3-3 -Managing Ethics and Diversity-Business Sample

Gordon's Bake Boutique

http://www.123rf.com/photo_12624742_wedding-cupcakes.html

Gordon’s Bake Boutique, a family owned and operated business is your “one stop shop” for a wide selection of tasty specialty baked goods. This stylish bakery is located in the heart of High River, Alberta and prides itself on its small town attitude, customer services and quality products.

The main products offered consist of bread, bagels, croissants, muffins, scones, cookies, pies, cupcakes and specialty cakes. Gordon’s Bake Boutique has a delivery service to the town of High River residents, as well as the surrounding areas between Okotoks and Nanton, Alberta. In addition, the bakery provides baking lessons and decorating classes to those interested. It is a great opportunity for introductory bakers and seasoned veterans to come out and learn some great techniques to further their passion for all things baked.

http://business.lovetoknow.com/wiki/How_to_Sell_Homemade_Baked_Goods

While it would be great for the whole business to be surrounded solely by beautiful artistic goods, positive staff and grateful customers, realistically there are many negating factors of running a business that require keen attention to detail and business knowledge. Business ethics are an important dynamic of running a business and helps to ensure that employees are treated fairly in today's diverse work environments. (George, et al, 2010, p.63). When ethical concerns arise within our company, the managing staff is quick to respond. We acknowledge the problem immediately and discuss the underlying issues with the owner and managing partners. Because ethical concerns can adversely affect the company's stakeholders, shareholders and director's meeeting are often held to address and discuss the ethical concerns. In regards to the employees, yearly training sessions are held and an outside Human Resource consultant is contracted to organize and execute these sessions. Our company believes in educating our entire staff about the importance of honesty, equal opportunities and operating a business within the boundaries of the law. Early detection of problems is important, so managing staff has been trained to detect ethical issues and act on their instincts.

In developing the employee manual for the company, it was determined that our corporation must devise a particular code of ethics. The following points are taken directly from "Gordon's Bake Boutique-Employee Manual-2012".

CODE OF ETHICS

-Treat both employees and customers with absolute respect at all times

-Represent the business in a positive manner both inside and outside of the company

-Acknowledge receipt of invoices immediately and promptly render payment to applicable parties

-Respond to customer complaints with empathy and understanding

-Ensure that each product is made and handled with care to maintain consistent quality

http://www.whatisworking.com/2010/12/business-schools-teaching-social.html

In the initial phases of business plan development, the idea of being a social responsible entity quickly became an important priority for the business model. Being socially responsible can be defined as "a manager's duty or obligation to make decisions that promote the well-being of stakeholders and society as a whole".(George,et al, 2012, p.73). Gordon's Bake boutique encompasses social responsibility in many ways. We are most proud of the fact that 80% of the ingredients that our bakery uses are brought in from local sources. We buy products from local Hutterite Colonies, local Farmer's Markets, as well as Health Food stores within 100km of our business location. We strive to keep things local and love the fact that we are able to reduce our envirornmental footprint by avoiding the use of long haul trucks, etc to ship our products. We significantly cut down on emission pollutants when we contract local producers. Our bakery loves to help out the community. Every year we are involved in volunteering at various local sporting events as well as donating fresh goods at silent auctions, etc. Our proudest moments involve donating weekly shipments of goods to the local women's shelter and to the Salvation Army of High River.

The generation that I live in significantly affects my views on operating a business in a socially responsible manner. For instance, I read the book "The 100 Mile Diet-A year of local eating" by Alisa Smith and J.B MacKinnon. The ideas represented in this book helped to influence me to follow suit in my own business and support the local economy and help prevent further environmental effects. The idea of recycling in this day and age also influences the business model. A large majority of people around me choose to recycle as much of their household/office waste as they are able and this motivates me to pariticpate fully in this.There is a lot of awareness and advertising centered around recycling, and the recycling facilities are numerous and very accessible.

 Sources:

George, J.M., Haddad, J.W., Jones, G.R., & Rock, M. (2010). Essentials of Contemporary Mangement (3rd ed.). USA: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

2-2-Forces & Competition-The Facebook Addiction

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ajc1/503165914

When asked to search for a company with a complex, rapidly changing environment, I immediately thought of Facebook. This is a company that I have been incredibly familiar with since I opened my account in 2007. I visit this site every single day and my continued support of this social media phenomenon could be viewed by some as “my little addition”.

http://www.funnystatus.com/articles/facebook-addiction/

Mark Zuckerberg is the face of Facebook. The company founder began this company in 2004 and hasn’t looked back since.  This company provides a social interaction medium for its users. Once you have opened a free account, you are able to add friends, post messages on your wall and that of your friends, add pictures and videos to your personal area, as well as play games, and navigate other interesting applications. It is estimated that there are 900+ million monthly users to this website and roughly 80% of those users are residing in countries outside of Canada and the USA.  The company has approximately 3500+ employees and on May 17, 2012 it became a publicly traded company.(http://investor.fb.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=674637) Please click here for the corporate information page of Facebook.

Some opportunities and threats for Facebook as influenced by varying environmental factors:

Opportunities:

Opportunity with technology- Every day it seems that there are more and more handheld devices being introduced i.e- Iphones, blackberries, IPads, and other tablets. Facebook is becoming more and more accessible to people all over the world.
Facebook is responding to these new opportunities by designing new applications that can be used on a universal level by all devices.

Opportunity with up and coming generations-Just the other day on the radio, I heard that Facebook is going to open its doors to children under the age of 13. Apparently the new accounts will be attached to the guardian/parent's account so that they are able to fully monitor what their children are viewing, who their friends are, what messages they are sending to other, what groups they are members of, etc. I look at this as being one of the largest opportunities for Facebook. The younger generations want to feel as if they are apart of things and this new direction for the website will allow children  <13 to get a piece of the hype!

http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2011/05/20_million_face.html

Threats:

-Threat of technology-I found an interesting article regarding a technology based threat for Facebook.  With the rising numbers of people accessing the site and creating accounts, how is Facebook going to be able to keep up with the demand of space for new members? Maybe the company will face limits to how much space the company can take up on the Internet and people will be forced to join other social media site.
I couldn't actually locate any direct information from Facebook in regards to the issue of space.  I have found various articles on the internet warning internet users that the time is quickly approaching that websites like Facebook and Twitter are closing in on their maximum IP address allotments. It will be interesting to see what the future brings for Facebook and their continued presence on the internet.

 -Threat of Internet scams and phishing schemes. There have been instances where emails have been sent out, being represented as coming from the Facebook company. Account holders are unknowingly giving their personal and financial information away to internet hackers. This can greatly effect privacy regulations for the site and allow fraudulent activity to take place.

Facebook is actively responding to all threats against its internet site. As described by Alok Menghrajani, Facebook employee "we take your security very seriously and have dedicated teams across the company that focus specifically on protecting people's accounts and fighting cybercrime. At the same time, our security team is working with law enforcement and collaborating with email providers and other industry experts to identify and catch the criminals responsible. Western Union also is working closely with law enforcement on scams such as this one." (http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=142604447130)

-Threat of the expanding economy-Imagine getting an email from Facebook (a legitimate email). The correspondence states that Facebook account holders would be obligated to pay a monthly service fee. Since its conception, Facebook has been offered as a free service. Given the statistics listed in the corporate info sheet noted above, how much longer can Facebook offer a no obligation account to its members? The economy is ever changing, services are getting more expensive, as is the cost of hiring a group of passionate employees to operate Facebook.
Facebook is constantly adding more and more advertisements to its site. These companies are obviously paying a fee to promote their business on the site. Between that, and the fact that the company is now selling shares to the public, I foresee Facebook remaining a free service. Amid rumours that Facebook would start charging a fee, company reps and the company founder were quick to dissolve the rumours. I guess we just have to wait and see!

Till next time :)

1-3: Emotional Intelligence and Leadership

Overview of Emotional Intelligence and Leadership-study notes

I love ‘YouTube’ for the simple fact of typing in any famous person’s name or a particular subject matter and seconds later, you are able to retrieve countless video streams. It has proven to be a very handy resource for my management classes so far.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Goleman

                                        

This morning I watched the required ‘YouTube’ video called “Social Intelligence and Leadership” ,featuring the psychologist perspective of Daniel Goleman. He spoke about the importance of Emotional and Social Intelligence in organizational behaviour and management.

As defined in our textbook (Essentials of Contemporary Management-3rd Canadian Edition, p.297) Emotional Intelligence (EI) is "the ability to understand and manage one's own moods and emotions and the moods and emotions of other people". Daniel Goleman goes on to describe the importance of self mastery of EI skills. It's all about being aware of situations, acknowledging how you are feeling in a particular moment and containing your emotions to appropriately handle that moment.

“Know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. When you are ignorant of the enemy, but know yourself, your chances of winning or losing are equal. If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain in every battle to be in peril."-Sun Tzu-The Art of War(Source-http://www.theaow.info/china/printer.htm)

In another interview, Daniel Goleman describes Social Intelligence (SI)as "being smart about relationships. It means being empathetic, sensing what the other person is feeling, understanding their point of view, and ease and facility in having smooth, effective interactions. So it's both knowing what the person is feeling and acting effectively based on that". (Source-http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6368484). Being Socially Intelligent is to be skilled at interacting with others. You have the keen ability to inspire empathy among friends or coworkers and are able to engage others. EI and SI seem to feed off each other. On one hand it's important to access a situation properly and keep your emotions in check, and at the the same time it remains relevant to interact with others, be positive and emit a sense of caring.
I really enjoyed Daniel Coleman's example of an individual who was completely in tune with their level of Emotional and Social Intelligence. He began describing the former CEO of Southwest Airlines, Herb Kelleher. Goleman became very animated when he began to describe the sense of good that surrounded Kelleher. This CEO would approach people and offer praise, well wishes and was a great motivating presence among the organization. This man had it figured out. He knew how to stay emotionally balanced and interact with subordinates making them feel good about themselves and the company.

For further information and insight into EI and SI, please click here for a link to Daniel Goleman's blog.

Have you ever wondered how Emotionally savy you are? Click on the test button below for a short quiz to find out your EI.

                                                

Reflective Blog Entry: Managerial/Leadership Traits

I realize after organizing my thoughts for this second blog posting, that I may be leaning towards "overkill". I did alot of additional research, which is certainly assisting me in better understanding the components that make up our first module for this class. After review of module 1 activities, I would conclude that the most important management/leadership traits are as follows:

Integrity/honesty-these traits promote trust between employees and their leaders. It is also pretty hard to respect and follow what someone says, when you don't feel that they are sincere or following honest protocols. This trait is described in our textbook as something that assists leaders to behave in an ethical manner and in turn will help to earn confidence and trust.

“The thought manifests the word;
The word manifests the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its ways with care,
And let them spring forth from love
Born out of compassion for all beings.
As the shadow follows the body, as we think, so we become.”
― Juan Mascaro -Source-http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/integrity)

Maturity-this trait is often hard to come by with some individuals. I think that many people lack the life experience to properly lead a group of people and are not mature enough to make the best decisions to benefit their staff and organization as a whole. A manager and leader has to be able to take his or her responsibilities seriously and respond to issues in an appropriate manner, avoiding silly behaviours and unnecessary mistakes.

Self Confidence-this is an important trait for managers and leaders. People in a position of power must have the appropriate confidence in their knowledge, business sense and leadership skills to properly follow through with controlling and leading a group of people. Someone who is lacking in self confidence may be an easy target for slackers, bullies and other members of a team who search for a weak link to bend.

 

Till next time :)

1-1 : Evolving Management Positions

My MNGT 255-Intro to Management class requires me to develop reflective responses to various textbook readings, video recordings and course module components. My first entry corresponds with a section featured in our course textbook (Essentials of Contemporary Management-3^rd Canadian Edition). 

“Now It’s Your Turn” refers to the managerial approaches of “opposable” and "oppositional” thinking. Our textbook describes “opposable thinking” as the practice of being able to maintain various viewpoints, allowing for problems to be pointed out and in turn using an integrative method to handle the problem. This approach is a more current and present day attitude towards managing. The “old school” way deals with the aforementioned “oppositional thinking” approach. This concept seems more cut and dry….less patience or desire to search for various solutions to a problem. It appears to have an attitude of “it’s either A or B that will fix the problem, there is no C!”

                                       

source noted below

*article attached

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/07/11/1115_in_short/source/3.htm

I will always remember my first job at 18. I got hired on as a maintenance worker at a golf course. The job description involved working from 5am-2pm Monday-Friday and I was responsible for cutting grass all day long! The golf course superintendant (manager) had set ideas about everything: mowing methods, public relations with golf course patrons, tournament maintenance planning, etc. Problems would arise with a complaint about a maintenance worker being in a golfer’s way, or the order of the greens being mowed was not time efficient. Some of the staff would discuss ways to improve the situation and also make everyone happy but the manager had his apparent ways of dealing with these situations, which of course were the “right” ways in his mind.

*(www.getprepped.com)

                                     

I have had other jobs since my golf course days, thank goodness! The last few years I have been employed in law office environments where supervisors/head management have been very open to an integrative approach for decision making/problem solving practices. I have a lot more enthusiasm and respect for a position within a company when I know that my ideas and those of my co-workers are being acknowledged and accepted as alternative solutions. I have enough experience in my work that I don’t just want to be controlled, but I want management to organize tasks and offer a leadership influence at the same time.

In the last 11 years of my participation in the labour market, there has been a significant change in management roles. I think that this is due to:

-increased education of both managers and employees-individuals are more knowledgeable and better able to delegate and handle situations. They have a better grasp on the concepts of management and leadership.

-changes in the economy- some companies may be watching their pennies a little more. They might not be in a position to hire as many managers to fill various positions. Therefore, more decision making and responsibility is given to staff in general and people are being persuaded to “think outside the box”.

*www.victoriasprthoughts.wordpress.com



                                             

If I woke up tomorrow and got a phone call with someone offering me a management position, I would respond like a deer caught in headlights! I can’t help it! I have taken 10 online courses through SAIT and have 2 previous years of University. I am gaining a great deal of practical knowledge, but I am lacking in the confidence to successfully manage people in a face-to-face setting. In preparation to become a future manager I would:

-continue my online courses and achieve my Business Administration diploma;

-work through a Bachelor of Commerce Degree;

-seek out additional training through Fred Pryor seminars (our law office gets program information from them all the time! They provide training programs for project management, stress management, public relations, human resource management, etc.)

-perform the necessary research of successful managers to gain a better understanding of what makes them tick!  I find it very motivating to follow the careers of some famous business people. See below :)

Shelley Broader-CEO of Walmart Canada Inc.

http://www.canadiangrocer.com/uncategorized/shelley-broader-11684



Mark Cuban-Shark Tank
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2008-11-17/news/17911112_1_cuban-insider-federal-court

Oprah Winfrey

http://topnews.in/light/people/oprah-winfrey

 

Welcome to my Blog

Thank you for taking the time to visit my personal blog which follows along with my participation in MNGT 255:Introduction to Management through SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) in Calgary, Alberta. I look forward to sharing some new ideas and my own personal views on management related discussions with you. Please feel free to post comments, questions and concerns at any time.  :)