Jill Bartok is a line supervisor for an East Coast center for Speedy Delivery Services. This high-speed delivery company has both national and international deliveries ongoing continually. The area where Jill works is secured and monitored. Loaders and handlers process thousands of parcels every day. Jill has four crews whose shifts normally overlap. Crew 2 has the 3 PM to midnight shift. Bob Carnaghan is the crew chief and is responsible for the orderly flow of packages from the receiving dock to the shipping dock. This includes packages that have to be shipped out from the local franchise shipping stores. Jill receives a note from Jim Ferguson, crew chief of Crew 3, that a small access door that should usually be locked has been found unsecured for the past two nights just after the start of the 11 PM to 8 AM shift. The security camera in that area does not quite cover the door itself. There have been no other reports of problems in that area. Review of the security tapes shows normal flow of workers in and around the door for the past two nights. Jill is concerned that the door may have been left unsecured prior to being found open by Jim Ferguson. The door opens to a hall that connects to the employee break room that is not in a secured part of the facility. Jill decides to go to HR to discuss possibilities.

• Is there a security problem? If yes, is it a major problem?
• What actions, if any, should HR take?

1-2 paragraphs

apa format

references 

Step 1 – Read the Information Below

Organizations from time to time must make hard decisions (expand, lay off employees, or close a facility). As a manager, you will have to use work experiences, advice from supervisors, and the organizational culture to support your decision. Organizational culture is the sum of the values and beliefs shared among employees.

Suppose you are a manager who is faced with having to reduce headcount (lay off one of your two employees) in your unit. Sales within the company have declined due to the downward spiral of the economy and each department within the organization is faced with making the same decision. Fortunately, you only have to cut one job; others are reducing more.

• Mary is in her mid-20s, single, college graduate, she is very hard working and was in the top 10% of the performance ratings this year, she constantly volunteers to travel, work weekends and evenings. However, she supports political causes that could be viewed as contrary to the goals of the company.
• Alice is in her mid-40s, has two young children, her husband is a doctor, her performance is good, and she has above average performance reviews. However, she has limited availability on weekends and limitations on overnight travel due to her volunteer work with local charities.

Step 2 – Post a Response

Respond to the following:

• As a manager who would you select to layoff and why?
• What is the potential impact of this choice on organizational culture?

CLASSMATE 1

Discussion 7

Topic: Why must a leader be an expert in dealing with politics?

Leaders should be experts because governmental decisions impact individual and organizational agendas. For example, I work in the field of behavioral and mental health. Russel et al. (2016) explained that mental health counselors and social workers are core members of interdisciplinary team. More specifically, along with psychologist, each member of the interdisciplinary team collaborates for the greater good of servicing the client. However, one of the political culture issues behavioral healthcare professionals face, in many states, is the act of being selected second to social workers. Many clinicians and therapists can attest to countlessly having to advocate for their profession. Mental health counseling and social work share some similarities, but there are many differences as well. Mental health counselors are theoretically and clinically trained to assist individuals with mental health concerns. Social workers can counsel clients, but they’re more rooted in case management services. Those services are, predominantly, deal with the client’s current concerns. Whereas, mental health counselors help clients explore previous experiences and instances that may contribute to current concerns. Therefore, social workers are chosen because their services are not as time consuming as mental health counselors. This act is not in the best interest of the client, because many mental health concerns are not a quick fix. This pressing issue is a burden as mental illness is not receiving the appropriate acknowledgment, policy attention, or funding as it should (Tomlinson & Lund, 2012).

The aforementioned holds true to my state. Of course, many of my clients can benefit from the services that are provided by social workers. However, in my state, they address the “here and now”. The unfortunate thing is that the client’s present concerns stems from past experiences. Therefore, more time is needed to address those concerns. In the eyes of most governmental officials, more time means more money. As a result, many individuals who cannot afford the treatment they need are forced to receive whatever government officials deem necessary. Hence, the reason leaders should be knowledgeable in the area of politics. Governmental decisions can impact their organization. 

Russell, H. F., Richardson, E. J., Bombardier, C. H., Dixon, T. M., Huston, T. A., Rose, J., Ullrich, P. M. (2016). Professional standards of practice for psychologists, social workers, and counselors in SCI rehabilitation. The journal of spinal cord medicine, 39(2), 127–145. doi:10.1080/10790268.2015.1119966

Tomlinson M., & Lund, C. (2012). Why Does Mental Health Not Get the Attention It Deserves? An Application of the Shiffman and Smith Framework. PLoS Med 9(2): e1001178. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001178

CLASSMATE 2 

Having a leadership role is a major responsibility. Leaders want to ensure that they are well capable of being versatile. Having the ability to be flexible and balanced can assist leaders with being able to function and lead in any situation. It is vital for employees to feel secure in their leadership. One of the character traits needed to lead is critical thinking. Critical thinking skills can assist leaders in being able to make effective decisions. The ability to make effective decisions is imperative as conflict may arise within the organization. Leaders want to ensure that when making decisions within the organization, they are not just basing it on their personal agenda, but rather basing it on the benefit of the organization. It is imperative for leaders to avoid letting their political views or politics get in the way of effective leadership.

Brierton (2016) defined politics as the use of power to influence decision-making by implementing policies and laws in order to control resources. I believe it is important for leaders to be an expert in politics so he or she can know the ends and outs of politics. However, I do feel that just because you know politics does not mean you have to engage in that behavior. Being an expert of politics in leadership also grants the leader power to influence others. Leaders want to ensure that they are able to lead others and influence them, however, in the right direction. Knowing how to make moves as a leader would be an important factor. As I previously mentioned in the above paragraph, making decisions that would benefit the organization. This would include implementing policies and procedures that align with the organization’s vision and mission, for the benefit of the organization. It is important for leaders to be well rounded, dependable, an innovator, and an effective decision-maker. Operating out of a spirit of political power can be a downfall within an organization, depending on the situation, and how it was resolved.

Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. (2017). Reframing Organizations, (6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 

Brierton, J. T. (2016). Ethics and politics in school leadership : finding common ground. Rowman & Littlefield.

Unit VIII Assessment

1. By what means can collective bargaining agreements be enforced? Discuss the five principles that govern the arbitration of grievances under collective bargaining. What measures are utilized in non-union environments? Your response should be at least 300 words in length.

2. How does an arbitrator determine that a company had just cause for taking a disciplinary action? What remedy might an arbitrator choose if a company did not have just cause? Will the process be different if the organization does not have union representation? If so how? Your response should be at least 300 words in length.