the same
questions, so as to avoid bias. Follow-up questions,
naturally, would be different for different candidates since
follow-ups are determined by the specific information
needed after the candidate gives the initial response.
2. Establish rapport. The first step in the actual interview
is to establish rapport with the candidate. This is an
important ingredient in calming the applicant and in
showing a positive work atmosphere. You should realize
that job interviews are transactions in which each party
gathers information to make a decision about the other.
Both sides give and seek information to influence each
other. You can establish rapport by greeting the candidate
in a warm and friendly manner, by using a comfortable
and private place to conduct the interview, and by
describing the interviewing process. The more that you
can reduce intimidating aspects of the situation and show
genuine interest in the candidate, the more likely it is that
you will get honest and thorough information.
3. Ask questions. Avoid excessive small talk, as candidates
are eager to get on with the interview. It is wise to begin
the actual
 Page 276
interview with broad, open-ended questions to get the
applicant talking. For example, you can ask about daily
duties at the last job. Then you can get more specific
information by probing specific statements that the
applicant makes. In this way, the interview resembles a
conversation rather than an interrogation. Essentially, you
want to converse with the interviewee in a relaxed style
while obtaining specific information about previous work
experience, educational background, and relevant skills.
You can achieve a conversational tone by occasionally
commenting on, but not evaluating, the person's remarks.
Open-ended questions are always preferable to questions
that can be answered with yes or no responses. The key is
to get the candidate talking, at length, in areas of interest
to you. Focus the interview with prepared questions and
keep it moving smoothly with well-placed follow-up
questions to obtain elaboration or clarification in certain
areas. Follow-up questions should elicit specific
experiences and avoid general references or opinions.
Beware of leading questions that cue the applicant to
provide the answers you want to hear. The applicant, not
the interviewer, should do the majority of the talking. You
must be a careful observer and listener.
4. Give information. In addition to obtaining information,
you must be skilled in providing thorough and accurate
details to the job applicant. Here, the more candid you can
be, the better. It is counterproductive to paint an unrealistic
picture of the job or the organization to job candidates.
Both the positive and negative features of the job should
be explained.
Qualified candidates need to know the realities of a job so
they can determine if the position fits their goals, lifestyle,
or temperament. Some organizations arrange for potential
new hires to talk with employees in similar positions or to
observe part of a workday in the company. Providing an
accurate rather than an attractive picture of the company
will improve both the effective selection and the eventual
retention of new employees.
Besides providing information about job expectations, this
phase of the interview process also involves answering the
interviewees' questions. Encourage the applicant to ask
questions by providing enough time for dialogue, by
making the interviewee feel comfortable throughout the
interview, and by soliciting ques-
 Page 277
tions in an unintimidating manner. You can gain additional
insights into candidates by the number and types of
questions they ask about a job.
5. State the next steps. The final part of the face-to-face
interview is to indicate what the next step will be. Will
there be callback interviews, reference checks, or physical
exams? Should the applicant provide more information or
submit a portfolio of work samples? To conclude an
interview, thank the applicant. Escort the applicant out of
the room and indicate how soon the decision will be made.
6. Summarize information. It is common for interviewers
to take a few notes while the candidate talks. But note
taking should be limited and unobtrusive during the
interview. Then, immediately after the interview, take
some time to elaborate on your notes. Your purpose is to
summarize the person's answers, to record factual
information, and to describe the candidate's appearance
and mannerisms.
Avoid subjective evaluations. Both to make an unbiased
decision and to comply with legal aspects of the selection
process, you should refrain from recording opinions and
unsubstantiated judgments about applicants. Personal
interpretation by the interviewer can never by totally
eliminated from hiring decisions, but subjective bias must
be minimized as much as possible.
The postinterview summary is used as a memory aid after
you have obtained information from many candidates. The
manager who conducts more than a few interviews for a
vacant position will find it difficult to associate
information with particular candidates without the aid of
detailed, objective notes on each person.
Administering Standardized Tests
Some organizations use standardized testing as part of the
selection process. These may include tests of intelligence,
aptitudes, skills, job information, or personality. Testing
should never be the sole means of making hiring
decisions, but it can be a valuable tool to provide precise,
objective information you cannot obtain through other
means.
 Page 278
If you use selection tests, they must be relevant to the job
qualifications, they must be valid in measuring what they
claim to measure, they must be administered and scored
consistently for all applicants, and they must be
administered by a qualified person. You can use selection
tests initially to screen qualified applicants prior to
scheduling interviews or test preferred candidates
emerging from interviews to help distinguish among them.
It is advisable that stardized tests be approved by legal
department or company legal counsel. Whatever the
method, if selection tests conform to professional and
legal standards, they can provide a valuable source of
additional information to employers.
Follow-up and Evaluation
Even after scrutinizing written materials, conducting and
summarizing the interview, and obtaining test scores
where applicable, the manager involved in selection has
other tasks to perform. You should check references,
verify degrees, and confirm previous employment. It is
wise to check with at least three references to see if
consistent evaluations of the candidates emerge. In many
cases, you must be perceptive in noticing what the
reference does not say about the candidate, as well as
noting what comments are made. Degree verification is
becoming increasingly common in the selection process
and companies now exist to provide this service. The
candidate's previous employers should be contacted to
verify the dates of employment. Some organizations
employ third-party investigators to check applicant
references and to verify applicant information.
In some jobs or organizations, security clearances,
physical examinations, or drug testing is performed.
Certain categories of jobs require these additional
screening measures and candidates may be rejected for
failing them.
Once all the information from these various sources is
available for candidates, it is time for you to evaluate
qualifications, compare candidates, and make hiring
decisions. This step should not be taken lightly. Avoid the
tendency to make snap judgments, rely on personal biases,
or make premature decisions. The evaluation of applicants
should be systematic and as objective as possible. Some
managers develop elaborate point systems for evaluat-
 Page 279
ing candidates. In each case, the applicant's job
qualifications should be compared against job factors. You
can develop lists of strengths and weaknesses for each
candidate, based on factual information. The goal is not to
hire the most stellar candidate, but to make the best match
between a job and a candidate. Therefore, it is wise to
have more than one interviewer and more than one making
the hiring decision.
By carefully comparing the qualifications of the various
candidates and matching them to job requirements, you
can rank-order the candidates. It is important to consider
several top candidates, should the most preferred
candidate reject the job offer. Once your decision is made,
you can make the job offer and notify applicants once the
preferred candidate gives written acceptance of the offer.
[See also Interviewing; Turnover]
For Additional Information
Arthur, Diane. Recruiting, Interviewing, Selecting &
Orienting New Employees. New York: AMACOM, 1991.
Yarborough, Mary Ellen. "New Variations on Recruitment
and Prescreening." HR Focus 71, No. 10 (Oct. 1994), p. 1.
Mercer, Michael W. Hire the Best. . . and Avoid the Rest.
New York: AMACOM, 1993.
 Page 280

Sexual Harassment
Managers must be aware of the issue of sexual harassment
in the workplace. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) guidelines mandate that companies
be responsible for creating a working environment free
from harassment and have mechanisms for dealing with
reported incidents of sexual harassment. Clearly, sexual
harassment is not just an issue between two people, but an
organizational issue. Because you can be held responsible
when your subordinates are sexually harassed, you must
know what constitutes harassment and be able to take
steps to eliminate it from your organization.
What Is Sexual Harassment?
The November 1980 EEOC guidelines clarify sexual
harassment as an unlawful employment practice under
Section 703 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The legal definition of sexual harassment is as follows:
It is illegal for a supervisor or co-worker to engage in unwelcome
sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or verbal or physical
conduct of a sexual nature. Such behavior constitutes sexual
harassment whether submission is made an implicit or explicit
condition of employment; whether employment decisions are based
on submission to or rejection of such behavior; or whether such
behavior substantially interferes with work performance or creates an
intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
 Page 281
Additionally, an employer is responsible for the behaviors
of all its employees, regardless of whether those behaviors
were forbidden and regardless of whether the employer
knew or should have known of the occurrence of those
behaviors. The employer is also responsible for the
behaviors of nonemployees if the employer knew or
should have known of the harassing behavior. The
employer has the defense of having taken immediate and
corrective action in the cases of harassment by coworkers
and nonemployees.
You should examine certain aspects of the legal definition
to fully understand its ramifications.
1. Sexual harassment is unwelcome behavior. Sexually
harassing behavior differs from behavior that expresses
sexual interest. Welcomed expressions of sexual interest or
mutually entered sexual relationships do not constitute
sexual harassment.
2. Sexual harassment may be verbal, nonverbal, or
physical. Nonverbal harassment includes such forms of
behavior as leering, offensive gestures, or whistling.
Verbal harassment includes such forms of behavior as
sexual innuendoes, sexual jokes, and suggestive
comments. Physical harassment includes such forms of
behavior as touching, pinching, and assault.
3. Employment decisions need not be tied to the
harassment. The harasser does not need to threaten some
work-related consequence in order for the behavior to be
considered harassment. Obviously, making employment,
promotion, or compensation decisions contingent on
sexual behavior is harassment. But so are unwanted sexual
behaviors with no job-related contingencies. Any
unwanted sexual behavior that creates an intimidating,
hostile, or offensive work environment can be considered
harassment.
4. The employer cannot claim ignorance. The legal
definition indicates that employers should know about the
existence of sexual harassment in their work
environments. This means that you must make sure that
such behavior does not take place-you are responsible for
providing a harassment-free work environment. You must
be able to recognize and detect harassing behavior.
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5. You can be held accountable for the behavior of
nonemployees as well as employees. You must make sure
that vendors, clients, customers, and delivery or repair
personnel do not create an offensive work environment
through their behavior toward organizational employees.
Why You Should Be Concerned
Evidence reveals that sexual harassment affects not only
the parties involved but the entire organization. A harassed
worker is likely to take more sick leave, become accident-
prone, and resort to alcohol and drug abuse. An
organization with sexual harassment problems faces
worker stress, lower employee morale, higher rates of
absenteeism and turnover, and productivity problems. In
short, sexual harassment is extremely disruptive and
costly.
Another vulnerability for you and your company is the
possibility of a lawsuit related to instances of sexual
harassment. Obviously, the harasser will be named and
will be held liable for damages in successful sexual
harassment litigation. But even managers who are not
themselves harassers, and the company as a whole, can be
liable in cases where blatant harassment was tolerated or
where reported cases were handled inappropriately. As a
representative of your organization, you can be implicated
along with the actual persons engaging in harassing
behavior.
The Nature of Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is a complicated issue and does not
always have clear-cut boundaries. Unwanted behavior is
not always distinguishable from reciprocal behavior. The
same behavior may be defined as friendly by one person
and as offensive by another. Experts disagree about
whether the accuser should confront the accused to
communicate that certain behaviors are offensive. Despite
the ambiguities surrounding the issue of sexual harass-
 Page 283
ment, some patterns emerge to create a typical sexual
harassment scenario.
An examination of reported cases of harassment reveals
that the typical complaint is filed by a female employee
against a male employee. While there have been reported
instances of females harassing males, females harassing
females, or males harassing males, the majority of cases
involve a female accuser and a male accused.
There is no clear-cut demographic profile of sexual
harassment victims, but some factors seem more prevalent
than others. Besides being female, targets of sexual
harassment tend to be young and unmarried. Education,
income, and occupation do not predict incidents of sexual
harassment. Highly educated women in high-status jobs
are just as likely to be harassed as are less educated
holders of lower-status jobs.
Another trend, discerned from confidential surveys of
employees, is the tendency for victims not to report
harassment. Whether or not companies have policies and
procedures for dealing with sexual harassment,
nonreporting is common. Employees who have perceived
themselves to be victims of sexual harassment offer
several reasons for not reporting the incidents. They often
feel that they will be blamed for the incident, believe that
nothing will be done to stop the harassment, feel too
embarrassed to report the incident, fear they will suffer
personal repercussions or job reprisals from complaining,
or feel guilty if the accused is hurt by the complaint.
The most common response to harassment is to leave the
organization. Many victims quit their jobs without
complaint once sexually harassing behavior has created a
stressful work environment. In such cases, you have no
way of knowing the extent of turnover from harassment in
your organization. Even in instances of formal complaint
or litigation, many victims opt to leave the organization.
Women may quit if, after lodging a formal complaint,
insufficient action is taken to stop the harassing behavior.
Litigation may take so long and result in such a
deteriorated employer-employee relationship that the
victim feels there is no recourse except to leave the
organization. In some cases, women are fired after
reporting sexual harassment.
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Outdated Managerial Attitude

One outdated approach to sexual harassment is that
harassment does not occur in ''our" company and that
women who accuse men of sexual harassment are
overreacting to or misinterpreting certain types of
behavior. That view trivializes the subject, maintaining
that allegations of sexual harassment stem from romances
that have gone sour, from women taking offense at well-
intentioned compliments, or from overly sensitive women
employees who are not tough enough to handle a normal
work environment. Managers who hold this view will
dismiss reports of sexual harassment by indicating that
boys will be boys, that the accuser must have behaved
provocatively, that women have no sense of humor, or that
no harm was intended. In short, sexual harassment is
regarded as nonexistent, as an overreaction, or as a
misunderstanding between two people. By perceiving
harassment as an interpersonal rather than an
organizational matter, managers who adhere to this school
of thought either refrain from getting involved or try to
protect the accused party.
Although some organizations seem to operate smoothly
with this perspective, there is no way to determine the
costs of absenteeism, medical benefits claims, turnover, or
decreased morale or productivity resulting from
unresolved incidents of sexual harassment. Such
organizations and their managers clearly expose
themselves to financially disastrous lawsuits, in light of
contemporary EEOC guidelines.
Recommended Managerial Responses
Enlightened organizations take the view that sexually
offensive behavior of any type is unprofessional and
cannot be tolerated in the workplace. This position is good
business practice because it reduces disruption in the
workplace and eliminates legal liability. By establishing
the following practices for preventing sexual harassment,
you can create a safe, comfortable, and productive work
environment for all employees.
1. Establish and publicize a policy statement about sexual
harassment. Sexual harassment policy statements should
communicate
 Page 285
the EEOC definition of harassment, provide examples of
behavior constituting harassment, and explain the
organizational procedure for reporting and dealing with
sexual harassment complaints.
Have employees report their complaints to the immediate
supervisor, to the personnel or human resources manager,
to a company EEO officer, to the chief executive officer
(CEO), or, where appropriate, to a union representative.
Complainants must be assured confidentiality and freedom
from reprisal. Policy statements may be communicated
through personnel policy manuals, employee handbooks,
company newsletters, bulletin boards, or memos.
2. Establish investigative procedures. Typically, the person
responsible for EEO in an organization will follow these
steps in investigating a sexual harassment complaint:
Interview, in separate sessions, the complainant and the
accused. Try to ascertain, from each person's perspective,
what happened, when it happened, who else might be
aware of the events, the background of the incident, and
each person's prior and current attitudes toward the other.
Interview witnesses. To gather documentation, you may
have to talk with others who were aware of the alleged
harassment. Realize that third parties will tend to take
sides. Try to get the facts rather than opinions.
Act as a mediator in a meeting of the accuser and the
accused. Some organizations do not take this step, either
because they investigate anonymous complaints or they
feel that forcing the victim to confront the accused is too
traumatic or sensitive. In some cases, however, such a
meeting can clarify perceptions, can show the seriousness
of management's concern about harassment, and can
resolve the incident.
Make an objective decision. The person investigating a
sexual harassment complaint often must decide the merits
of the case or must head a decision-making body.
Objectivity is imperative. The decision must be based on
the facts, not on personal attitudes or relationships with the
people involved.
3. Take disciplinary action. Once a sexual harassment
complaint has been judged to be accurate, some
disciplinary action
 Page 286
should be taken. Depending on the nature and the extent of
the harassment, disciplinary actions can include warnings,
reprimands, suspensions, or terminations. Where the
harasser is a nonemployee, verbal warnings, notification
of supervisors, or discontinuation of the relationship may
be warranted. Some organizations take disciplinary action
against employees who knowingly file false allegations of
sexual harassment or against managers who do not follow
established procedures for handling reports of harassment.
4. Educate employees about sexual harassment. Because
sexual harassment is a complicated and sensitive issue,
preparing a policy statement and reporting procedures may
not be sufficient. Organizations can provide training to
clarify the definition of sexual harassment, to show top
management support in preventing sexual harassment, to
encourage employees to discuss their feelings on this
issue, and to teach employees how to deal with sexually
offensive behavior in the workplace. In addition, managers
should be taught how to detect early signs of sexual
harassment, how to intervene to prevent harassment, how
to monitor their own behavior, and how to process any
sexual harassment complaint that they receive from a
subordinate.
[See also Diversity in Organizations]
For Additional Information
Kremer, J. M. D., and Marks, J. "Sexual Harassment: The
Response of Management and Trade Unions." Journal of
Occupational and Organizational Psychology, No. 65
(1992), pp. 5-15.
Wagner, Ellen J. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace:
How to Prevent, Investigate and Resolve Problems in Your
Organization. New York: AMACOM, 1992.
Weiss, Donald H. Why Didn't I Say That?: What to Say
and How to Say It in Tough Situations on the Job. New
York: AMACOM, 1994.
 Page 287

Stress Management
Stress is a state of physical or mental tension resulting
from factors that alter the body's equilibrium, or, in other
words, stress is the body's reaction to either pleasant or
unpleasant stimulation. We think of stress as a reaction to
negative forces or situations, but pleasant experiences or
positive changes can also cause stress. Likewise, both
overstimulation and understimulation can produce
stressfor example, too much or too little to do on a job, or
any sort of deviation from normal routine caused by
factors related to the job and/or the person.
Effects of Stress
Both organizations and individuals are becoming aware of
the serious consequences of stress. At the organizational
level, stress can limit productivity and therefore be costly.
At the personal level, it can have a variety of effects
ranging from mild irritability to total disability or death.
Such effects reveal the need for stress-management
intervention at both levels.
Much research recently has documented the relationship
of stress to certain diseases. The medical community
largely agrees that cardiovascular disease, hypertension,
ulcers, headaches, backaches, depression, gastrointestinal
problems, allergies, sexual dysfunctions, alcohol and drug
dependency, and certain forms of cancer are stress-related
illnesses. Chronic stress has become a major health
problem costing millions of dollars and countless lives
annually.
Stress can also impair people's relationships and lifestyles.
Stressed workers are more likely to be irritable, to
withdraw from social situations, to engage in conflicts
with others, to have emotional outbursts, and to have
problems with families and
 Page 288
friends. Stressed individuals are not the only ones to
suffer; so do the peopole around them. It is difficult to
estimate the extent to which work stress contributes to
turbulent family relationships and divorce, but an
association seems likely.
The effects of stress on the organization are numerous.
Studies have documented that it leads to more workplace
accidents; higher rates of absenteeism and turnover; lower
group morale; labor unrest including grievances, strikes,
and sabotage; and losses in productivity. The costs of such
outcomes are staggering.
Extensive studies on the relationship of stress to
productivity reveal that too little stress as well as too much
stress impairs performance. People in boring or repetitive
jobs with little challenge report feeling just as much stress
as do workers in demanding, pressure-filled jobs.
Moderate amounts of stress seem to result in optimum
performance.
Because stress has serious consequences for the individual
and the organization, both must understand the issues in
stress management. Individual employees must take action
to alleviate their own stress, and organizations should
implement stress-management programs for their
workforce. It is in the best interest of both groups to work
cooperatively in managing workplace stress. Such efforts
can save relationships, money, and lives. Effectively
managing stress means understanding its sources,
recognizing its symptoms, and utilizing strategies to
reduce it.
Sources of Stress
Various factors create employee stress. Stressors can be
personal (intrinsic to the individual's personality and
private life), organizational (intrinsic to the job and the
organization), or environmental (intrinsic to the physical
surroundings and working conditions). Studies have
shown that stress factors may be different for white-collar
than for blue-collar employees.
Personal Sources of Stress
Personality and perception play important roles in the
level of stress. Some types of people are more prone to
stress than others.
 Page 289
Two people with similar jobs, family, and working
conditions can vary in the extent to which they feel stress.
Individual variations in stress tolerance and anxiety level
clearly affect perceptions of stress.
Highly emotional people and those characterized as Type
A personalities report high levels of stress. Type A persons
exhibit extreme competitiveness, sense of urgency,
aggressiveness, constant striving for achievement,
impatience, perfectionism, inability to relax, desire to
control, irritability, and restlessness. While many Type A
individuals enjoy a great deal of job satisfaction and
success, their behavior does correlate with high stress,
increased incidence of coronary ailments, and
workaholism.
Personal problems can contribute to stress. Psychological,
financial, marital, sexual, or child-rearing problems are
common types of personal stressors that can adversely
affect work performance. Employers have responded by
creating employee-assistance programs.
While family and friends often help alleviate stress caused
by work, they can also cause stress. Troublesome
relationships, communication difficulties, or illnesses of
loved ones all produce stress, as do joyous events such as
a wedding, the birth of a child, purchasing a home, or
holiday celebrations. A myriad of personal factors can
therefore produce stressed employees.
Organizational Sources of Stress
The stress of certain occupations has been found to be
particularly high: police officer, firefighter, physician,
dentist, farmer, miner, secretary, nurse, teacher, social
worker, air traffic controller, machinist, and customer
service representative. Many other occupations are
stressful as well.
Work relationships are a potential source of stress. The
quality of relationships with bosses, peers, and
subordinates clearly affects your perception of a job as
stressful or not. Stress is likely to result if you feel
distrusted, threatened, hostility, or not supported in these
relationships. Communication difficulties and personality
clashes are a major source of workplace stress. Sometimes
people like their jobs but don't like their co-workers.
Unclear or conflicting job responsibilities present another
 Page 290
source of organizational stress. Stressed employees often
report uncertainty about what is expected of them. Many
people work without job descriptions and with little
awareness of the criteria by which their performance will
be evaluated. Managers, for example, may be unsure of
the extent of their responsibilities and the scope of their
authority. A secretary may work for many managers at
once who make conflicting demands.
Stress may also stem from the structure and philosophy of
an organization. Organizations with strict chains of
command and cumbersome rules, policies, and procedures
can be very stressful places. Similarly, companies with
authoritative and impersonal styles of management with
little chance for employees to have input into the decisions
that affect them are highly stressful. In other
organizations, politics, game playing, and the lack of
straight answers cause frustration. Some organizational
cultures make it difficult for newcomers, women,
minorities, or older workers to succeed. This category of
stressors is broad and pervasive. A wide variety of issues
related to organizational structure, management style, and
workplace climate have been found to cause stress.
Certain issues related to career development can be
sources of stress. Someone who is inadequately trained for
a particular job will experience stress trying to perform it.
Being overqualified for a position has its own frustrations.
Many managers, especially high achievers, feel stressed
when their desires for promotion are thwarted or
postponed. Both stagnation in a job and eagerness in
climbing the career ladder are stressors. Rapid career
development through training opportunities, frequent
promotions, special projects, or transfers can be quite
stressful. Questions of job security inevitably produce
anxiety.
Environmental Sources of Stress
Certain aspects of physical surroundings in a workplace
can create stress. For example, noise, crowded conditions,
uncomfortable temperatures, inappropriate lighting,
uncomfortable furniture, awkward working positions, air
pollution, or safety hazards contribute to worker stress.
While federal regulations limit excessive noise or toxic
chemicals in the workplace, many other
 Page 291
environmental stressors go unnoticed. Working all day
under flourescent lights or sitting for long periods of time
at a computer terminal can produce tension, headaches,
dizziness, and fatigue. Environmental features of the
workplace not only create stress but also cause accidents,
disability, and death. In recent years, more companies
have been paying attention to environmental stressors.
Indeed, a specialty area called ergonomics has emerged to
examine ways to adapt the work environment to human
requirements, capabilities, and needs.
Some studies have delineated different stress factors for
management and nonmanagement positions. Managers are
more likely to be stressed by deadlines, take-home work,
responsibility for other people, competition, job instability,
and the need for achievement. People in nonmanagement
positions are stressed by shift work, job monotony,
insufficient responsibility, social isolation, little
recognition for achievement, fear of unemployment, and
environmental conditions. These categories of stressors
are not necessarily mutually exclusive, an individual may
be affected simultaneously by personal, organizational,
and environmental stressors. Obviously, coping will be
more difficult for a person with a Type A behavior who
has family problems and is in a highly demanding job. In
fact, there seems to be a contagious effect; family
problems can lead to job stress or vice versa.
Symptoms of Stress
In order to detect stress early enough to prevent serious
consequences to the individual or the organization, you
must be able to recognize stress symptoms. Stress
manifests itself through certain feelings, behaviors, and
illnesses. Chronic anger, despair, anxiety, and depression
can all indicate stress. While it is inevitable that people
feel some of these emotions occasionally, if they persist it
may be a warning sign of stress.
Defensive or aggressive behavior can indicate stress.
Stressed individuals have trouble dealing with life's little
irritations and tend to have frequent emotional outbursts.
Other potential stress indicators include difficulty
concentrating; increased use of alco-
 Page 292
hol, caffeine, nicotine, or drugs; frequent nightmares;
insomnia; loss of appetite or compulsive eating; or
nervous tics. Work-related behaviors also change due to
stress. For example, a decline in job performance, sudden
increases in absenteeism, preoccupation with busywork, or
an obsessive concern for work can all signal stress, as can
the onset of typical stress-related illnesses.
Stress-Management Strategies
To be effective, a stress-management program must take a
two-faceted approach. First, individuals must learn how to
identify, monitor, and reduce stress in their lives. Second,
the organization must revise its personal procedures,
managerial styles, and physical environment to be less
stressful to employees.
Individual Practices
An ongoing, dualistic approach to reducing stress will reap
benefits for individuals and organizations alike. The
following are some specific stress-management strategies
for individuals and organizations to consider:
1. Recognize your stress. The first step in managing stress
is to recognize its attitudinal, behavioral, and physical
signs. Many highly stressed people are unaware of the
messages their bodies are giving them. Be aware of
individual stressors and unique symptoms of stress. On a
regular basis, ask yourself what aspects of your
personality, job, or private life cause you to feel stressed.
Make a note of how you show the early warning signs of
stress.
2. Monitor your pace. Periodically, you need to examine
the pace of your life. Are you trying to do too much? Does
your life offer too little stimulation? Remember that Type
A personalities take on too many tasks and even rigidly
schedule their leisure time. Setting realistic limits on work
and social responsibilities is essential to stress
management.
3. Practice relaxation techniques. Relaxation provides a
temporary but important break in a period of stress.
Medical approaches
 Page 293
to stress management typically recommend relaxation
techniques such as meditation, yoga, self-hypnosis,
progressive muscle relaxation, or biofeedback. Most of
these techniques take just a few minutes and can be done
in any quiet place at work. Each offers physiological and
emotional therapy. In fact, some companies now provide
relaxation or exercise breaks in lieu of coffee breaks
during the workday.
4. Develop an exercise program. Exercise is one of the
best stress-reduction strategies available. It provides
cardiovascular benefits, helps control weight, boosts
energy levels, and induces relaxation. The type of exercise
need not be strenuous or time-consuming. The choices
range from energetic options such as running or racquet
sports to milder forms such as walking or gardening.
5. Practice good nutrition. Sound eating habits help you
resist certain diseases and survive stress. A simple plan
would be to moderate intake of fat, sugar, salt, calories,
and caffeine and to consume recommended portions from
the four basic food groups.
6. Socialize with people other than co-workers. For some
people, work is the exclusive source of socializing. While
friendships with co-workers can be enjoyable and
relaxing, associating only with work colleagues can be
detrimental because of the tendency to talk shop with co-
workers and therefore never really escape the workplace.
7. Develop a network of social support. Everyone needs
people who can be approached, trusted, and depended on.
While family members typically fulfill this role, they do
not always provide the social support necessary for coping
with stress. In some cases, the family may be the source of
stress. Confiding in various peopleincluding family,
friends, work associates, and professional counselorscan
provide a buffer to stress.
8. Moderate life changes. Too much change, unexpected
change, and uncontrolled change produce stress. Where
possible, anticipate and pace your major life changes.
Combining a promotion, the purchase of a home, and the
birth of child probably will be too much to cope with all at
once, no matter how positive each single event is. While
we cannot control all life's changes, we can pace certain
decisions with stress-management goals in mind.
 Page 294
9. Practice time management. Stress management and
time management go hand in hand. People feel stressed
when they lose control of their time. Setting reasonable
goals, planning ahead, establishing priorities, scheduling
tasks, resisting interruptions, delegating work, and
avoiding perfectionism are all effective time-management
techniques.
10. Protect leisure time. Sometimes people structure their
free time as much as their workday. Hobbies and social
life should not be as taxing as a job. Unstructured leisure
time is more relaxing than a tightly scheduled itinerary. A
little idleness each day and some larger blocks of
unplanned time for spontaneous activity on the weekends
is essential for relieving tension.
Organizational Practices
Because many stressors are intrinsic to the job itself or to
climates in organizations, individual strategies are not
sufficient for managing stress. Organizations can adopt
several practices to reduce employee stress. Obviously, the
best stress-management program combines both individual
and organizational interventions. Some suggestions for
organizations include the following:
1. Provide stress-management training. Organizations can
teach supervisors and managers to identify signs of stress
in themselves and in their subordinates. Equipping
employees with stress-management skills can reduce the
company's medical benefits costs and help to maintain
productivity.
2. Improve internal communication. The more that
information flows smoothly in an organization, the less
anxiety and uncertainty there will be. Employees should
be encouraged to communicate upward with managers,
who should provide information to employees. Employees
should know what is expected of them, receive regular
performance feedback, and should feel free to bring
problems and recommendations to the attention of
supervisors. Open communication can produce better
decision making as well as help to reduce stress.
3. Clarify role expectations. Because employees need to
know their job duties, responsibilities, and authority, they
should re-
 Page 295
ceive detailed job descriptions with explicitly stated
reporting relationships. This is especially important for
employees who receive assignments from several different
people or groups. When an employee has more than one
supervisor, strategies for resolving conflicting demands
must be developed.
4. Implement an employee assistance program. For
troubled employees, professional counseling is necessary.
Some sources estimate that as much as 20 percent of a
work force will have personal problems that significantly
affect productivity. Providing counseling to troubled
employees can be cost effective, reducing turnover and
maintaining productivity.
5. Develop people-oriented management styles. Rigid,
authoritarian management styles should give way to more
flexible, democratic approaches. Employees should be
treated fairly and humanely rather than like machines. Not
only will people-oriented management styles reduce
organizational stress, but evidence suggests that
companies with democratic cultures attain higher levels of
productivity. Some companies may need to begin a
program of organizational development to change their
management philosophy.
6. Redesign jobs, where necessary. You can enlarge or
enrich unstimulating jobs. In cases of work overload,
reduce responsibilities or delegate them to others.
Periodically solicit employees' perceptions about the
amount of challenge, stimulation, and fulfillment in their
jobs.
7. Provide a safe and comfortable working environment.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act mandates that
working environments be free from extreme noise, toxic
substances, and safety hazards. Employers can go further,
however, in developing a comprehensive awareness of
ergonomics. Employers should consider the relationship of
spatial arrangements in the workplace to stress and
productivity factors.
[See also Employee Assistance Programs; Time
Management]
For Additional Information
Keita, Gwendolyn P and Sauter, Steven L., eds. Work and
WellBeing: An Agenda for the 90's. Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association, 1992.
 Page 296
Rodahl, Kare. Stress Monitoring in the Workplace. Boca
Raton: Lewis Publishers, 1994.
Whetten, David A. Developing Management Skills:
Managing Stress. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
 Page 297

Substance Abuse
The use of alcohol or drugs on the job is a problem faced
by many organizations. As a result, companies
increasingly are developing programs to prevent substance
abuse in the workplace. Federal contractors specifically
are required by the Drug-Free Workplace Act to have
policies and educational programs regarding drugs. Many
other organizations have developed policies, drug-testing
procedures, and employee awareness programs on this
issue. This chapter examines the problem of substance
abuse in the workplace; discusses corporate policies, drug-
testing programs, legal issues, and educational support
services; and provides advice for organizations in
preventing substance abuse in the workplace.
The Drug-Free Workplace Act
In 1988, Congress passed the Drug-Free Workplace Act,
which requires federal contractors over $25,000 and
federal grant recipients to provide and maintain a drug-
free workplace. Specifically, they must have written
policies, awareness programs, and disciplinary actions for
illegal drug use on the job. Such policies must prohibit
employees from unlawfully manufacturing, distributing,
dispensing, possessing, or using controlled substances in
the workplace. There must be clear consequences for
employees who violate criminal drug laws while on the
job. Further, such organizations must educate their
employees about the dangers of illegal drug use and must
explain the company policy, penalties, and counseling
programs on drug use.
 Page 298

The Costs of Substance Abuse

While it is difficult to ascertain the extent of substance
abuse in the workplace, we do know the costs to the
employer when employee substance abuse is a problem.
Estimates annually for lost productivity are as high as $30
billion owing to illegal drug use and $60 billion because of
alcohol abuse. In addition to costs associated with lost
productivity, there are the costs of increased medical
expenses, workers compensation claims, and workplace
crime associated with substance abuse.
Drug Testing
Surveys show disparate results on the extent to which
companies test employees or potential employees for drug
use. Some reports show that, on average, about one-half of
all workplace organizations currently do some form of
drug testing. A survey on workplace drug testing and drug
abuse policies conducted by the American Management
Association showed that, in 1993, almost 85 percent of
firms surveyed did drug testing. Clearly, drug testing is
prevalent in today's workplace.
There are various types of drug testing used by employers,
including pre-employment, random, periodic, for cause,
postaccident, and return to duty. Pre-employment drug
testing is quite common and is typically included in a
battery of screening measures employers use to evaluate
the fitness and skills of prospective employees. Random
drug testing is done by some organizations through
unannounced testing of current employees. Periodic
testing is an announced testing of current employees that
is often tied to routine medical or physical exams. Drug
testing for cause occurs when the employer performs an
unannounced test based on suspicions of drug use.
Postaccident testing occurs after a workplace accident to
determine if drug use was related to the accident. The final
type, return to duty testing, involves the unannounced
testing of returning employees after they have had a drug-
related leave from work or have participated in
rehabilitation for substance abuse.
There are also various methods involved in workplace
drug testing. The most popular, but most intrusive
methods are physi-
 Page 299
ological ones involving analysis of the employee's urine,
hair, blood, or saliva. By far, urinalysis is the most
common method of drug testing. In addition to
psysiological measures, there are also paper-and-pencil
tests that claim to measure or predict alcohol and drug use;
because of the questionable nature of such tests, their use
is uncommon. A final method of drug testing involves
impairment measures such as hand-eye coordination tests.
Increasingly, computer-based impairment measures are
available to test actual performance effects of substance
abuse.
Responses to Drug Testing
To fully understand the implications of workplace drug
testing, it is important to take note of legal, employee, and
union responses. Some states have enacted laws that limit,
define, and govern procedural aspects of drug testing.
Litigation has occurred on the grounds that mandatory
drug testing is a violation of employees' privacy. However,
the outcome of such cases has been in favor of
organizational drug-testing programs.
The union response has been to ensure the rights of union
representation for the employee at the time of drug testing
as well as for the right of access to company drug-testing
information. Further, the National Labor Relations Board
has made drug testing a subject of mandatory bargaining,
except for the unilateral implementation of pre-
employment drug testing.
Initially, when drug testing was introduced as a workplace
issue, there was employee resistance. However, when
explained as a strategy to protect the health and safety of
all employees as well as the livelihood of the organization,
drug testing meets with less resistance. Negative reactions
are reduced if the employer communicates the importance
of a drug-free workplace and gives employees advance
notice of testing.
Steps in Implementing a Substance Abuse Prevention
Program
Drug testing is one part of a more comprehensive program
for maintaining a drug-free workplace. Follow these steps
to implement a complete substance-abuse program.
 Page 300
1. Assess the problem. An organization initiating a
program to create a drug-free workplace should proceed
carefully and obtain the advice and support from various
constituencies in the organization. First, if the program is
voluntary, there must be compelling reasons to develop a
prevention program for substance abuse. The company
should begin by assessing its risks and the extent of the
problem. Are there incidents of actual or suspected
substance abuse? High rates of accidents, absenteeism,
medical claims, theft, and turnover may be indicators of
substance abuse problems in the workforce.
2. Seek input. Managers, supervisors, and union leaders, as
well as human resources, safety, medical, and legal
experts, should be consulted in the development of a drug-
free workplace program. A committee with such
representatives could define the problem, draft a policy
about a drug-free workplace, communicate the policy to
employees, help educate employees about the dangers of
substance abuse, and provide oversight regarding
enforcement of a drug-free workplace.
3. Develop a policy. The policy should directly and simply
prohibit the possession, use, sale, and distribution of drugs
and alcohol on the employer's premises. It should explain
the drugtesting program and the consequences to the
employee for violating the policy.
4. Communicate and implement the policy. Employees
should receive advance notice of the policy, should
understand company purposes and practices regarding
drug-testing, and should give their consent prior to being
tested. It is imperative that the policy be applied in a
nondiscriminatory manner. In cases where drug testing has
been applied inconsistently or capriciously, courts have
ruled in favor of employees or complainants. The results
of drug testing should be confidential.
5. Educate employees. An effective program of substance
abuse prevention cannot rest on drug testing alone.
Employees and supervisors need to be educated about the
personal risks of substance abuse, the effects on the
organization, and the strategies for identifying substance
abuse at work and making referrals to counseling or
employee assistance programs.
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6. Offer employee assistance. The organizational goal
should be to rehabilitate the substance-abusing employee
through the organization's employee assistance program,
counseling services, or access to professional help through
medical benefits.
When workplace expectations regarding a drug-free
environment are clear and enforced, and drug testing is
coupled with educational programs, organizations can
significantly reduce incidents of substance abuse among
employees.
[See also Disciplining Employees; Employee Assistance
Programs; Terminating Employees and Downsizing;
Violence in the Workplace]
For Additional Information
Arthur, Diane. Workplace Testing. New York: AMACOM,
1994.
Axel, Helen. Corporate Experiences with Drug Testing
Programs. New York: The Conference Board, 1990.
Fellows, H. D. ''Legal Aspects of Drug and Alcohol
Testing in the Workplace." Risk Management 40, No. 3
(March 1993), pp. 21-27.
Oliver, B. "How to Prevent Drug Abuse in Your
Workplace." HR Magazine 38, No. 12 (December 1993),
pp. 78-82.
Sorohan, E. G. "Making Decisions About Drug Testing."
Training and Development 48, No. 5 (May 1994), pp. 111-
17.
 Page 302

Team Building
Because of technological advances, global
competitiveness, and the realities of economic survival in
an increasingly complex society, many jobs require the
collaboration of people across departments or specialties.
To put it simply, many heads are better than one. Team
building is the process of selecting, developing,
facilitating, and coaching a group to work effectively
toward a common goal. It involves motivating individual
members to take pride in the accomplishments of the
group. Team builders must attend both to the requirements
of the task (deadlines, quality, etc.) and the needs of
members (fairness, managing conflict, etc.).
By cooperating to share knowledge and skills, a team can
often complete work more effectively than can an
individual. Teams are often intact, relatively permanent
work groups; they can also be temporary groups from
different ranks and departments brought together solely to
complete a particular project. The former is called a
natural work team, while we refer to the latter as a cross-
functional action team. The most advanced forms of teams
are self-directed, and they require little or no supervision
and have full authority to process their work. To help
permanent, temporary, and self-directed teams develop
motivation, cohesiveness, and productivity, many
organizations are turning to team building as an aspect of
organizational development.
Objectives of Team Building
Team building helps a group function more effectively as a
unit. Because of the sense of individualism and
competitiveness fostered in many organizations, a work
group is not automatically a team. Five or six people
working on the same project does not
 Page 303
ensure that they can work cooperatively toward a common
goal. Specifically, team building enhances the morale,
trust, cohesiveness, communication, and productivity of a
work group.
· Morale. Morale is the degree of confidence a group
has about its ability to get a job done. The higher the
group's morale, the more motivated it is to perform well.
· Trust. Trust is a willingness to take risks based on a
belief in others' abilities or integrity. Team members
must have faith in each other if they are to function
effectively as a team.
· Cohesiveness. Cohesiveness is the feeling of unity that
holds a group together voluntarily. A cohesive group is
one in which members want to belong. They feel much
loyalty to the group. Cohesive groups are more
productive.
· Communication. In order for a team to function well,
members must be able to develop good interpersonal
relationships, to speak openly with each other, to solve
conflicts, and to confront issues.
· Productivity. Teams can accomplish goals that cannot
be met as well by individuals. By sharing resources,
 skills, knowledge, and leadership, the team is greater
than the talents of its separate members.
The Team-Building Process
There is no one method of team building. The objectives
of morale, trust, cohesiveness, communication, and
productivity can be met in a number of ways, and a wide
variety of activities can help a group understand and
improve its functioning. Whatever the methods, it is
important that the team itself develop the ability to
identify its operating problems and solve them. The five
steps commonly used in team building are discussed in the
following sections.
Step 1. Establishing Team Structure
Any team must operate with enough structure to empower
it to tackle tough issues and solve difficult problems, while
allowing
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the structure to be minimal enough to not stifle its
creativity or its authority. This is a delicate and difficult
balance to maintain. Some highly creative teams may
work outside the boundaries of the organization, as did the
original Apple Macintosh team. Most teams, however,
require some attachment and some structure from the
organization of which they are part. Although this
structure differs for every company, the following is a
general listing of the components for successful team
structure.
· A steering team consists of upper management, union
leaders (in a unionized company), managers, supervisors,
team leaders, and other key people. Like the pilot or
captain, this group philosophically sets the course for the
team process and serves as a source of feedback and mid-
course correction.
· A design team examines the whole as-is system and
targets some ways to improve productivity. The design
team is a cross-functional team that includes members
from all levels and functions in the company. This is a
team of action. It assumes supervisory, management and
task responsibilities. Results may take two to three years.
· Leaders are important to team success. Selecting leaders
and determining the appropriate type of leader is critical.
The leaders must be participative. Theory X, top-down
leaders do not work well with teams. Will leadership
evolve? Will leadership rotate periodically? Will the team
have a leader and a facilitator? What should the team call
the leader?
· Meetings can be both essential and cumbersome. Well-
facilitated, frequent meetings are a must for every type of
team. Leaders must be trained to manage meeting
processes and interpersonal processes. Meeting processes
include such items as planning and using an agenda,
managing to avoid groupthink, distributing meeting
minutes, following up on assignments and securing
meeting space, time, and materials. Interpersonal issues
may include ensuring that all members participate, helping
members to speak and prepare their presentations,
resolving conflicts, and handling difficult members in
meetings. Successful team meetings require significant
training for all members and full organizational support.
 Page 305

· Process consultants, whether internal or external, teach,

guide, assume risks, and help resolve conflicts internal to
the team or with people outside the group. Because they
are not actual members of the team, consultants can
challenge the assumptions and behavior of team members.
They can be more objective and may have a greater
freedom of operation when helping the group. Consultants
help teams establish norms and boundaries. They help
educate team members to use various tools and charts to
keep team members focused and productive. Consultants
often must resuscitate teams later in the process, as the
excitement and fanfare give way to tediousness. At this
point, teams may stray off course. Consultants and
facilitators working together may prevent such calamities.
Step 2: Collecting Information
Team building should begin with group self-assessment,
which provides the starting point for team development
and helps to both determine strengths and weaknesses and
set goals for improvement. Information collection is
necessary to diagnose problems of group functioning.
Team-development needs can be determined through
various data-gathering techniques, including attitude
surveys, interviews of members, standardized
questionnaires, role-play analysis, and observation of
group discussions.
These techniques are useful in assessing a number of
content areas, such as communication climate, trust,
motivation, leadership ability, group consensus, group
values, knowledge of team goals, and role conflicts.
Needs-assessment areas and methods should be tailored to
fit the team's purpose, composition, and workplace
culture. Any information that sheds light on how to
improve team functioning is valid. Be careful to use only
objective and valid data-gathering methods in order to
pinpoint real and important team problems.
Step 3: Discussing Needs
Information gathered in step 1 should be summarized and
fed back to the team. The team should openly discuss and
interpret trends that emerged from the needs assessment.
According to
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the data-collection process, what are areas of team
strength? In what areas does the team need improvement?
It may take several meetings for the team to grasp the
results of the data collection and to agree on team-
development needs. These feedback sessions are essential
in order for the team to establish its own goals rather than
have the goals imposed externally. By participating in
what can be sensitive discussions of strengths and
weaknesses, the team is already on its way to self-
sufficiency in problem diagnosis and solution.
Step 4: Planning Goals and Setting Technical Targets
Once issues are clarified, the team should define its goals
and mission and establish some general priorities. It is
essential that the team work on issues that are most
important to members. By setting its own agenda, the
group will be more committed to the process of team
development. The group should develop a tentative
schedule and action plan for meeting its goals. Consultants
can be helpful here by suggesting techniques or activities
through which the group can meet its goals.
Organizational development or training specialists should
know of exercises, films, instructional modules, or case
studies to help a group develop skills necessary for
effective team functioning.
Step 5: Developing Skills
The bulk of the team-building process will focus on
activities to develop skills needed for high-performance
teamwork. Just as an athletic team must learn plays,
develop moves, and practice skills, so a work team must
develop performance skills. The following are some
common team process skills developed through
teambuilding activities:
1. An awareness of group development. It may be fruitful
for participants to realize that groups progress through
predictable stages. Being able to recognize these stages
can help the group deal with problems and prevent
frustrations. The organizationaldevelopment literature
includes activities to help a group cope
 Page 307
with the typical developmental phases of orientation,
evaluation, and control.
The orientation phase is characterized by confusion over
what roles members ought to play, the tasks to be
performed, and the role of leadership. Members exchange
information in order to orient themselves to the team
project. During the evaluation phase, members tend to be
opinionated and experience much conflict. They disagree
about how to approach the task and must frequently take
sides in struggles for leadership. The group may be
fragmented by coalitions. In the final stage, the group
begins to coalesce. Members accept influence from others
and from the leader in order to achieve team objectives.
The group takes on a personality and an energy of its own.
Deliberations are coordinated and directed toward a
common goal.
Putting a newly formed group through a case-study
discussion can trigger the emergence of these typical
phases. Careful processing of the discussion by an
experienced group facilitator can help the group
understand them. Discussing the results of self-assessment
or group-assessment exercises may prove beneficial.
Replaying a videotape of group sessions can provide vivid
illustrations of the group's progression through the phases.
By developing an awareness of this crucial aspect of group
dynamics, teams can function more smoothly and more
productively.
2. Role clarification. In achieving a group task, it helps if
everyone knows his or her individual responsibility and
area of authority. Even if the team has been working
together for some time, there may be confusion over who
is doing what and who has the right to do what. Formal
job descriptions may not correspond to people's
expectations of roles and rights. Sometimes supervisors
and managers have difficulty giving up their traditional
roles to become team members. Similarly, some team
members sometimes have difficulty treating supervisors
and managers as equals. If left unattended this particularly
difficult issue of power switching can devastate the
effectiveness of a team.
Early on, group members ought to discuss their
expectations of the group's role within the organization, as
well as individual members' roles within the group. What
is the group's mission? Whom does the group report to?
What types of power does it
 Page 308
have? Who is the designated leader of the group? Do
members agree on the division of responsibility? Do
members' roles complement one another or do they
conflict?
Just like members of a sports team, work-group members
need to know who is playing what positions and how to
play together smoothly and effectively. Role-clarification
questionnaires or discussions can help members see how
their performance depends on the performance of someone
else. This understanding creates a strong sense of unity
and loyalty within the team.
3. Problem Solving. Knowing how to use problem-solving
tools and techniques is essential to team success. Every
team member must be able to participate in using some of
the following basic problem-solving tools:
· Pareto charts graphically display several problems.
Each bar in the chart represents the frequency of
occurrence of each problem or the cost impact of each
problem. The team attempts to first tackle the greatest-
costing or most-frequent problem. Pareto charts show
that 80 percent of your excessive costs are caused by 20
percent of your problems.
· Flow charts or process maps diagram the many
interconnected steps of a process. Flow charts show
starting points, action and decision steps, and ending
points, as well as unnecessary or wasted steps. Seeing
the process diagrammed helps teams to eliminate or
reduce steps.
· Cause and effect diagrams, sometimes called fishbone
diagrams, list a defined problem at one end or at the
head of the fishbone. Fin bones are labeled under type
of cause (staffing, methods, measurements, materials, or
machines). Possible causes are brainstormed and listed
under each category, thus creating an appearance of a
fishbone.
· Statistical process control (SPC) charts visualize data
collected in the production or delivery of a product or
service. Collected sample averages are posted as points
on a control chart as the product or service is made or
delivered. The chart has an upper border, called the
upper control limit,
 Page 309
and a lower border, called the lower control limit. The
SPC chart lets front-line people monitor their own
quality production. When postings fall outside the
control limits, work is stopped. Work teams isolate the
probable causes and decide how to correct the
problem.
· Brainstorming is how a group of people collect
probable causes in the fishbone or cause-and-effect
diagram, and how groups gather ideas on solutions to
problems. Every idea is accepted and written down on a
flip chart. Putdowns and idea-killers are not accepted.
Some people contribute additional or clarifying
information based on previous suggestionsthis is called
piggybacking. Brainstorming creates a large quantity of
suggestions from which several may be combined to
from a new or creative solution to a problem.
· Action plans give work-team or problem-solving
teams a game plan to implement their solutions. Roles
and responsibilities are assigned. Reports are required.
Usually the findings and action plans are presented to
management or steering teams for approval or for
purposes of information and communication.
· Responsibilities charts list activities, due dates,
milestones, and persons responsible so all team
 members know current project status and responsible
members for the project or project phases.
Comprehensive training, followed by hands-on coaching,
helps team members apply these tools to the real world.
This expedites a thorough analysis of the technical
problems the team has chosen to eliminate. The team's
underlying mission is that everyone works to continuously
improve everything. The Japanese call this kaizan.
4. Consensus decision making. Most decisions in the
workplace are made by deferring to the views of powerful
people. Consensus occurs when all members in effect say,
"I can live with that decision. I don't necessarily agree
with it 100 percent, but I can support it strongly."
At best, democratic decision making means that the
majority
 Page 310
rules. When a majority decides, some people find
themselves going along with, but not agreeing with, the
majority. In a true teamwork approach, the group makes
decisions by deliberating until everyone agrees. By taking
extra time to reach consensus, more options are considered
and all members have complete input. Not only does
consensus decision making produce better decisions, but
members feel greater commitment to the decision. The
drawback of consensus decision making is that it takes
longer than voting or having the leader decide. However,
the quality of the decision usually is far superior, and
implementation is easier, since all who participate agree to
commit to the decision.
Most groups have to work at developing the skills of
consensus decision making. Case-study discussions,
followed by analysis of the group process, can give groups
practice in decision making. Do members listen
objectively to each other? Do all members have the chance
to contribute? Does domination, ambivalence, or nay-
saying occur? Does the group mediate its own conflicts?
The goal is to systematically and patiently consider
information and opinions until the best decision, not the
quickest or obvious one, is reached. When a group can
reach consensus, the true potential of teamwork is being
utilized.
5. Conflict resolution. It is inevitable that a group of
people working closely together will experience conflicts.
If the people fail to handle these conflicts properly, the
group will fall apart. By developing conflict-management
skills, though, the group can realize productive outcomes
from the conflict. By disagreeing openly without
becoming defensive, members can see opposing
viewpoints, can develop respect for each other, and can
arrive at better decisions.
A team can develop its capacity to handle conflict by
openly discussing the values of conflict, by removing
negative consequences that typically surround conflict, by
playing devil's advocate in discussions, and by
encouraging skepticism and debate. Questionnaires, role-
plays, and exercises can help the team develop the open
communication necessary for productive conflicts. A high-
performance team is characterized by members who can
strongly disagree over ideas and still like and respect each
other.
The team should do as many activities to develop as many
specific skills as necessary. In the process of team-
building activi-
 Page 311
ties, members may discover additional problems or needs.
Skill-building areas may emerge as the team performs its
organizational tasks. Because the team is developing its
own capacity to diagnose and solve problems, it can
channel new goals into the team-building model.
The consultant may be a valuable resource in helping the
group conduct skills-building activities. The consultant
can lead the group through discussions, suggest exercises,
and encourage the members to analyze the process. Also,
an expert in team building may be needed to teach
concepts such as phase development, role clarification,
consensus decision making, and conflict resolution.
6. Evaluating results. As an ongoing function of all types
of work teams, the team should evaluate whether it is
functioning effectively. Is it on task? Are its decisions and
solutions of quality? Does it have high morale, trust,
cohesiveness, and productivity? Are there additional areas
that need improving? Evaluation should take place at
several stages in the team-building effort. Initially, the
team undergoes evaluation to determine needs and set
goals. Also, periodically throughout the skills-building
activities, the team should assess its progress. The ability
to systematically assess progress is a crucial element of
team development and major means by which the team
becomes self-sufficient. In the workplace, most people are
accustomed to being evaluated by others, but the skill of
self-assessment makes people and organizations adept at
change and growth.
Evaluation can take many forms. In some cases, the effects
of team building can be measured by the standard
workplace criteria of productivity or output. If the team is
producing more units than it did before team building,
then it must be performing more effectively. Less error,
lower production costs, and less turnover may be signs of
effective team functioning. Less tangible measures of
team-building effectiveness include surveying members'
attitudes and perceptions regarding team morale, trust, and
cohesiveness. The team's suppliers and customers must
also be asked for their feedback. The team-building cycle
continues as the evaluation results feed into needs
assessment and the team proceeds through the team-
building model.
 Page 312

Characteristics of a High-Performance Team

A successful team-building effort should create a team that
functions effectively based on these characteristics:
1. All members are committed to accomplishing the
team goals or mission that they helped develop.
2. The team works in an environment of trust and
openness.
3. Members feel they belong to the team and participate
freely.
4. Diverse people with diverse experience, ideas, and
opinions are valued and groupthink is eliminated.
5. Team members continually learn and self-improve.
This helps the team correct itself and solve its problems.
6. All team members understand their roles and
responsibilities, yet value and use each other's skills and
knowledge.
7. The team uses consensus decision making.
8. Team members communicate openly and directly, and
listen to one another objectively and patiently.
9. The team can handle conflict without resentment or
hostility.
10. Team leaders, whether permanent or rotating,
practice participative leadership.
[See also Conflict Management; Motivation; Quality]
For Additional Information
Butman, John Flying Fox: A Business Adventure in Teams
and Teamwork. New York: AMACOM, 1994.
DuBrin, Andrew J. The Breakthrough Team Player:
Becoming The M.V.P. on Your Workplace Team. New
York: AMACOM, 1995.
Harrington-Mackin, Deborah. The Team Building Tool Kit:
Tips, Tactics, and Rules for Effective Workplace Teams.
New York: AMACOM, 1993.
 Page 313
Hitchcock, Darcy. The Work Redesign Team Handbook: A
Step-byStep Guide to Creating Self-Directed Teams. White
Plains, N.Y.: Quality Resources, 1994.
Scholtes, Peter R. The Team Handbook: How to Use
Teams to Improve Quality. Madison Wisc.: Joiner
Associates, 1988.
 Page 314

Terminating Employees and Downsizing

Managers frequently regard employee termination as the
least desirable aspect of their jobs. Termination is the most
traumatic and disruptive event an employee faces in the
workplace. Recently, organizations in every sector of
employment have faced the necessary, albeit unpleasant
task of reducing large numbers of their workforce in order
to remain competitive. In addition, termination is costly to
an organization, as well as demoralizing and anxiety-
producing to colleagues who retain their jobs. Still, some
companies have had to implement such downsizing or
rightsizing just to survive in these economic times. For
these reasons, you must be aware of the proper methods of
terminating employees from a legal, psychological, and
communication perspective.
Employment-at-Will Doctrine
The employment-at-will doctrine, in effect for nearly a
century in the United States, allows an employer to fire an
employee for any reason or for no reason at all. The
doctrine is based on the rationale that if an employee has
the right to quit at any time, then the employer retains the
right to discharge at any time. However, unionized
workers, civil service employees, and executives or
professionals with employment contracts receive
protection from employment-at-will dismissals. Also,
federal employment statutes as well as some state laws
provide exceptions to
 Page 315
the employment-at-will doctrine. It is illegal to fire
someone based on reasons of sex, race, creed, ethnic
origin, age, or disability. Additionally, within the past few
years, court decisions have provided further exceptions to
the employment-at-will concept, and these exceptions fall
into two legal categories: public-policy exceptions and
implied-contract exceptions.
Public policy exceptions protect employees who blow the
whistle on the company for violations of environmental,
safety, or health laws; who try to start a union; who file a
discrimination charge; who file a workers compensation
claim; who refuse to perform criminal acts on behalf of the
company; and who take time off to serve on a jury.
Implied-contract exceptions indicate that company
literature, such as a policy statement in an employee
manual that discusses terms and conditions of
employment, may constitute an implied contract with an
employee. To prevent such wrongful-discharge litigation,
personnel directors should review recruiting and
employment literature to eliminate statements that could
be interpreted as promising job security. An employer
should regard written statements in offer letters, on
employment applications and contracts, in employee
handbooks, and in personnel files as legal commitments to
employees. Likewise, oral promises made in selection
interviews, performance appraisals, and exit interviews
may be binding on the employer. Such documents and
verbiage should be reviewed by legal counsel before
distribution to employees.
So while the employment-at-will doctrine still guides
employment practices in some states, numerous
exceptions have eroded the concept. You must be aware of
the doctrine and its exceptions as they relate to employee
termination in your state.
The Psychology of Termination
Terminating an employee is unpleasant, whether it results
from one discliplinary action or is part of a massive
downsizing. Many managers do not want to examine their
own feelings regarding this duty. Being aware of the
psychological effects of termination, though, can make the
process less stressful for the manager and
 Page 316
more humane for the discharged employee. Managers
experienced in terminating employees report resentment at
having to perform the task, guilt for making the wrong
hiring decision or for inadequate training of the
employees, compassion for the dismissed employees and
their families, anger at supervisors or the organization,
blame and anger toward the fired employees, and fear that
they themselves may be fired someday.
The psychological effects of being fired seem to follow a
predictable pattern not unlike those associated with the
stages of grieving. Awareness of these effects can help
discharged employees cope with the situation and can
assist managers in dealing with typical employee
reactions.
Terminated employees initially experience shock,
disbelief, and denial. The suddenness of being ousted from
an organization can be overwhelming. Employees may
have difficulty comprehending the reason for termination
and feel that their lives have been shattered. They may
also be quite dazed, have a confused sense of identity, and
feel anger toward the manager and the organization.
Terminated employees may feel mistreated and want to
retaliate against the company.
Some terminated individuals perceive that a mistake has
been made, try to appeal the decision, or cling to a hope of
being recalled. When the employee realizes the finality of
the decision, depression is likely to ensue. Indeed,
termination can lead to feelings of failure, bruised egos,
and anxiety about financial or career consequences. There
may be guilt over errors, shame with family and friends,
and hopelessness about finding a new job. Finally, the
employee accepts the reality of the situation, rebuilds
confidence and esteem, and plunges into the task of
finding new employment.
One area frequently overlooked concerns the
psychological effects of termination on coworkers.
Whether dismissal involves one person or many personnel,
the coworkers who remain will be affected. The manager
who realizes this can better deal with morale issues
resulting from termination. Third parties to terminations
report immediate shock and increased communication
about the dismissals, relief at retaining a job coupled with
the fear that ''I might be next," empathy for the discharged
workers, and an opinion about the fairness or unfairness of
the firing
 Page 317
based on whether the terminated persons were perceived
as competent or not.
The psychological impact can be quite severe to
employees, managers, and the organization. Therefore,
many organizations seek the help of outplacement firms to
assist terminated employees through these psychological
stages and, most important, to help them find new jobs,
start new businesses, or begin new careers. Outplacement
services are commonly offered by external groups, though
some employers create their own internal outplacement
departments through Human Resources. Outplacement
may help relieve employees of their negative feelings,
while helping these persons focus on new beginnings.
Many such outplacement services offer their clients
offices, clerical assistance, and support groups, while
creating a worklike atmosphere for outplacement clients to
search for new jobs. Outplacement relieves managers of
the stress and guilt often resulting from having to
terminate employees. The company relieves itself of some
of the impact of these feelings, while improving its public
image during the difficult times of termination.
Conducting a Termination
There is no one way to fire an employee. Many of the
decisions and methods of carrying out the task depend on
the reason for termination, the status and seniority of the
employee, and the organization's human resources
orientation. While the fine points of conducting a
termination vary from case to case, all terminations
include the elements of planning, communication, and
follow-up.
Planning
From a legal standpoint, careful planning is crucial and
can make the difference between a dignified firing and a
brutal one. You must make the decision to fire, determine
the reasons for dismissal, and gather the evidence to
document and explain your decision. If you have followed
a system of progressive discipline
 Page 318
with the employee, you will find this stage of the process
easier and less stressful.
A progressive disciplinary system includes a series of
rules and regulations regarding work behavior and
performance, progressive warnings to employees who
violate those rules, counseling to improve work behavior,
and criteria for termination. Progressive discipline allows
open and objective communication about poor
performance so the employee knows that specific actions
must be corrected within a certain time frame or
termination will result. Under this system, the employee
receives advance warning that dismissal is being
considered and is less likely to perceive unfair treatment in
the event of a termination. You, then, have written records
to document the reasons for dismissal. In the event of
litigation, these records assist in the defense that
termination was fair and not abusive. Of course, the
progressive disciplinary system does not apply if the
termination is based on economic reasons beyond the
employer's control.
Additional questions involved in planning a termination
include:
· Who will communicate the termination?
· When will the employee be terminated (time of year,
day of week, hour of day)?
· Will third parties be present at the termination, such as
immediate supervisor, member of personnel? (It is
strongly advised that more than one manager should be
present for legal reasons and to help prevent violent
reactions.)
· Where will the termination occur?
· How will the message be delivered?
· How will the news be communicated to the rest of the
company?
· What credible and agreeable cover story (reason for
separation) should be proposed?
· What severance package or outplacement assistance
will be provided?
· How might the terminated employee react? How will
the terminating manager handle all possible reactions?
 Page 319
Communication
After planning these aspects of the process, someone must
communicate the decision to the employee. Careful
communication is necessary to help the employee save
face and cope with the news.
Consideration must be given also to the legal implications
of what is said. Face-to-face communication of the
dismissal is often called the exit interview. During an exit
interview the employee shares improvement ideas to the
manager and the organization. In addition to hearing the
termination message, the employee is able to vent feelings
somewhat in a focused and more constructive manner. Of
course, the content of the actual message of termination
depends on whether the dismissal is based on economic,
organizational, or employee behavior factors.
When the termination is due to reasons beyond the
employee's control, you should explain the company's
problem (economic, relocation, reorganization), indicate
other necessary actions already taken by the company,
state the decision to release the employee, express
confidence in the employee's abilities, and indicate the
extent of the company's financial terms of separation
(severance pay, benefits continuation). Then you must
listen to the employee and allow feelings to surface. At the
conclusion of the exit interview, take the employee to the
personnel office to complete the necessary paperwork.
When the termination is based on incompetent
performance or unacceptable behavior by the employee,
you should inform the employee of the decision to
terminate, minimally explain the reasons for dismissal,
avoid blame by indicating there was a misfit between the
organization's needs and the employee's attributes, show
confidence about the employee's ability to find new
employment, and explain severance and outplacement
options. Again, listen patiently and deal calmly with the
employee's reactions.
The exit interview should be direct and concise. It should
be absolutely clear that the person has been fired and the
decision is irreversible. Dwelling on past mistakes and
effusive demonstrations of sympathy should be avoided. It
is important that the
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terminator remain aloof and avoid defensiveness,
whatever the reaction from the dismissed employee.
Reactions can run the gamut from tears, accusations,
anger, and threats, to self-pity and pleading, to
disorientation to delight. When the message has been
delivered, the reaction shown, the questions about
severance answered, and the cover story coordinated, then
the exit interview should be brought to a quick close. The
final remark should refer to the employee's next step and
future success.
Follow-up
The wrap-up part of termination involves the package of
assistance given to the dismissed employee, a mutually
agreeable cover story for prospective employers, and the
dissemination of information about the termination to the
rest of the company.
Some companies have specific policies regarding
severance benefits. Others design severance packages to
suit individual employees. Whatever the method, a
severance settlement is important for helping the
employee during transition to a new job. The attention
given to this aspect of termination can significantly affect
the morale of retained workers, as well as the overall
image of the company. Most severance packages include a
continuation of salary for a certain time period depending
on the employee's position, length of service, and age.
Typically, higher-level, older individuals with longer
tenure in the organization receive larger settlement
amounts. Other areas for discussion include the eligibility
period for unemployment benefits and health and
insurance coverage.
The manager and dismissed employee should agree on a
reasonable story to tell others both inside and outside of
the organization regarding the termination. The story
should put both the individual and the organization in a
good light, thereby protecting coworkers' morale and the
employee's chances of obtaining a good position
elsewhere. Prepare a draft of this story to offer the
employee for approval.
The termination process is not complete until you write a
summary of the exit interview and communicate
information about the termination to coworkers. While all
the details of the exit interview are still vivid, make a
record of all that transpired.
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Include all remarks exchanged, the emotional climate that
prevailed, and decisions regarding severance benefits.
Your accurate summary could prove invaluable should the
employee decide to challenge the termination decision.
Finally, provide a written announcement of the termination
to coworkers, stating merely that the individual is no
longer an employee of the company. Provide the effective
date and indicate the process for determining a
replacement. Do not discuss reasons for the termination.
Advice for Handling Terminations
Here are some additional suggestions to consider
regarding the termination of employees:
1. Make sure the termination takes place in a private
setting. Never conduct a dismissal over the phone, by a
memo, or by a "pink slip" in the pay envelope.
2. If there is a possibility that the employee could make
a case for wrongful discharge, seek advice of counsel
before terminating the employee.
3. Consider whether the employee may try to retaliate
against an individual or against the company. Make sure
the employee cannot endanger other people, important
documents, or equipment. Request the help of security if
necessary.
 4. Give the termination process the attention it deserves
so that effective communication, dignity, and respect
can prevail.
5. Owing to fears of litigation on charges of libel and
slander, many experts advise against giving any
recommendation (good or bad) for any former or current
employee. They advise that all such requests be
forwarded to Human Resources. They recommend that
managers simply say that they are unable to give such
information.
[See also Disciplining Employees; Interviewing; Violence
in the Workplace]
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For Additional Information

Grensing, Lin. "Downsizing: How to Do it Right." Office
Systems 10 (May 1993), pp. 62-65.
Millman, Dorothy. "How Managers Should Handle
Terminations and Layoffs." Telemarketing Magazine 12,
No. 5 (Nov. 1993), pp. 65-67.
Pollock, Ted. "When You Have to Fire Someone."
Production 105, No. 10 (Oct. 1993), pp. 24-26.
Weiss, Donald H. Fair, Square and Legal: Safe Hiring,
Managing and Firing Practices to Keep You and Your
Company Out of Court. New York: AMACOM, 1995.
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Time Management
The skill of efficiently using time is essential for
management success. Unlike other resources, time cannot
be saved or accumulated. In order to achieve goals, meet
deadlines, and deal with unexpected problems, you must
make effective use of limited time. To be skilled in time
management, you must recognize your time robbers and
develop habits that protect and maximize the time you do
have.
Common Time Robbers
Managers who work excessively, but merely spin their
wheels with little tangible accomplishment, may be
victims of three types of pitfalls: poor planning and
organizational skills, external time robbers, and negative
personal traits. Let us examine each category to see the
specific unproductive habits that waste time.
Poor Planning and Organizational Skills
Harried managers often feel a loss of control of their
workday, as well as their lives. They complain that they
cannot get organized, they cannot get a handle on things,
they cannot complete any one task, and they cannot
prevent interruptions. Poor time managers act as if
someone else controls their time and they are puppets
whose strings are being pulled by others.
Clearly, other people do have legitimate claims on our
time. Bosses and customers, for example, have the right to
expect us to work for them, but we ultimately control
whether we will respond to their requests, how we will
respond, when we will respond, and how much time we
will devote to their requests. Then there
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are all the times when we allow, if not invite, others who
do not have legitimate claims on our time to take a piece
of our valuable time. The first step in understanding our
time-management pitfalls is to realize all the ways we give
up responsibility for and control of our work time.
Another sign of poor planning and organizational skills is
the lack of clear priorities. Poor managers of time hop
from one project to another without successfully
completing any. This is classic wheel-spinning. Managers
who feel that all tasks are equally important are not
efficient masters of time.
Some managers are disorganized because they do not have
a system for keeping track of duties and deadlines. Work
piles up on their desks, important requests become buried,
they cannot find things, and they perform tasks
haphazardly and inconsistently. Usually, these people
waste hours searching through incomprehensible filing
systems or through towering piles of paperwork to find an
elusive document.
Another sign of poor planning is to let work expand to fill
the available time. Ineffective time managers begin a
project and work on it until the project is completed. If
you have all day to do a report, the report will take all day
to do. If you have a week to do the report, the report will
consume your entire week. Ironically, if you allot two
hours to do the report and then protect those two hours
from interruption or distraction, you are likely to complete
a quality report close to the two-hour deadline. By
devoting unlimited time to tasks, you let the task control
your time.
External Time Robbers
The majority of a manager's day is spent responding to
external stimuli. For many managers, large portions of
time are encumbered by mail, calls, visits, and meetings
imposed by other people. Many managers have trouble
protecting their time from these external interruptions.
Out of habit, you may respond to mail that is unimportant
and undeserving of reply. Or you may interrupt a
significant project to deal with a request that could be
handled at a more appropriate time. By not limiting when
you will take phone calls, you invite constant
interruptions.
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The same principle applies to people who drop by the
office without an appointment. A manager who promotes a
total opendoor policy probably has to take important work
home to get it done. Obviously, you need to be accessible
to employees and colleagues. But this does not necessitate
giving everyone immediate access to you all day! Having
specified periods of the day when people are free to drop
by, as well as other periods of private time, can combine
approachability with effective time utilization.
You can also control, to some extent, the amount of your
time consumed by meetings. Even when you are not
leading the meeting, you can steer a meeting toward more
productivity. By asking for an agenda, by being prepared
and asking others to be prepared, and by helping the group
stay on target during discussions, you can contribute to
meeting effectiveness. You can also skip unnecessary
meetings or ask employees to attend certain meetings in
your place.
Finally, in terms of external time robbers, is the pitfall of
taking on employees' problems or work. Frequently,
workers bring problems to your attention and expect you
to solve them. By taking on the problems or agreeing to do
some part of the person's work, you have reversed the
supervisor-employee role. In effect, the employee has
delegated work and you have willingly accepted the
delegated assignment. In most instances, when employees
dump problems on you, you should guide or assist them in
solving the problems themselves. This strategy not only
protects your time but helps develop the employees.
Negative Personal Traits
Some time-management pitfalls relate to your personality
or attitudes. For example, anxiety, indecisiveness,
procrastination, perfectionism, lack of concentration, and
feelings of indispensability contribute to poor time-
management practices. We examine how each of these
traits or attitudes undermines the effective use of time.
1. Anxiety. Some people spend more time worrying about
certain tasks than actually doing them. Anxiety about your
ability
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to handle a project can sap energy and time that could be
better spent on the project. Being an effective time
manager requires a certain amount of confidence and risk-
taking ability. Effectively using time means plunging in
and completing even those dreaded assignments.
2. Indecisiveness. The indecisive manager shuffles paper
all day while trying to decide what task should be tackled
first. Or indecisiveness may manifest itself in chronic
uncertainty about how to proceed on a project. By
delaying the start of anything, this person appears busy but
is just wasting time.
3. Procrastination. Some managers claim that their
procrastination habits are effective because they work best
under pressure. What do such people do with their time
until the deadlines approach? Do they think about the task
and engage in several false starts? If so, they have wasted
time already. Also, procrastinators can rarely be counted
on to meet deadlines. Sure, they will meet some deadlines.
But the rush to do a project at the last minute inevitably
means that some deadlines will be missed and some
quality will be sacrificed.
4. Perfectionism. Perfectionists will claim that to do a
project right, you must give it 100 percent. Their personal
ethic will not allow them to submit work that is less than
perfect. The irony is that despite such ideals, no piece of
work can reach perfection. The time spent striving for the
elusive ideal of perfection usually does not result in a
noticeable quality difference. There comes a point of
diminishing returns regarding time spent on a task and the
quality of the task's outcome. Achieving excellence in
your work takes a considerable amount of concentrated,
well-directed time. But beyond that amount of time, only
minuscule and unrecognizable improvements in quality
result from additional inputs of time.
5. Inability to concentrate. Some people can have large
blocks of uninterrupted time and still not achieve results.
Daydreaming and self-imposed distractions plague these
individuals. They find it difficult to focus on one task at a
time. They are unable to work on a project for more than
just a few minutes without losing interest or feeling the
urge to take a break.
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6. Feeling you are indispensable. They have the attitude
that they must be directly involved in all work if that work
is to be done correctly. These individuals cannot get
caught up because they essentially are doing the jobs of
several people. Managers who fall into the trap of doing it
all are not effective managers.
Time Management Strategies
The following strategies will help you improve your
management of time.
Eliminate Unnecessary Tasks
Some of the tasks we do each day are essential and some
are unnecessary. We may not realize the unnecessary ones
because we feel compelled to do them, we enjoy doing
them, or we have been doing them for years. It takes an
objective look at a work routine to distinguish
indispensable duties from unimportant ones.
Begin by listing all work-related tasks for one day on a
piece of paper. Then cross off at least two listed tasks. Do
not rationalize that they all are essential. These should be
eliminated altogether, not merely postponed for another
day's To Do list. You may need to enlist the help of a
colleague to provide objectivity in streamlining your daily
routine.
One way to select items for elimination is to assess the
cost versus the payoff for the task. Tasks that take a great
deal of time but provide little reward should be dropped.
In the majority of cases, no negative consequences result
from eliminating them. It is unlikely that anyone will even
notice that they were not accomplished.
It is important to use this strategy repeatedly, with the goal
of increasing the number of discarded items each day.
Eventually, you will learn to streamline your perceived
obligations and to avoid including unnecessary tasks on To
Do lists in the first place.
Set Priorities
Priority setting is essential to effective time management.
Most managers, however, do not make conscious
decisions about the
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order in which tasks are tackled. You may let daily
demand determine priorities. As questions, calls, memos,
or visitors grasp your attention, you respond to whatever
task someone else hands you.
Some managers let past habits dictate current priorities.
They may handle correspondence first every morning
because they have always begun their day in that manner,
not because correspondence is the top priority. Another
illogical way of establishing priorities is to do favorite
tasks first and put off unpleasant ones to later. The
dilemma is that preferred tasks may not be the important
ones and vice versa.
To begin establishing priorities, make a list of what you
want to accomplish for one day. Eliminate some according
to the previously discussed strategy. Then decide which
ones you can delegate. For each remaining entry, label top
priority tasks A, items medium in importance as B, and
low priority items as C. Use the cost-versus-payoff
formula for deciding As, Bs, and Cs. Obviously, tasks with
approaching deadlines that were delegated to you by a
boss should be top priorities. Tasks that seriously affect
others, impinge on your credibility, or would result in dire
consequences if ignored are likely to be high priorities.
These are the things that you must get done that day. B
items have moderate payoff or importance. C items have
little value or importance associated with them. They are
important enough to do, but not immediately.
Once you have labeled each task for priority, begin with
the top-priority ones. Give them ample time and attention
and as much uninterrupted time as possible. Some people
intersperse an occasional B or C item as a mental break
from the top-priority projects. An alternative approach to
doing top-priority jobs first is to schedule these during
your peak-efficiency time. Some people are mentally
sluggish early in the morning and would have have the
capacity to work on A items then, so they do a few Cs and
switch to the top-priority tasks when they feel fully alert.
Improve Your Concentration
Being able to concentrate is a key to the effective use of
time. Strive to eliminate both external and internal
distractions. To
 Page 329
create a nondistracting environment, close the door, hold
phone calls, and have all necessary materials and
information at hand. To free yourself of internal
distractions, clear your mind of all thoughts except the
particular project. Immerse yourself in the task at hand.
If you feel frequent urges to turn your attention to
something else or to take a break, force your attention
back to the task. Set minimum times to concentrate on the
task and then reward yourself for reaching that designated
goal. Over time, strive to increase the minimum periods of
concentration. What may start out as fifteen-minute
periods may evolve into hours of concentrated work. But
there are no foolproof techniques for improving
concentration. It takes motivation, will power, inner drive,
and a great deal of practice.
Find Extra Time
Managers who are very busy find that they must utilize all
their available time. With some analysis, you can find
pieces of time throughout the day that could be put to
better use. Time spent commuting to and from work could
be used for planning or for problem solving. Some people
listen to informational tapes or dictate while driving.
Commuting time can provide an opportunity for
conducting business calls. For those who use public
transportation, commuting time can be spent reading,
writing letters, or handling paperwork. The laptop
computer helps many managers plan, write, and analyze
during traditional down times or off hours of commuting
and travel.
In addition to commuting time, there is waiting time. This
is the time spent waiting for appointments, waiting in line
to do business, or waiting for service somewhere. Wise
time managers carry newspapers, paperback books, or
notebooks with them to occupy such delays.
There may be other wasted time during the day. Could
some long lunches be shortened to make the workday
more productive? Could you reduce some social chitchat
at work? The time spent getting ready in the morning
could be used for planning or for preparing a talk, a letter,
or a report. The point is that there is
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extra time during the day if you search for it and use it
productively.
Distribute Your Time Effectively
It may be wise to block out certain times for particular
types of tasks. This can provide a comfortable routine and
maximize concentration. For example, you could set aside
the same hour each day to handle correspondence or to
make phone calls. Perhaps Friday afternoons could be
devoted to reading professional journals. Maybe certain
periods could be publicized as open-door time in which
drop-in visits are encouraged. By establishing and
communicating a schedule whenever possible, you protect
your time and create predictability for work associates.
Schedule Relaxation Time
In trying to become a better time manager, you can easily
become compulsive about every moment of the day. If this
happens, you feel even more frustrated and harried.
Sometimes the best use of time is to do nothingto
daydream, to look at the clouds, to meditate, to take a
walk. By seizing time to relax through both planned and
unplanned activity, you revitalize your mind and body.
Treating yourself to a favorite relaxation technique, even
under time pressures, can improve motivation,
concentration, and endurance to get the work done.
[See also Delegation and Empowerment; Meetings]
For Additional Information
Douglass, Merrill E., and Donna N. Manage Your Time,
Your Work, Yourself. New York: AMACOM, 1993.
Mackenzie, Alec. The Time Trap. New York: AMACOM,
1991.
Ramsey, Robert D. ''Work Smarter and Save Time."
Supervision 55, No. 7 (July 1994), pp. 14-16.
Stamp, Dan. "Managing Priorities." Executive Excellence
11, No. 1 (Jan. 1994), p. 6.
Williams, Paul B. Getting a Project Done on Time:
Managing People Time and Results. New York:
AMACOM, 1995.
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Training
To effectively develop your employees you must
understand the training function. You must know when,
how, and where to find training for yourself, your
employees, team members, and peers. From time to time,
you must train your staff by yourself. Often supervisors
and managers are responsible for effectively delivering on-
the-job training and follow-up coaching. Managers in
organizations with training departments must know how to
work effectively with the in-house training staff. By
understanding the functions and methods of training, as
well as its benefits and drawbacks, you can make
enlightened decisions about this employee-development
tool.
Making Training Decisions
There is a logical five-step decision-making process that
you should use to make training decisions.
Is There a Need for Training?
Usually some type of actual or anticipated problem or
deficiency in the work unit leads you to consider training
as a solution. A supervisor who has stormy relationships
with employees may be recommended for supervision
training. An organization with sexual harassment problems
may use training as an intervention. Because managers
rarely select training unless there is a perceived need for it,
training can be selected as a reaction to a problem or as a
proactive measure to prevent a problem. The more
specifically you anticipate or pinpoint the need or
problem, the more sound the decision-making process
about training. Of course,
 Page 332
proactive managers and companies perceive training needs
to complement changes in organizational culture or to
complement changes in approaches to quality.
Is Training the Best Solution?
After determining the specific problem, examine all
possible solutions to decide if training is the best option.
Some problems are best solved by training; others are not.
For example, a manager who is effective in all areas
except delegation will profit from a training session to
develop delegation skills. But a supervisor who is prone to
emotional outbursts may need an employee-assistance
program, as opposed to a communication-training
program. In some other cases, training is selected to solve
a problem when a better solution would involve job
enrichment, individual coaching or mentoring, discipline,
or termination.
What Type of Training Is Needed?
If you determine that training is the best solution to a
problem, then your next step is to identify the type of
training needed. Training can be used to change attitudes,
affect behavior, develop skills or technical competence, or
provide information.
What Is the Most Effective Means of Delivering the
Training?
Training options are enormous. The categories typically
include self-instruction methods, an in-house training
department, public seminars, computer-assisted training
through interactive videos on the internet, video
conferencing, or outside providers who train employees
inside your organization. Often, the range of choices
within each category is broad. A brief overview of each
type will help you make appropriate training decisions.
1. Self-instruction. Self-paced manuals, such as user
manuals for computers or electronic equipment,
individual-instruction workbooks, audiocassettes,
videotapes, or computer-assisted instruction are fast and
inexpensive. They need not interrupt an
 Page 333
employee's daily work routine and can be used during free
time. For certain purposes with certain people, self-
instruction can be effective. There are limitations to self-
instruction training methods, however. The element of
human interaction, often crucial to learning, is missing.
The user may feel isolated and demotivated. There is no
one to check and correct mistakes. Self-instruction is
therefore not always appropriate.
2. In-house training staff. Internal training departments
provide a valuable service to managers and employees.
They offer or assist in finding the training that managers
need for their employees. In deciding whether internal
trainers are the best option, assess the competence of the
training staff. Even large training departments do not
always have expertise in all training topics. Are there
employees in the company who can provide the training
you need? Do their schedules permit them to provide the
training when you need it? Is the problem a politically
sensitive one that would be handled best by an outsider?
Can the internal trainer be objective regarding the problem
that training should solve? Do the in-house materials and
methods meet your needs? Can you work with the training
staff? In-house training is not an option for all managers,
because small organizations do not always have training
departments.
3. Public seminars. Public seminars include speakers
doing programs at local hotels or motels; courses
sponsored by colleges, universities, and vocational
schools; vendor-supplied education in conjunction with
the purchase of equipment; and public programs provided
by independent consultants, trade or employers
associations, professional companies, or management-
information companies. Public training offers much
diversity in topics, facilitators, and cost. It allows your
employees to meet people from other companies. Much
can be learned from hearing about the experiences of other
organizations. On the other hand, sensitive company
information may be disclosed. Also, because public
seminars must meet the needs of participants from various
levels, functions, and types of organizations, the content
must be general. Training from public seminars may not
be applicable to the specific situation of a particular
company. Most important, skills and lessons learned from
public seminars may not transfer back
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to your organization. The seminar may explain how to
empower new hires when, perhaps, your company does
not embrace the concept of empowerment or has few new
hires.
4. Outside providers who train inside your organization.
Many of the facilitators of public programs will provide
training to specific organizations. They may offer the same
seminar as the public version but brought to your location
for a smaller number of employees, or they may create a
training program unique to your needs. In the latter case,
the outside provider can create the training program for
someone in your company to deliver, deliver the training
for you, or train someone on your staff to deliver the
training in subsequent sessions after presenting the initial
training session.
Outside providers who train inside your organization offer
many advantages. They can tailor the training to meet your
specific needs and provide objectivity and credibility. On
the negative side, this type of training can be very
expensive and is time-consuming for you to coordinate.
Also, the trainer is still an outsider who will never know
all the nuances of your organization.
How Much Can You Spend for the Training?
You must analyze the cost of training against the probable
returns. The cost includes the actual training fees, training
material costs, food and refreshment costs, the cost of time
that trainees and trainers spend away from the job, and
possible travel expenses. It is difficult to put a dollar figure
on the benefits that training provides. Try to assess the
tangible returns after employees participate in training.
Perhaps there are measurably reduced costs, increased
revenues and profits, fewer customer complaints, less
signs of stress and absenteeism, fewer disputes or
grievances, higher morale, better-quality products, or
higher rates of productivity.
How to Select a Public Training Program
To carefully select a public training program for
themselves or their employees, managers can use a
number of criteria, including the following:
 Page 335

· Program content. Before selecting a public training

program, you should receive a course outline that specifies
objectives, content, and training formats to be used. The
outline should be detailed enough so that you can identify
the exact topics to be covered and the amount of attention
devoted to each. Likewise, the outline should indicate how
each topic will be covered-for example, through lecture,
discussion, case study, audiovisual, role-play, or
simulation activities. To what extent will participants work
with the information or practice the skills? This may
depend on how many participants are included in a
session. Feel free to ask questions about the program
content. In some cases, the person or organization
sponsoring the program will provide sample written
materials for your perusal in making a training decision.
· Trainer's ability. A training program, despite excellent
content, is only as good as the person delivering it. Before
selecting a public training program, you should feel
confident about the trainer's expertise, prior organizational
experience, familiarity with the topic, and platform style.
Some trainers will provide sample videotapes or
audiotapes of their work.
· Evaluation system. Evaluation may involve both the
trainer's evaluation of participants and the participants'
evaluation of the trainer and the program. It is helpful if
participants receive from training some assessment of their
own abilities or knowledge on the training topic. Some
sessions will provide pretest and posttest evaluations,
rating forms, or self-tests for participants. Such evaluation
of participants is not possible in short programs with large
numbers of participants, which are more akin to a speech
than an actual training seminar.
All training programs should include a means for
participants to evaluate the program. This can include a
few questions on which trainees rate certain features of the
program after completing the session, open-ended written
or oral feedback to the trainer about program strengths and
weaknesses, or followup evaluations after the participants
are back on the job to determine how much they are
applying program content. Whatever evaluation tools are
used, you should solicit informal reactions or written
reports from employees about the perceived
 Page 336
value of the training. Additionally, you can observe,
through relevant on-the-job measures, whether the training
had an impact.
· Participants' recommendations. Before selecting a
public training program, you should obtain a list of
previous participants in similar programs. Contact these
participants to obtain their perceptions of the program and
ask specific questions. This is the best way to get an
accurate picture of the program. Be suspicious of public
program facilitators who will not disclose the names of
people and organizations that have previously used their
training services.
· Price and location. The price of public sessions can
range from under $100 for a full day to several thousand
dollars for a week-long program or for a nationally
renowned trainer. Public training programs are held at
local motels, hospitals, community centers, or educational
institutions. Or they may be in posh resorts or training
facilities anywhere in the world. Naturally, you will want
to consider price and location in selecting a public training
program.
Selecting an Outside Provider to Train Inside Your
Organization
Many of the same issues of content, trainer ability,
evaluation system, references from previous clients, and
price apply when you choose an external provider.
However, there are some criteria unique to choosing
outside trainers to work within your company, such as:
· Needs assessment. With this type of training, you should
expect the training organization to conduct a needs
assessment or training audit. The trainer should distribute
surveys, conduct interviews, lead focus-group discussions,
or observe the dynamics of the organization. The more
familiar the trainer becomes with the structure, the
mission, the people, and the problems of your
organization, the more effective the training will be. The
pretraining phase may or may not include a fee and ranges
from
 Page 337
a few hours of work to several months of research and
analysis. The nature of the needs assessment depends on
the organization, the scope of the training program, and
the organization's training budget.
· The training program itself. Do you want a standard
program brought to your location so that your employees
do not have to travel to a public place? Or do you want
program objectives, content, and delivery formats
designed to your specifications? Do you want a program
delivered once to a group of employees or do you want a
program that your organization can use repeatedly in the
future?
· Follow-up consultation. You should expect more
ongoing assistance from an outside provider who trains
inside organizations than from public training seminars.
The trainer should not disappear once the training program
has been delivered. Instead, this type of training should
include periodic visits from the trainer to assess the impact
of the training, to monitor the progress of participants, and
to offer additional coaching or training to increase
effectiveness. The follow-up phase may or may not
include a fee.
Working With an In-House Training Department
Managers with a full-fledged training department in their
organizations are fortunate. Nevertheless, they sometimes
do not realize or take full advantage of this employee-
development tool. It is important to realize that internal
trainers are an asset to your work unit. Managers who do
not understand their role as human resources developers or
who do not appreciate the benefits of training will see
training as a waste of time. Some managers view training
as an added luxury or as an unnecessary interruption to the
work routine. In this age of business competition,
information overload, technological advancements, and
rapid career change, training is essential to organizations.
You can also use internal trainers to create or locate the
training you need. By working closely with your training
depart-
 Page 338
ment to pinpoint training needs, to structure materials and
content, and to evaluate the impact of training, you can be
assured of quality training for your staff. If in-house
trainers cannot provide the service you need, then you can
work with them to find and evaluate quality, cost-effective
programs elsewhere. In either case, good managers take
advantage of the training resources within their
organizations.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Training
An analysis of some of the advantages and limitations of
training will present a balanced perspective for managers
making training decisions. Training offers many
advantages to individuals and organizations alike. It is an
excellent avenue for employee development because it can
improve attitudes, develop skills, and impart information.
Providing employees with the opportunity for training can
serve as a reward and improve their morale. Those who
have participated in training usually return to work with
heightened enthusiasm, as well as with ideas and
suggestions for improving the work situation.
Organizations with excellent reputations for providing
employee training are likely to have better public relations
images and recruiting opportunities. All of this translates
into organizational development. The organization with an
enlightened view of training usually enjoys better
employee relations and higher productivity.
This is not to say that training is a panacea. One limitation
is its expense. Some companies can afford no more than
the most minimal of training efforts. And because the
return on the investment in training is difficult to calculate,
some companies cannot justify large expenditures for
training. Still others simply cannot afford to take someone
off of a job to send to a training program. Training can
also result in employee misuse of the information gained.
The employees may even take jobs with other
organizations once you have paid to upgrade their
knowledge or skills. Still, most companies believe that the
expense of not training is far greater, and so they cannot
afford not to train.
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The Manager as Trainer

All managers face the task of training their employees, in
the broadest sense of the term. In addition to knowing how
to select training for employees, a manager must know
how to perform the role of trainer. Managers are called on
to help new hires, for example. Even if the personnel
department provides general orientation training, it is the
duty of the unit manager to see that the new employee
learns to perform the new job correctly.
Too many managers take this task lightly. Ineffective
managers typically hand new employees a manual and tell
them to read it; this hardly suffices as on-the-job training.
Another on-the-job training error is to tell the new hire to
watch seasoned employees to learn how the job is done.
But there is no guarantee that the experienced employee is
doing the job correctly or can teach someone else how to
do the work. In the meantime, the new hire feels like a
pest and is reluctant to ask too many questions. On the
other hand, some managers, like drill sergeants, dictate job
procedures and command new hires to perform these tasks
correctly without asking too many questions.
Rather than adopting these procedures, you must work
closely with new employees to see that they develop the
right work skills and attitudes. A train-the-trainer course
usually helps managers who lack certain training skills or
platform confidence. You will learn instructional designs
and methods, as well as platform skills, to become an
effective trainer and coach; both increasing requirements
in a total quality environment.
You should also train in the event of employee-
performance problems, when an employee's job is
expanded or changed, or when you want to develop an
employee for a new project or promotion. In essence,
whenever you provide feedback, coach, or serve as a
mentor, you are training.
In addition to directly training employees, you must
provide support to employees who return to the job after
attending a training seminar. It is your job to help them
transfer what they have learned in the training program to
the work situation. This may mean letting them try new
approaches or test new ideas. It may mean removing
attitudinal or structural barriers so that
 Page 340
employees can incorporate training concepts into the daily
work routine.
[See also Coaching Employees; Consultants; Orienting
New Employees]
For Additional Information
Darling, Philip. Training for Profit: A Guide to the
Integration of Training in an Organization's Success. New
York: McGraw-Hill, 1994.
McCune, Jenny C. ''On the Train Gang." Management
Review 83,No. 10 (Oct. 1994), pp. 57-60.
Mitchell, Garry. The Trainer's Handbook: The AMA Guide
to Effective Training. New York: AMACOM, 1992.
Morgan, Clay. "Employee Training that Works."
Supervision 55,No. 6 (June 1994), pp. 11-13.
Pace, Larry A. "Training in Organizations: Needs
Assessment, Development and Evaluation." Personnel
Psychololgy 47, No. 2 (Summer 1994), pp. 395-97.
 Page 341

Turnover
Turnover can be defined as the total number of separations
of employees from an organization during a given time
period. Separations are both voluntary (resignations or
retirements) and involuntary (terminations). Most
organizations maintain turnover statistics, if only to
recognize the extent to which they lose employees. Such
data can also be used to calculate the costs of personnel
replacement, document reasons for separation, and project
future labor demands.
Positive and Negative Consequences of Turnover
Most people think that turnover is bad for a company.
Indeed, organizations with high rates of turnover will
probably suffer, but there are also some advantages to it.
For example, when employees leave a company, they are
replaced with new hires who bring new knowledge,
practice, experience, and skills to the organization.
Turnover can also allow for organizational renewal. With
little or no change in personnel, there may be stagnation in
the workplace.
While too much turnover is costly, a certain amount can
save an organization money. Employees with large salaries
may be replaced with less-expensive but equally qualified
newcomers. Some positions may be eliminated, merged,
or automated. Through turnover, an organization can rid
itself of marginal performers, unmotivated workers, and
people who are difficult to get along with. So turnover
may provide vitality, may have financial advantages, and
may serve a housecleaning function.
The potential negative effects of organizational turnover
are
 Page 342
many, however. Clearly, there are tangible and indirect
costs associated with turnover. Organizations can calculate
original and replacement human resources costs.
Recruiting, selecting, and training new employees is
costly. Exit interviews, severance benefits, and
outplacement services also cost money. Temporary help
may have to be hired. Then there are the costs of reduced
productivity while positions remain vacant and new hires
become oriented to the job and to the company.
Turnover, no matter how necessary to organizational
vitality, is also disruptive. Remaining employees may have
to take on more work until the separated employee is
replaced. Special projects and work teams may be
disrupted when turnover affects their membership. If a
valuable and well-liked person leaves, group morale,
cohesion, and communication can be negatively affected.
Separations put companies into a temporary state of
imbalance. Remaining employees find themselves
preoccupied with the change and spend work time
discussing the former employee and the reasons for
separation. A period of anxiety and uncertainty ensues.
Additional turnover can result when disgruntled
employees identify with separated employees and follow
their lead in leaving the organization. Turnover is
especially disruptive if qualified replacements in certain
job categories are difficult to find.
Organizations with high rates of turnover earn reputations
as undesirable working environments. Replacing
employees becomes an even more difficult and costly task.
Because turnover can have a serious impact on an
organization, it must be managed or controlled. Managing
employee turnover involves not only being aware of the
consequences of turnover but understanding the reasons
for that high turnover and trying to control it.
Reasons for Turnover
A complex array of factors affect an individual's decision
to voluntarily leave an organization, including personal
circumstances, the job itself, the larger work environment,
and the perception of alternatives.
A variety of personal reasons can precipitate the decision
to
 Page 343
resign or retire from a job. Marriage, personal illness,
child rearing, family problems, the job transfer of a
spouse, or the desire to relocate are common reasons for
quitting a job. By having fair parental leave policies,
child-care benefits, and employee counseling programs, an
employer can prevent some turnover. Many personal
reasons for turnover are beyond the employer's control,
however.
In many cases, dissatisfaction with the job itself propels
employees to quit. They may not be challenged by their
jobs, they may find the work repetitive or boring, or they
may not be using their knowledge or abilities adequately.
Dissatisfactions with salary, benefits, work schedule, and
job security are also powerful motives for leaving. The
factors of turnover in which the employer has more
control relate directly to selection, placement, and
personnel-policy decisions made by managers.
Sometimes people like their work but have difficulty with
the company itself. The larger work milieu cannot help but
affect their perception of a job. Employees who are
unhappy with working conditions, with supervisor and
coworker relationships, with organizational policies and
procedures, with company or departmental politics, and
with career opportunities in the company are likely
candidates for separation.
Employees may also leave because they perceive better
alternatives elsewhere. They may take a similar job in a
different organization as a career-development strategy.
They may give few reasons for their departure other than
the option that it is time to move on. Other reasons for
separation are the goal of starting a new business, the
desire to return to school, an interest in military or
volunteer services, or the option of early retirement.
Strategies for Controlling Turnover
Managing turnover does not mean intervening just before
an employee decides to quit. In order to manage employee
turnover, organizations must realize that almost all
managerial decisions can relate to turnover. In order to
control turnover, companies must examine their
recruitment, selection, and placement decisions; their
performance evaluation and reward system; their
 Page 344
salary and benefits plans; their promotion and career-
development opportunities; their supervisory styles and
relationships; their work environments; and their handling
of special needs by certain segments of the workforce. The
following sections discuss ways in which each of these
organizational features affects turnover and presents
strategies in each area for retaining employees.
Recruitment, Selection, and Placement
Companies may experience turnover because of hiring
mistakes. If you hire the wrong person for a job, the
individual will be unable to perform satisfactorily and is
likely to quit or be fired. The closer the selection process
can match an individual with an organization, the more
successful that process will be and the more likely
turnover will be reduced.
To improve the match between applicant and job, both
interviewers and applicants must be more realistic and
more honest. Job requirements must be clearly specified,
valid and reliable selection techniques must be used, job
expectations and risks must be disclosed, and significant
time and resources must be devoted to the selection
process. Money spent at this stage will be money saved
later if turnover is reduced.
Improving the selection process also depends on effective
recruiting techniques. The best person cannot be hired if
few qualified individuals apply. You may need to upgrade
your recruiting procedures. Do ads in newspapers,
professional magazines, and journals represent the best
investment of recruiting dollars? Could employment
agencies, executive search firms, and placement offices
associated with educational institutions increase the pool
of applicants? Develop creative ways of reaching minority
applicants, such as outreach programs within
communities. Encourage current employees to recruit
potential applicants.
The placement process is another factor of personnel
selection that can ultimately affect turnover. Once an
employee is placed in a work assignment, the orientation
and training process must be adequate preparation for the
job. Employees who start off on the wrong foot with
rushed, vague, or stressful orientation periods may remain
disenchanted. Some companies assume that new
employees can immediately do the job or can learn the job
 Page 345
through casual observation. Thus, they provide no
systematic orientation for new hires. Orientation training
should provide a realistic but supervised portrayal of
actual job conditions. The new person should learn correct
procedures, ask questions, and rectify mistakes.
Performance Evaluations and Reward
Many employees quit because they are unhappy with their
performance reviews or because they perceive they have
been passed over for a promotion. Likewise, organizations
typically fire employees whose performance is
consistently below expectation. Thus, the performance
evaluation and reward system in an organization directly
relates to its rate of turnover. Yet many performance
evaluation systems are vague and subjective, leading to
arbitrary decisions about workers' preformances.
Inadequate performance appraisal methods can contribute
to employee turnover if they fail to identify real
performance problems early enough for correction or if
they frustrate employees to the point of quitting.
To be effective, a performance review system should have
well-defined, measurable criteria for performance for each
job in the organization. Reviews should occur frequently
and results be communicated directly. Most important,
employees whose performance falls below standard should
receive coaching until their performance improves.
Identifying problems early on and coaching to solve those
performance problems can make termination unnecessary.
Companies can also reduce turnover by encouraging
frequent informal discussions about performance. Routine,
unthreatening feedback about job-related behaviors can
prevent performance problems from developing.
Supervisors who routinely praise and criticize their
workers' job performance support the formal performance-
review system.
Because complaints about performance reviews and
promotions cannot be eliminated totally, organizations
should have systems for handling grievances. Impartial
reviews and reconsideration of performance appraisal and
promotion decisions can help reduce grievances, legal
battle, and separations.
 Page 346
Salary and Benefits
Some employees leave jobs because they are dissatisfied
with their salaries or benefits. While it is idealistic to think
that employers can provide compensation packages that
will completely satisfy a workforce, it is important to
realize the relationship of compensation to turnover.
Organizations that want to retain valuable employees must
make sure their salary ranges are competitive with
industry and regional standards. Not only do employees
compare their salaries and benefits to those of comparable
positions in other companies, but they compare across jobs
within an organization. Employees will be dissatisfied and
will consider leaving if they perceive that their salaries are
less than those of colleagues in similar job categories with
similar experience or longevity. Perceived salary inequity
within companies is a major factor affecting turnover.
Organizations can intervene by making sure that salary
equity exists, both externally and internally.
Organizations also must determine if their benefits are
competitive and equitable. Spending more on attractive
benefits plans can save turnover costs. In addition, many
companies opt for flexible benefits packages that allow
employees to select the benefits they need and reject
unnecessary options. While this does not necessarily
increase the costs to employers, it does mean offering a
wider range of benefits from which employees can choose.
It may represent a simple strategy for retaining certain
categories of employees.
Career Development
Some employees leave their present jobs because they do
not anticipate satisfying future roles in the company. High
achievers especially want clear and attainable paths to
career development. Organizations can implement career-
development programs as a strategy for retaining valuable
employees. Such programs should provide information on
realistic career paths in the company; opportunities for
self-assessment, education, and training for individual
development; career counseling; and posting of available
positions in the organization. Opportunities for personal
 Page 347
growth and promotion can be a powerful motive for
remaining with a company.
Supervisory Relationships
Another factor affecting whether an employee remains on
a job is the relationship with the supervisor. Many reasons
cited for voluntary separation involve supervisory
problems. Conversely, a positive attachment to a
supervisor can retain an employee even if other
dissatisfactions arise. Employees report that they are less
likely to quit a job if they have a positive personal
relationship with their supervisors and if supervisors show
them consideration and create supportive working
environments.
It is easy to see why the relationship between supervisors
and workers has such a direct bearing on turnover.
Supervisors play a major role in orienting employees to
their jobs; supervisors typically conduct performance
reviews and recommend or withhold performance
rewards; supervisors shape salary decisions; and
supervisors are the people to offer praise, coaching, and
career-development opportunities. They also affect most
of the other factors related to employee retention or
turnover, such as politics.
This means that organizations should encourage effective
and satisfying supervisory relationships. Resources should
be provided for supervisory-skills training. Supervisors
must be encouraged to set good examples, to communicate
openly and regularly, and to treat their employees fairly.
Making first-line supervisors a major human resources
priority can significantly impact employee turnover.
Work Environment
Certain types of work environments or climates drive
people away. The work environment encompasses many
elements already discussed and entails aspects that shape
employees' perceptions of their jobs. People who quit their
jobs because of dissatisfaction with the work environment
cite these factors: mutual distrust between managers and
employees, lack of communication, inconsistent policies
and procedures, stress, compet-
 Page 348
itiveness, unreasonable deadlines, job responsibilities
interfering with personal life, and uncertainty about job
security. Employers should examine whether aspects of
their work environment contribute to turnover in their
organization.
Special Needs
Certain segments of a workforce may have special needs
that affect their ability to remain in particular jobs.
Troubled employees may be fired or may quit if
counseling or employee assistance programs are not
available. Many organizations have found it more cost-
effective to offer employee counseling than to replace
employees, owing to high rates of turnover.
Organizations perceived as inhospitable to minorities may
face alarming rates of turnover among minority
employees. Such a trend can damage a company's
reputation or result in charges of discrimination and costly
litigation. Some practices to retain minority employees
include recruiting minority applicants, fair employment
practices that comply with the guidelines of the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and
mentoring or career-development strategies that meet the
special needs of minorities in the workplace.
Dual-career couples, who represent an increasing
proportion of the workforce, may need child-care benefits
or flexible work schedules in order to remain employed.
Spouse relocation assistance may be needed for a valuable
employee to accept a transfer. A company wishing to
retain its older employees should implement preretirement
counseling or offer alternative working arrangements.
Exit Interviews
Organizations should establish procedures for exit
interviews with employees who have resigned or been
dismissed. There are many compelling reasons for holding
an exit interview in conjunction with a resignation. By
soliciting the employee's reasons for quitting, the
organization can compile data on the causes
 Page 349
of turnover. Through this information, the organization can
monitor and adjust its personnel practices.
In some cases, the exit interview can be used as a vehicle
to dissuade a valuable employee from leaving. Managers
may not know of someone's dissatisfaction until the
intention to quit is announced. They may be able to
intervene to solve the employee's concerns, thereby
preventing separation.
The exit interview can reduce the disgruntled employee's
hostility and can serve a goodwill purpose. Organizations
that provide opportunities for employees to air their
feelings prior to leaving, and that take some responsibility
for a person-job mismatch, have fewer vengeful people
complaining about them in the community. The departing
person is likely to be hired by a competitor, so it is
important that the person leave on good terms.
Exit interviews in conjunction with voluntary separations
ought to solicit the following information:
· Positive aspects of the job
· Negative aspects of the job
· Reasons for leaving
· Other factors contributing to dissatisfaction
· Perceptions of the relationship with supervisor
 · Perceptions of the organization
· Recommendations for improvement
· Factors that could have prolonged the employment
In addition, the terms of separation must be discussed. The
atmosphere should be professional and the goal should be
to exchange information. The interviewer must assure the
departing employee that all remarks will be held
confidential and that the information can serve as a basis
for correcting problems in the workplace.
No resigning employee can be forced to participate in an
exit interview. However, an employee who is willing to
discuss reasons for resigning should be encouraged to
speak honestly, objectively, and thoroughly. The
interviewer should express appreciation for the
cooperation and should wish the departing employee well
in future employment.
 Page 350
[See also Career Development; Feedback; Interviewing;
Performance Appraisals; Politics in Organizations;
Recruiting and Selecting New Employees]
For Additional Information
Dreyer, R. S. ''Why Behind Turnover." Supervision 55,
No. 11 (Nov. 1995), pp. 19-20.
Herman, Roger C. Keeping Good People: Strategies for
Solving the Dilemma of the Decade. Cleveland: Oakland
Press, 1990.
White, Gerald L. "Employee Turnover: The Hidden Drain
on Profits." HR Focus 72, No. 1 (Jan. 1995), pp. 15-17.
 Page 351

Violence in the Workplace

Organizations of all types increasingly are becoming
concerned about incidents of violence in the workplace.
This kind of violence can be considered as any threatening
behavior, verbal abuse, or physical assault occurring in a
work environment. Employees and their significant others,
as well as customers and strangers, can show violent
behavior in a work setting. Types of this violence typically
fall into four categories: (1) robbery and other commercial
crimes; (2) domestic and misdirected affection cases; (3)
terrorism and hate crimes; and (4) employer-directed
situations.
Any workplace where money or other valuables are kept
can become a target of a robbery. Typically the perpetrator
is a stranger to the organization, though the individual can
be an employee or former employee.
Domestic and misdirected affection cases are those in
which domestic and intimate relationship disputes spill
over into the workplace. A typical scenario involves an
angry husband or boyfriend who stalks a mate to the
workplace or enters the workplace in order to threaten or
harm that person. In most cases, the violent individual is
not an employee of the organization.
Terrorism and hate crimes often are directed at particular
types of organizations by militant advocacy groups.
Crimes against clinics performing abortions or against
companies engaging in experiments on animals are typical
examples.
In the case of employer-directed situations, the violence
comes from an employee or former employee because of
perceived injustices suffered on the job, and the violence
is directed at the employer, the employer's property,
managers, or fellow
 Page 352
employees. This is the type of violence over which
organizations have the most control. Most information in
this chapter focuses on this last type of workplace
violence.
Prevalence of Workplace Violence
While violence on the job is not a common ocurrence in
most companies, it seems to be happening with increasing
frequency across a spectrum of organizations. No
workplace is immune from the possibility of violent
behavior. A study done by Northwestern National Life
Insurance projected that over 2 million employees in the
United States were physically attacked in the workplace in
1992-93. The National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health reports that workplace violence is the third
leading cause of death on the job. During an eighteen-
month period, there were some 700 recorded cases of
violence among U.S. Postal Service employees.
The Postal Service is not the only type of organization in
which violence commonly occurs, however. Other
organizations most at risk are those in construction,
manufacturing, public sector, and law enforcement. Small
retail or financial establishments such as convenience
stores, service stations, and branch banks are at risk for
robberies. Anyone working alone, such as a taxi driver,
also is at risk. And organizations undergoing massive
layoffs or terminations are in danger.
Causes of Workplace Violence
One cannot dispute that evidence of violence in our
society has become more pronounced. Three
factorssocietal conditions, the workplace, and the violent-
prone individualhave contributed to recent increases in
workplace violence. Since the workplace is a microcosm
of society, societal problems necessarily impinge on
workplace organizations.
The increasing availability of guns, the abundant presence
of violence in entertainment media, economic problems,
and feelings of alienation and discrimination probably
contribute to inci-
 Page 353
dents of workplace violence. In addition, organizational
factors contributing to workplace violence include
widespread layoffs and terminations; strong dissatisfaction
with the outcomes of grievance and disciplinary hearings;
authoritarian management styles; and perceived
unpredictability, secrecy, and invasion of privacy in an
organization.
Certainly, there are some individuals whose personalities
and lifestyles indicate a propensity toward violence.
Individuals with histories of mental instability and/or
substance abuse are likely to erupt into violence. Likewise,
anyone with dysfunctional patterns of expressing anger,
feelings of victimization, or a strong need for retaliation is
a candidate for engaging in violent behavior. Studies have
shown that typical perpetrators of workplace violence are
male, loner types with low self-esteem who have a history
of conflicts at work, have difficulty accepting authority,
are under stress, have made previous threats at work, and
have a fascination with weapons. Still, though such a
profile has been developed, it is still very difficult to
predict who will likely become violent and under what
circumstances.
Costs of Workplace Violence
While it is difficult to put a price tag on workplace
violence, any incidents can result in direct costs to
employers, such as sick leave and workers compensation
benefits, and negligent hiring or victims' compensation
awards. Then there are indirect costs, such as high
turnover, loss of productivity, and damaged public image.
The Northwestern National Life Insurance study found
that victims of workplace violence were significantly more
likely than nonvictims to report that they were less
productive, suffered from various stress-related illnesses,
and wanted to change jobs. The National Safe Workplace
Institute estimated that the cost to employers for
workplace violence in 1992 was over $4 billion.
When we examine the range of behaviors classified as
workplace violence, the prevalence of incidents, the
variety of organizations at risk, and the costs to employers,
it is advisable for all organizations to develop prevention
mechanisms and violence-management plans.
 Page 354

Prevention Plans
Good organizational communication, sound human
resources practices, and effective security measures
contribute to prevention of violence in the workplace. It is
wise to examine your organizational culture to determine
the extent to which it is employee-friendly. An
environment characterized by hostility between managers
and employees makes incidents or workplace violence
more possible. If employees feel that their rights are
violated repeatedly or that they regularly are treated
unfairly, they are much more likely to fight back through
verbal or physical force. An employee-friendly workplace
culture is characterized by open communication, respect, a
sense of personal responsibility, opportunities to provide
input, feelings of support, and fair dispute-resolution
procedures. In such a climate, employee anger and
frustration are minimal and would be unlikely to escalate
into episodes of violence.
Human resources practices also can contribute to the
prevention of workplace violence. It is important to have
thorough preemployment screening practices. If an
employee who had a history of criminal behavior engages
in violent behavior that injures either a fellow employee or
a third party, then the employer is liable in a negligent
hiring lawsuit.
Employers should conduct thorough reference checks on
all potential employees. Many companies use waivers that
release former employers from liability and authorize
credit and criminal records checks. Such pre-employment
screening practices reduce company liability in negligent
hiring allegations.
In additional to pre-employment screening practices,
organizations should have policies relating to such issues
as possession of a firearm at work, substance abuse, and
harassment. Violent behavior is reduced in companies that
have clear policies and procedures for dealing with all
types of inappropriate conduct at work.
Policies and procedures related to the termination of
employees also can reduce the incidence of workplace
violence. Supervisors need training on how to terminate
employees in ways that are objective, respectful, and
nonemotional. Supervisors need to
 Page 355
know how to diffuse employee anger and feelings of
retribution. Exit interviews and outplacement services can
turn a potentially explosive situation into a professional
one. By providing the services of an employee assistance
program, organizations can refer violence-prone
employees to counseling.
In additional to communication and human resources
practices, increased security helps prevent workplace
violence. Increased security is defined differently in
various types of organizations. It may mean checking
employee identification, installing metal detectors or
security cameras, or hiring security personnel. A threat-
management plan and training of supervisors to detect
early warning signs of violence also constitute security
measures.
A threat-management plan essentially examines areas of
risk in an organization, specifies procedures for reporting
and investigating aggressive and threatening behavior,
delineates training needs regarding stress and conflict
management, and names a threat-management team,
which typically consists of individuals from top
management and the human resources, legal, and security
departments. Such a plan should be communicated to
insurers and may contribute to lower insurance costs.
Violence-Management Plan
While all of these preventive measures likely will
eliminate the occurence of violence in a company, they are
not foolproof. Violence can still occur, and the
organization must know how to react should a serious
situation emerge. All organizations should have a
violence-management plan that outlines an emergency
response, designates areas of responsibility, provides for
communication to employees, handles media relations,
and restores public image. Areas of responsibility or
oversight may include dealing with the police, ensuring
employee safety during a violent situation, monitoring the
emotional needs of employees, communicating with
victims' families, disseminating information internally,
handling press coverage, cleaning up facilities, repairing
physical damage, processing medical and insurance
claims, handling legal matters, informing customers of
service delays, and returning the organization to normalcy.
 Page 356
While the need for such a plan is rare, just one instance of
its use more than justifies such a planning effort. Imagine
the chaos, personal trauma, financial loss, and credibility
damage for an organization that has no response plan for
an episode that involves physical assault, terrorism, or
homicide. All organizations, regardless of type or size,
should become aware of prevention strategies and
response plans regarding workplace violence.
[See also Conflict Management; Disciplining Employees;
Employee Assistance Programs; Family-Friendly
Management; Listening; Substance Abuse; Terminating
Employees and Downsizing]
For Additional Information
Arbetta, Lisa. "Over the Edge." Security Management,
December 1993, p. 12.
Bensimon, Helen Frank. "Violence in the Workplace."
Training and Development, January 1994, pp. 27-32.
Kinney, Joseph A., and Johnson, Dennis L. Breaking
Point: The Workplace Violence Epidemic and What To Do
About It. Chicago: National Safe Workplace Institute,
1993.
Labig, Charles E. Preventing Violence in the Workplace.
New York: AMACOM, 1995.
Kurland, Orin M. "Workplace Violence." Risk
Management, June 1993, pp. 76-77.
 Page 357

Index
absenteeism
and diversity in organizations, 90-91
and family-friendly management, 110, 111
and substance abuse, 300
accountability
and customer service, 65-66
and delegation, 68
for diversity, 95
for sexual harassment, 282
acquired immune deficiency syndrome, see AIDS
action plans, 309
active voice, 20
address, terms of, 131
affiliation, and motivation, 168-169
affirmative action, 25
agendas, meeting, 151, 152, 156, 157, 304, 325
aggression
assertiveness versus, 6-7
and conflict, 46, 47-48
aging population, and family- friendly management, 111,
112-113
AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome), 1-5
costs to company, 1
educational programs, 3, 4-5
legal issues and, 1-3
organizational policies for, 1, 3-4
see also employee assistance programs (EAPs); ethics
in the workplace; family-friendly management
alternative dispute resolution (ADR), 49-50, 182-184, 285
American Management Association, 1, 298
American Red Cross, 5
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, 76-80,
183
AIDS and, 2-3, 4
and diversity, 89-90
and essential job functions, 78, 270
 and job descriptions, 270
philosophy behind, 76
reasonable accommodation in, 2-3, 77-78
anxiety, 232-233, 325-326
appeal process, 87-88
arbitrators, 49-50, 182-184
assertiveness, 6-12
aggression versus, 6-7
and counseling interviews, 141
elements of, 7-8
nonassertiveness versus, 6-7
situations requiring, 8-11 see also feedback
assessment and referral, in employee assistance program
(EAP), 98-99, 101, 102, 103, 141
assimilation, into company, 93, 161
attention-getting material, 18-19
audience
for business writing, 15
for presentations, 233
audits
customer service, 66
ethics, 107, 109
 Page 358
authority
and delegation, 71, 74
in team building, 307
B
behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS), 217-218
body language, see nonverbal behavior
bonuses, see incentive programs
brainstorming, 126, 158, 309
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 206, 208
business writing, 13-23
editing stage of, 21-22
oral communication versus, 22-23
prewriting stage of, 14-17
writing stage of, 17-21
C
campus recruiting, 272
career-counseling specialists, 31
career development, 24-32
 individual strategies for, 26-29
need for, 24-25 organizational strategies for, 29-31, 94
planning in, 24, 27-28, 31
training in, 28-29, 30-31
turnover and, 346-347
see also mentoring; networking; project management;
training
career-planning workshops, 31
case-study discussions, 307, 310
cause and effect diagrams, 308
Center for Business Ethics, 106
Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 1, 5
central-tendency effect, 221
ceremonies, and organizational culture, 195-196
change agents, 36
change management, 33-37
described, 33
importance of, 34-35
and organizational culture, 193, 196-197
and reasons for change, 33-34
 and resistance to change, 35, 36
strategies for, 35-37
see also career development; coaching; consultants;
creativity; organizational culture
checklists, in performance appraisal, 216-217
child care, 111, 112-113
Civil Rights Act of 1964, 280
civil service boards, 87
coach
characteristics of good, 43-44
deciding to, 38-40
coaching, 38-44
conducting session of, 41-43
and discipline process, 83
in orientation process, 202
preparation for, 40-41
problems in, 43
quality and, 265-266
in team building, 309
see also change management; disciplining employees;
 feedback; mentoring
communication
assertive, 6-12
during change, 36
and customer service, 65
and delegation, 70-71
and discipline process, 85
intercultural, 130-137
and organizational culture, 194-195
and performance appraisal, 223-224
and stress, 289, 294
style of, in conflicts, 47-50
and substance abuse, 300
and team building, 303
in terminating employees and downsizing, 319-320
see also business writing; conflict management;
feedback; listening; negotiation; oral communication;
presentations
community relations, 252-253
 Page 359
competition
and change management, 34
and conflict, 46
and customer service, 62
and negotiation, 175-176
complementary workers, see parttime, temporary, and
contingent workers
compressed work week, 114
Conference Board, 106
confidentiality
and AIDS, 4
and employee assistance programs (EAPs), 100-101,
103
turnover and, 349
conflict management, 45-51
communication styles in, 47-50
guidelines for, 50-51
meetings and, 154
and organizational culture, 193
 and positive outcome of conflict, 47
and reasons for conflict, 45-46
in team building, 310-311
see also negotiation
consensus decision making, 309-310
consistency, and discipline process, 84-85, 88
consultants, 52-59
and change management, 36
and client-consultant relationship, 56-59
contracts of, 57
costs of, 53, 55-56, 59
described, 52-53
and employee assistance program (EAP), 98
ethics and, 107
and organizational culture, 197
and performance appraisal, 213-214
process, 305, 306, 311
reasons for using, 53-54
screening potential, 55-56
 selection of, 54-55
in training process, 334, 336-337
contingent workers, see part-time, temporary, and
contingent workers
contract employees, see part-time, temporary, and
contingent workers
control
and failure to delegate, 72-73
of meetings, 152, 154-157
and negotiation, 174-175
corporate culture, see organizational culture
cost(s)
of AIDS in the workplace, 1
of consultants, 53, 55-56, 59
of contingent workers, 207
of employee assistance programs, 101-102
of lack of quality, 259-260
of lost customers, 62
and performance appraisal, 218-219
of providing reasonable accommodation, 77
 of substance abuse, 298
of training, 334, 336, 338
and violence in the workplace, 353
cost-versus-payoff formula, 327, 328
counseling interviews, 141, 142
creative process, stages in, 125-26
creativity
characteristics of people possessing, and conflict, 47
management of, 123-124, 127-128
meetings and, 153, 156
tools of, 126-127
see also change management; delegation; empowerment
credibility, and consultants, 53-54
crisis management, 256-257
critical-incident technique, 216
criticism, see feedback
cross-functional action teams, 302
cultural-awareness training, 137
customer relations, 253-254
 Page 360
customer service, 60-67
and diversity, 90
feedback from customers and, 116
nature of, 60-61
and nature of customers, 63-64
providing, 64-67
reasons for emphasizing, 61-63
see also quality
D
daydreaming, 148, 326
decentralization, and change management, 34
deception, and conflict, 50
decision-making
concerning training, 331-334
consensus, 309-310
and consulting relationships, 58
and delegation, 69
and indecisiveness, 326
defensiveness, 50, 120
delegation, 68-75
defined, 68
effective, 70-72
failure of, 72-73
guidelines for, 74
reasons for, 68-70
see also coaching; empowerment; feedback; motivation;
time management
Deming, W. Edwards, 260-262
dependent-care accounts, 112-113
design team, 304
dining etiquette, 132
disabled employees, 76-80
AIDS and, 2-3
and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, 2-
3, 4, 76-80, 89-90, 183, 270
see also AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome);
employee assistance programs (EAPs); family-friendly
management; feedback; mentoring
discharge, see terminating employees
disciplining employees, 81-88
documentation for, 83, 85-86, 88
legal constraints on, 86-87
progressive-discipline system in, 82-84, 88, 318
and rights of appeal, 87-88
in sexual harassment claims, 285-286
and termination, 83-84, 86-87
training supervisors in, 84-85
workplace rules in, 81-82
see also coaching; feedback; terminating employees
diversity in organizations, 89-96
advantages of, 90-91
aspects of, 89-90
pitfalls and problems of, 91-95
see also disabled employees; familyfriendly
management; intercultural communication;
organizational culture; sexual harassment; women
domestic violence, 351
downsizing, see terminating employees
Drug-Free Workplace Act, 297
drug testing, 278, 298-299
E
education
and career development, 30-31
and change management, 36
concerning AIDS, 3, 4-5
concerning sexual harassment, 286
employee assistance program (EAP), 99-100
and quality, 261, 262
and substance abuse, 300
see also training
elder care, 111, 112-113
electronic mail (E-mail), 18
emotions
and diversity in organizations, 92
in negotiation process, 181
employee assistance programs (EAPs), 97-104
and AIDS, 4
assessment and referral for, 98-99, 101, 102, 103, 141
 Page 361
and community resource network, 99-103
and confidentiality, 100-101, 103
consortium approach to, 103
cost of, 101-102
and counseling interviews, 141, 142
evaluation of, 102-103
and family-friendly management, 114-115
planning for, 98
record keeping and, 100-101, 103
and stress, 295
and substance abuse, 301
turnover and, 348
see also family-friendly management; substance abuse;
management; violence, workplace
employee benefits
and contingent workers, 207
orienting employees to, 200
and turnover, 346
 see also medical benefits
employee handbooks, 81-82, 201
employee-involvement programs, 120
employee-opinion surveys, 121
employee relations, 254-255
employer-directed violence, 321, 351-352, 354-355
employment agencies, 272
employment-at-will doctrine, 314-315
empowerment
defined, 69
and effective delegation, 70-72
and negotiation, 177
reasons for, 68-70
see also delegation
equal employment opportunity (EEO) guidelines, 200, 348
and career development, 25
and contingent workers, 209
and disabled employees, 79
and interview questions, 275
 and recruiting process, 271
for selection interviews, 139
and sexual harassment, 280, 284, 285
essay appraisals, 215-216
essential job functions, 78, 270
ethics in the workplace, 105-109
and conflict, 50
developing ethics programs, 106-108
implementing policies, 108-109
and motivation, 169
prevalence of ethics codes, 106
role of, 105-106
see also family-friendly management; meetings;
organizational culture; orienting new employees;
training
ethnocentricity, 93-94
etiquette, and intercultural communication, 131-133
evaluation
and delegation, 71
in listening process, 147, 149
 in recruiting and selecting employees, 278-279
in team building, 311
of training, 335-336
see also performance appraisal
executive search firms, 272
exempt employees, orienting, 204
exit interviews, 120, 141-142, 319-321, 348-349, 355
eye contact
and assertiveness, 7
and intercultural communication, 135
and presentations, 235, 236
F
facial expression
and assertiveness, 7
and oral communication, 149-150
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, 111, 112,
113
family care, 112-113
family-friendly management, 110-115
options for, 112-115
 Page 362
trends encouraging, 110-111
turnover and, 110, 111, 348
see also disabled employees; employee assistance
programs (EAPs); motivation
fear, 72, 261
feedback, 116-122
accepting criticism during, 11
and customer service, 63
employee, 255
giving criticism in, 10-11
guidelines for giving, 10-11, 118-119
on orientation program, 204
and quality, 117-118
soliciting, 11, 119-121
turnover and, 345
see also coaching; delegation; empowerment;
motivation; performance appraisal; time management
feedforward, 116, 118
financial relations, 255
firing employees, see terminating employees
fishbone diagrams, 308
flexible work arrangements, 113-114, 206
flex-time, 113
flow charts, 308
follow-up
in orientation, 203
in recruitment and selection, 278-279
in training, 337
functional management, 245-246
G
gestures
and assertiveness, 7
and intercultural communication, 135
and oral communication, 149-150
and presentations, 235, 236
gift giving, 132-133
global workplace, see intercultural communication
goals, in team building, 306
government agencies, 272
government relations, 255-256
graphic rating scales, 217
group self-assessment, 305
groupthink, 91, 304
guilt, and failure to delegate, 73
H
halo effect, 220
handbooks, employee, 81-82, 201
harassment, 93
hate crimes, 351
health plans, see medical benefits
hidden discrimination, 92-93
hiring process, see recruiting and selecting new employees
human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 1
see also AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)
human resources function
and career development, 28, 31
and coaching, 38
 and record keeping, 3, 4, 79
hypothetical questions, 128
I
incentive programs
and customer service, 66-67
for internal referrals, 271
and motivation, 66-67, 167, 169-170
quality and, 265
turnover and, 345
independent contractors, see part-time, temporary, and
contingent workers
informal appraisal, 224
information gathering
for business writing, 15-16
from customers, 63
meetings in, 152-153
and negotiation, 178-179
in team building, 305
see also listening
 Page 363
in-house training staff, 333, 337-338
innovation, see creativity
inspection process, 259-260, 261, 267
institutional racism, 92
institutional sexism, 92
integrity, and consulting relationships, 58
intercultural communication, 130-137
areas of cultural difference, 131-136
competence in, 136-137
and dining etiquette, 132
in dress and appearance, 133
and gift giving, 132-133
in greeting and terms of address, 131
and language, 134, 136
and nonverbal behavior, 135
and time consciousness, 133-134
and work attitudes, 135-136
internal referrals, 271
interview(s), 138-145
counseling, 141, 142
of disabled job candidates, 78-79
exit, 120, 141-142, 319-321, 348-349, 355
performance appraisal, 140, 223-224
process for, 142-144
record keeping for, 139-140, 144-145, 277, 320-321
selection, 78-79, 138-140, 274-277
in sexual harassment claims, 285
see also performance appraisal; recruiting and selecting
new employees; terminating employees
J
job descriptions
and essential job functions, 78, 270
and orienting new employees, 202
preparing, 270-271, 275
in team building, 307
job design
and motivation, 170-171
and stress, 295
job enlargement, 171
job enrichment, 29-30, 171
job posting, 271
job rotation, 30, 66, 170-171
job sharing, 114
just-in-time employees, see part-time, temporary, and
contingent workers
L
labor relations, 254-255
language
and intercultural communication, 134, 136
in presentations, 237-238
see also nonverbal behavior
leaders
of meetings, 152, 154-157
in team building, 304, 307
leased employees, see part-time, temporary, and
contingent workers
legal issues
concerning AIDS, 1-3
 concerning disabled employees, 2-3, 4, 76-79
concerning sexual harassment, 282
and contingent workers, 208
and discipline process, 86-87
and employee assistance programs (EAPs), 101
and performance appraisal, 222-223
and substance abuse, 297
in terminating employees, 314, 318, 321
leisure time, and stress, 294
letters, see business writing
listening, 146-150
improving, 148-150
in interviewing, 139
and negotiation, 181
and performance appraisal, 224
and politics in organizations, 228, 231
problems in, 147-148
process of, 146-147
lobbying, 256
 Page 364

M
management
and ethics program, 107
of innovation and creativity, 123-124, 127-128
and quality, 267
management by objectives (MBO), 219, 223
management style, 90, 92, 196-197, 295
managers
accessibility of, 71-73, 325
and employee assistance programs (EAPs), 100-101
and performance appraisal, 213
project, 248
public relations, 257
as role models, 74
and sexual harassment claims, 284-286
and stress, 291
and training of new employees, 339-340
see also delegation; feedback; performance appraisal;
 supervisors
marginal functions, 78
media relations, 251-252
mediators, 49-50, 182-184, 285
medical benefits
and AIDS, 3, 4
and counseling interviews, 141
and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993,
112
see also employee benefits
medical screening, 3
meetings, 151-160
agendas for, 151, 152, 156, 157, 304, 325
effective, 153-154, 159-160
leader's role in, 152, 154-157
problems with, 151-152
reasons for holding, 152-153
in team building, 304
techniques for, 157-160
and time management, 325
 see also project management; team building
memos, see business writing
mentoring, 161-164
benefits of, 161-163
in career development, 28, 162
and coaching, 39-40
cross-gender, 163
encouraging, 163-164
see also career development
mergers, and change management, 34
minority groups
and mentoring, 163
turnover among, 348
see also diversity in organizations
mission
and organizational culture, 194
orienting new employees to, 200, 201-202
motivation, 165-172
concept of, 165-166
 and delegation, 69-70, 74
factors affecting, 166-167
meetings and, 153
morale and, 303
and participation, 171
rewards and, 66-67, 167, 169-170
types of motivators, 168-169
see also coaching; feedback; team building
multiculturalism, 94, 163
see also diversity in organizations; intercultural
communication
N
National Association of Temporary Workers, 206
National Institute for Occupational Safety, 352
National Labor Relations Board, 299
National Safe Workplace Institute, 353
needs assessment
and consultants, 54
and contingent workers, 209
and motivation, 168-169
and negotiation, 173, 177, 179
 Page 365
in team building, 305-306
and training, 336-337
negotiation, 173-184
alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as, 49-50, 182-184,
285
attitude for, 180
conducting, 180-182
objectives in, 178-180
and politics in organizations, 230
preparation for, 178
special forms of, 182
types of, 174-178
see also conflict management
networking, 185-191
in career development, 27, 28
guidelines for, 189-191
methods of, 188-189
purposes of networks, 186-188
 types of networks, 185-186
see also career development
newspaper advertising, 271
no, saying, 9-10
nonassertiveness, assertiveness versus, 6-7
nonexempt employees, orienting, 204
nonverbal behavior
and assertiveness, 7
and intercultural communication, 135
and listening process, 148, 149-150
for presentations, 235, 236
Northwestern National Life Insurance, 352, 353
notes, and presentations, 235, 237
O
objectives
of business writing, 14-15
interview, 144
and negotiation, 178-180
project, 246
 of team building, 302-303
objectivity
and discipline process, 84, 86
in sexual harassment claims, 285
occupational aptitudes and interests, 26-27, 31
Occupational Safety and Health Act, 295
open-door policy, 325
open-ended questions, 143, 275-276
oral communication
assertiveness in, 6-12
presentations, 232-243
written communication versus, 22-23
organizational culture, 192-198
elements of, 194-196
and failure to delegate, 73
and family-friendly management, 111
importance of, 192-193
managing, 196-197
new forms of, 197
 and stress, 289-290, 294-295
see also team building; change management; diversity
in organizations
organizational policy
for AIDS, 1, 3-4
and career development, 29-31, 94
communicating, 81-82, 200
concerning sexual harassment, 284-285
and disabled individuals, 79
ethics in, 107-108
for mentoring, 164
for substance abuse, 300
workplace rules in, 81-82
orienting new employees, 199-204
and customer service, 65
to the department and job, 201-203
and employee assistance programs (EAPs), 100
guidelines for, 203-204
manager's role in, 339-340
to the organization, 199-201
turnover and, 347
see also training
 Page 366
outlining
for business writing, 16-17
for presentations, 234-235
outplacement services, 317, 355
outsourced labor, see part-time, temporary, and contingent
workers
P
Pareto charts, 308
participation
in meetings, 153-154
and motivation, 171
partnerships, 229-230
part-time, temporary, and contingent workers, 205-211
advantages and disadvantages of using, 207-208
effective use of, 209-210
and family-friendly management, 113-114
prevalence of, 206
reasons for using, 206-207
 see also coaching; delegation; empowerment;
motivation; organizational culture; orienting new
employees; terminating employees; training; turnover
patience, 231, 266
peer appraisal, 214
perfectionism, 72, 326
performance appraisal, 212-225
and AIDS, 3
and discipline process, 86
documentation of, 221-222
and essential job functions, 78
evaluators in, 212-214
informal, 224
interviews for, 140, 223-224
legal issues in, 222-223
and mentoring, 164
and motivation, 167, 170
peer, 214
problems with, 219-221
techniques for, 214-219
 turnover and, 345, 347
see also coaching; feedback; interview(s)
personality
and stress, 288-289, 291
and violence in the workplace, 353
placement process, 344-345
planning
in career development, 24, 27-28, 31
for change, 35-36
for coaching, 40-41
employee assistance program (EAP), 98
in terminating employees and downsizing, 317-318
and time management, 323-324
political action committees (PACs), 256
politics in organizations, 226-231
characteristics of, 226-228
and contingent workers, 208, 210
guidelines for practicing, 228-231
and stress, 290
 see also conflict management; delegation;
empowerment; negotiation
posture
and assertiveness, 7
and oral communication, 149-150
power
and conflict management, 46
and consulting relationships, 58
and motivation, 168
overuse of, 230
sources of, 229
see also politics in organizations
praise, and delegation, 72
prejudice, 93
presentations, 232-243
building confidence for, 232-233
delivering, 235-237
language in, 237-238
organization for, 234-235
questions in, 241-242
 visual aids in, 238-241
prewriting stage, 14-17
priorities, setting, 324, 327-328
privacy, and employee assistance programs (EAPs), 101
 Page 367
problem-solving approach
to conflict, 49
feedback and, 117
meetings and, 153, 157-158
and negotiation, 177
in project management, 247
in team building, 308-309
process consultants, 305, 306, 311
process maps, 308
process variation, 262-263
procrastination, 326
productivity
and contingent workers, 208
and stress, 288
and team building, 303
professional societies, 272-273
progressive discipline system, 82-84, 88, 318
progress reports
 and delegation, 71-72
in project management, 247
project management, 244-249
and career development, 30
functional management versus, 245-246
increasing emphasis on, 244-245
skills of project managers, 248
steps in, 246-248
see also coaching; conflict management; feedback;
meetings; motivation; team building; time management
public relations (PR), 250-258
and community, 252-253
and crisis management, 256-257
with customer, 253-254
and diversity, 91
in employee and labor relations, 254-255
and financial situation, 255
with government, 255-256
and media, 251-252
specialists in, 257
 see also customer service; presentations
public training seminars, 333, 334-336
Q
quality, 259-268
costs of poor, 259-260
and customer service, 62-63
developing, 262-266
and feedback, 117-118
nature of, 259
pitfalls in achieving, 266-267
renewed focus on, 260-262
see also customer service; team building; training
quality circles, 265-266
questions
hypothetical, 128
in meetings, 156
in negotiation, 181
open-ended, 143, 275-276
in presentations, 241-242
 probing, 139, 140, 142, 143, 275-276
quotas, 262
R
racism, 92, 93
readability, 19-21
reality testing, 93
reasonable accommodation, 2-3, 77-78
record keeping
and AIDS, 3, 4
and disabled employees, 79
and discipline process, 83, 85-86, 88
and employee assistance programs (EAPs), 100-101,
103
for interviews, 139-140, 144-145, 277, 320-321
and performance appraisal, 221-222
recruiting and selecting new employees, 269-279
AIDS and, 3
customer service and, 65
disabled job candidates, 3, 78-79
diversity and, 94
drug tests in, 278, 298-299
evaluation in, 278-279
follow-up in, 278-279
 Page 368
recruiting and selecting new employees (continued)
interviews in, 78-79, 138-140, 274-277
job descriptions and, 78, 202, 270-271, 275
motivation and, 167
screening application materials in, 273-274, 354
selection interviews in, 78-79, 138-140, 274-277
sources for, 271-273
standardized tests in, 277-278
turnover and, 344-345
see also interview(s); turnover
referral(s)
in employee assessment program (EAP), 98-99, 101,
102, 103, 141
internal, 271
relaxation techniques, 233, 292-293
relaxation time, 330
reorganization
and change management, 34
 using of consultants in, 54
see also terminating employees
reports, see business writing
reprimands, 83
requests, and assertiveness, 9
responsibilities charts, 309
rewards, see incentive programs
rights of appeal, 87-88
risk taking, 125, 127
role expectations, and stress, 294-295
role models, and mentoring, 162, 163
S
safety, 295, 352, 353
and AIDS, 2
and motivation, 169
salary equity, 346
schedules
and delegation, 71
project, 246
security, 321, 355
selection interviews, 78-79, 138-140, 274-277
self-actualization, 169
self-appraisal, 213
self-instruction, 332-333
severance benefits, 320
sexism, institutional, 92
sexual harassment, 183, 280-286
defined, 280-282
impact of, 282
managerial responses to, 284-286
nature of, 282-283
see also diversity in organizations
sexual orientation, see diversity in organizations
spillover effect, 220-221
standardized tests, 277-278
standards
and customer service, 65
and disabled employees, 79
 and discipline process, 87-88
and orienting new employees, 202
statistical process control (SPC) charts, 263, 308-309
status effect, 221
steering team, 304
storyboarding, 126-127
stress management, 287-296
and effects of stress, 287-288
organizational culture and, 289-290, 294-295
and sources of stress, 288-290
strategies for, 292-295
and symptoms of stress, 291-292
in terminating employees and downsizing, 315-317
see also employee assistance programs (EAPs); time
management
substance abuse, 297-301, 354
costs of, 298
Drug-Free Workplace Act, 297
drug testing, 278, 298-299
implementing prevention program for, 299-301
see also disciplining employees; employee assistance
programs (EAPs); terminating employees; violence,
workplace
 Page 369
suggestion boxes, 120
supervisors
alienating, 230-231
and employee assistance programs (EAPs), 100-101
feedback from, 116
and motivation, 167
orienting, 204
and performance appraisal, 213
turnover and, 347
see also coaching; disciplining employees; feedback;
performance appraisal
supplementary workers, see parttime, temporary, and
contingent workers
suspension, 83
symbols, and organizational culture, 195-196
T
team building, 302-313
characteristics of high-performance teams, 312
and diversity, 91
 and mentoring, 164
objectives of, 302-303
process of, 303-311
and project management, 244, 247, 248
and quality, 263
see also conflict management; motivation; quality
technology
and change management, 34
and consultants, 53
and part-time work, 114
videoconferencing, 158-160
temporary employment agencies, 272
temporary workers, see part-time, temporary, and
contingent workers
terminating employees, 314-322
and AIDS, 3
and change management, 34
and contingent workers, 206
and discipline process, 83-84, 86-87
 and employment-at-will doctrine, 314-315
exit interviews in, 120, 141-142, 319-321, 348-349, 355
legal issues in, 314, 318, 321
psychology of, 315-317
and public relations, 255
stages of, 317-321
suggestions for, 321
using of consultants in, 54
and violence in the workplace, 321, 354-355
see also disciplining employees; interview(s); turnover;
violence, workplace
terrorism, 351
tests
drug, 278, 298-299
standardized, 277-278
Theory X, 304
threat-management plan, 355
time consciousness, 133-134
time management, 323-330
pitfalls of, 323-327
 strategies for, 327-330
and stress, 294
see also delegation; empowerment; meetings
tokenism, 91-92
tours, 201
trade associations, 272-273
training, 331-340
advantages and disadvantages of, 338
and career development, 28-29, 30-31
and coaching, 39
for corrective discipline, 84-85
costs of, 334, 336, 338
cultural-awareness, 137
and customer service, 65
decisions concerning, 331-334
diversity, 95
ethics, 108-109
in-house staff for, 333, 337-338