Question paper
HRM 210 – Organizational Behaviour and Development
Coursework Assignment 2: Case Study (INDIVIDUAL)
CAN ORGANIZATIONS BECOME MORE INTELLIGENT ABOUT EMOTIONAL MANAGEMENT?
Emotions are an inevitable part of people’s behavior at work. At the same time, people may not feel
comfortable expressing all emotions at work. The reason might be that business culture and
etiquette remain poorly suited to handling overt emotional displays.
The question is: Can organizations become more intelligent about emotional management? Is it
ever appropriate to yell, laugh, or cry at work? Some people are skeptical about the virtues of
emotional displays in the workplace. Emotions are automatic, physiological responses to the
environment, and as such, they can be difficult to control appropriately.
One 22-year-old customer service representative named Laura, who was the subject of a case
study, noted that fear and anger were routinely used as methods to control employees at her
workplace, and the employees deeply resented this manipulation and wanted to act out. In another
case, the chairman of a major television network made a practice of screaming at employees
whenever anything went wrong, leading to hurt feelings and a lack of loyalty to the organization.
Like Laura, workers at this organization were hesitant to show their true reactions to these
emotional outbursts for fear of being branded as “weak” or “ineffectual.”
Research indicated that while employees who could regulate their emotions would refrain from
acting on their anger, employees who were low in self-regulation and didn’t think the boss would
do anything were likely to retaliate.
It might seem like these individuals worked in highly emotional workplaces, but in fact only a
narrow range of emotions was deemed acceptable at work. Anger appears to be more acceptable
than sadness in many organizations, despite the serious maladaptive consequences. Many people
find their negative reaction to hearing an angry outburst lasts, making it difficult for them to
concentrate at work. Organizations that recognize and work with emotions effectively may be more
creative, satisfying, and productive.
For example, Laura noted that if she were able to express her hurt feelings without fear, she would
have been much more satisfied with her work. In other words, the problem with Laura’s
organization was not that emotions were displayed, but that emotional displays were handled
poorly.
Others note that the use of emotional knowledge—like the ability to read and understand the
reactions of others—is crucial for workers, ranging from salespeople and customer service agents
all the way to managers and executives. One survey even found that 88 percent of workers felt that
being sensitive to the emotions of others is an asset. Management consultant Erika Anderson notes,
“Crying at work is transformative and can open the door to change.” The question then is: Can
1
organizations take specific steps to become better at allowing emotional displays without opening a
Pandora’s box of outbursts?
Using your knowledge of concepts from Chapter 4 on Emotions and Moods, apply what you have
learnt to answer the following questions:
QUESTION 1
Do you think the strategic use and display of emotions serve to protect employees, or does
displaying your true emotions at work lead to more problems than it solves? (25 marks)
QUESTION 2
Research shows that the acts of coworkers and management cause more negative emotions for
employees than do acts of customers. What can Laura’s company do to change its emotional
climate? (25 marks)