BA540 3 Discussion Questions & 6 Responses

I’m working on a management discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

DQ1

Despite the fact that millions of Americans are members of unions, among many segments of the population there is a perception of unions as bastions of corruption. Some critics have also charged that unions encourage and indeed incentivize behavior that leads to poor productivity, and is a strain on the national economy. To what degree, if any, do you believe that unions are responsible for their poor image in the minds of millions of nonunionized Americans? What steps would you take to rectify poor public relations that unions have with many segments of the general population? Or, do you believe that perceptions of unions are generally positive by majority of population?

DQ2

One of the primary criticisms leveled at organized labor is that union-negotiated job security leads to decreased productivity, and indeed breeds a culture of collecting paychecks without providing significant value to an organization. To what degree do you believe that it would be wise for independent observers to constantly evaluate the productivity of unionized workers? Should there be a heightened expectation of management evaluation of workers in a unionized shop? Or, should unions resist efforts of third parties to provide feedback on their work product unless the same rules are applied to nonunionized workers and contractors?

DQ3

How does your company or organization reward team performance? Are the teams rewarded as individual or as a team? Is the reward system equitable? Why or why not?

R1, R2, R3, R4, R5 & R6

R6

Good morning everyone,

My organization has improved the recognition of teamwork within the last three years. Being in the military for 22 years, I have have experienced different command philosophies. At the beginning of my career it was not easy to get an individual award, let alone a team award. In he past few years our current commander realizes the affect of the recognition and makes a point to recognize the team at every chance. This behavior is infectious, as subordinate commanders do the same and publicly acknowledge team members for their contributions. They also make it a point to acknowledge how the contributions of team members align with the overall objective of the organization.

One thing that I have strived to do as a subordinate commander is to make the reward system equitable. As a military officer I do not earn promotion points for awards. However my teammates who are not commissioned earn promotion points for awards. Understanding this at every opportunity I submit them for a award, when deserving. The award presentation has both extrinsic and intrinsic value for the Soldier. They are publicly acknowledged and they have the personal experience understanding how their individual roles impact the overall mission.

When I worked in the civilian sector it was much of the dog eat dog mentality. Granted, I was working in the gaming/entertainment industry which breeds that mentality. Teamwork was often preached but their was not a formal system in which to acknowledge a team for a job well done. Outside of internal thanks and acknowledgement the system was non-existent.