PSAD 302 UMGC Doing the Correct Thing Discussion Responses – Description
I need a response to 3 peer discussion post:
Peer one-Julian Lanese
“Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is looking” were the words posted above the dry-erase board in my EMT class that has followed me into my career. Every time I looked at the board, it was there, and I don’t think I understood how prevalent this quote would be for the rest of my life. Another significant value we hold is the power of the individual. “All to go, one to say no.” Our hospital has made it clear that no matter if you are the CEO or construction contractor, you have the right and obligation to speak up if you sense something is wrong, regardless of the chain of command structure we have in place. These two values go hand in hand when it comes to the success of an institution. Empowering the individual and teaching the values of integrity sets us up for increased productivity.
“Researchers have reported that managers identify several benefits to a firm from enabling voice – for example, increased employee loyalty and commitment, increased [organizational] performance and decreased absenteeism” (Wilkinson et al., 2004). Part (or most -as suggested) of our success comes from the individual. Because we are empowered to speak up, our employees feel obligated to report instances and speak up if they see something wrong. Without this voice, employees would feel less obligated to speak up and advocate, a fundamental part of our success.
I work in a communications center in a hospital, and part of my work includes taking detailed information about a stranger and ensuring it stays confidential. Another aspect of the job includes making sure whatever we are doing for this patient is for the benefit of the patient and not anyone else. In the communications center, confirming drug doses, double-checking orders relayed to first responders in the field, and massing resources in preparation for MCI are just a few examples of how we operate under a high standard of care for an individual. Holding this value to a high standard amongst our coworkers helps us gain the success our community is looking for, and together, the shared goal of integrity adds to the esprit de corps within the hospital (Bright et al., 2022).
To tie this all together, there have been studies in the early 1900s that suggest the power of group continuity and increased attention from management can be more vital or equal to increased financial compensation and improved work environments. The findings of G. Elton Mayo and the scholars from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology hinted that strong workplace relationships were as/more important than the initially anticipated increase in productivity from an improved work environment (coffee breaks, length of work day, and employer-provided lunches). The Hawthorne Studies showed that people were more productive when they were given extra attention and when workers formed a positive group environment with strong interpersonal relationships (Bright, et al., 2022). Further backing the theory of increased group bonding/socialization = increased productivity was the Banking Room studies. This studied bad inter-work relationships and the culture surrounding them that led to reduced work productivity. Because the workers had a negative relationship with management, workers were less inclined to produce more for the company. Other coworkers even shunned some employees for overproduction on the job (Bright et al., 2022).
Although the work that came from the Hawthorne and Banking Room experiments was regarded as inaccurate due to its small sample size, the fact that there were too many variables, etc., social psychologists took this information and built upon its critical findings in the 1940s and 1950s by focusing on sensitivity training and improved interpersonal relations in the workplace to increase work productivity. Things like “Sensitivity Training” were found to be paramount in improving workplace environments amongst workers leading to increased productivity that “benefits production, efficiency, and the organization’s bottom line” (Kivak, R. 2022). The studies in the 1900s have become commonplace in many well-balanced and successful businesses worldwide today, with many of these findings seeming obvious.
Part 2- Viereck
x I am a former federal law enforcement officer and one of the points of internal “corporate culture” that I always found interesting was an understanding of our role. Our department was not a traditional law enforcement organization, and instead focused on force protection and security, although our officers were sworn uniformed law enforcement officers. Around 80% of the officers understood what that meant, in that we were not routinely making arrests, writing traffic tickets, and conducting investigations. Our job was to be present, conducting patrols, being prepared to respond to security incidents and emergencies. The interesting point to me was the other 20%, those officers who could never seem to be ok with just providing protection for the employees of our organization. These officers always seemed to be riding a power trip of some sort, citing people for the most minor of infraction, or focused on conducting activities that were more typical of a traditional law enforcement organizations. From a corporate level, the organization was structured in a way to support the security role; funding and training was largely aimed at security response, and most positions were static sentry type positions. But what allowed the 20% to survive was small pockets of senior management who felt that traditional law enforcement duties were indeed our responsibility and found ways to steer funding towards training and programs for these duties. All of this to say that while there is a primary corporate culture, sub- and counter-cultures will always exist, especially when championed by an element of management. And according to Forbes, as long as these sub-cultures don’t completely go against the organization, “valuing and integrating specific cultural activities and practices with corporate values and behaviors serves to create a balance between encouraging and respecting diversity and staying within the standards that the organizational leaders deem as ethical and responsible.” (2019)
I think the biggest takeaway from the Hawthorne studies and the Banking Room studies is that organization culture can be defined at the corporate level, but its implemented by the employees. In the Hawthorne studies, the subjects of the group saw themselves as special and felt that they were being rewarded for increased output; they had incentives beyond pay to perform well. In the Banking Room studies, an already poor performing group, continued to perform poor; they had no incentive to do more, and influencers within the team ensured that the standards were kept at what had been deemed acceptable levels.
Post 3: Jaylen
Corporate Culture:
Being in the military can be interesting and different. It is an organization, and it is ran as such in addition to the governmental aspect of protecting the country. The design is interesting because the method the organization is operated is dependent upon the air force specialty code (afsc) or job title. I am active duty Air Force in the maintenance field, and the Air Force is a great branch, but there are some jobs a part of the Air Force that are difficult to work in. One factor that makes these jobs difficult to work for includes the culture. The maintenance culture is Air Force wide and is has been a common occurrence for many decades. Some of the disadvantages of the maintenance culture includes toxicity, time consuming, and stressful. Social factors that influence employee’s behaviors are usually a positive aspect of the culture. Majority of the employees to include leadership are not willing to make the experience worse then it naturally is, so there can be many positive social encounters. The encounters are not all positive though. Positive encounters assist with employees producing more effort in work and remain in the job longer.
Hawthorne Studies and Banking Room Studies:
The power of organizational culture can improve the work performance of a team seen in the Hawthorne studies. Small activities such as breaks are shown to have a positive effect on employee’s experience and work performance. Studies from the banking room were ironic in my opinion. The study involved two different groups of individuals who would work and be page different wages. The group who had more wage incentive were performing
The post PSAD 302 UMGC Doing the Correct Thing Discussion Responses first appeared on .
