respond/give feedback to discussion posts/ 3-5 sentences per

respond/give feedback to discussion posts/ 3-5 sentences per

student 1:

To first dissect this analogy, there must first be an understanding of an appraisal interview. An appraisal interview is the time where a manager or supervisor makes contact with an employee to discuss their work habits and/or achievements. The next step would be defining the Achilles’ heel. An Achilles’ heel or Achilles heel is a weakness in spite of overall strength, which can lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to downfall are common. This statement entails that the weakness of the company falls on the appraisal interview. This is true because even one weak link in the chan can weigh down the company. This is the time for a manager or supervisor to let the employee know where they are excelling and what they need to work on. If the employee does not know or acknowledge their weaknesses they can continue the behavior. In some cases, others can even begin to resent or mimic the observed behavior. If one employee sees another employee getting away with doing the bare minimum or less than what is required without consequence, then they may in turn pick up the behavior. When that occurs, a company can fall into a process of lazy working. In the process of the resentment, a hardworking employee could be resentful of the lackadaisical employee. In my opinion, a manager should address all concerns and nip all issues in the bud if need be.

student 2:

This week’s discussion question asks us to explain why the appraisal interview is commonly referred to as the Achilles’ heel of the performance evaluation process.

Martocchio sums it up well when he says that “appraisal review sessions often create hostility and can do more harm than good to the employee-manager relationship” (199).

All of my adult life I have worked in medium to large organizations with 10,000 plus employees. All have had a formal performance appraisal process in place. Most were consistent in that they began with a job description, which included performance standards and weighted measures for performance. Some also included goals specific to professional growth and development or project management and implementation.

It wasn’t until my previous period of employment that I experienced something vastly different that really added value and eased most of the anxiety involved with the appraisal interview process. My manager at the time implemented a quarterly check-in meeting, which served as a way to evaluate progress on goals and performance standards in advance of the formal annual appraisal interview. For me, this solved two specific problems that exist with the appraisal process: 1) Where there were deficiencies, it gave the manager and the employee an opportunity to make adjustment or corrections to put things back on track for success, and 2) It took some of the pressure off of the manager and the employee at the time of the annual review as both parties knew where each stood as there had been discussion and solutions presented well in advance.

There are different schools of thought on the topic, but I am a believer in leading off with something positive. In my opinion, it’s rare to have an employee that does poorly in every aspect of his or her job. Starting the appraisal interview with positive feedback helps employees feel valued and appreciated.

student 3:

I am convinced that companies can establish a competitive edge by making their products in America instead of outsourcing. Outsourcing may cut labor costs but reduce the efficiency in other areas such as response to the market and the quality of customer service. New Balance, Frontier Airlines, and Norfolk Bank are realizing immense benefits following their decision to keep manufacturing and customer service within the United States instead of outsourcing to other countries.

Jim Thompkins, New Balance’s president, and COO observes that their labor costs are 10 to 12 times higher than their competitors, but they are still able to gain a competitive edge in terms of response to the market. Indeed, Thompkins notes that outsourcing only offers an advantage in terms of labor costs and no other areas of business. Notably, New Balance is operating at a profit even though their competitors, Nike and Adidas, are very strong and have outsourced their manufacturing. Similarly, Norfolk Bank incurs additional labor costs going up to $ 2 million a year, but they reap more in terms of customer satisfaction and brand image. Frontier Airlines CEO, Jeff Porter observes that employees take ownership in a company, thereby managing to provide exemplary customer experience. Outsourcing cannot provide such benefits.

Besides, even critics of the American labor system acknowledge that American can still recover from the loss of jobs just that companies have not exploited innovative approaches. Prof. Shaiken acknowledges that here are an impressive US job machine, but it is not vibrant. Hence, if companies start to think outside the box, they can survive in the United States. Besides, the most popular justification for outsourcing is cutting costs. However, in the twenty-first century, where customers are more interested in experience rather than transactions, companies that think about the quality are bound to reap more benefits. Manufacturing and offering jobs in the US provides greater advantage.

student 4:

There was evidence presented in all the videos that made a good points. In “Outsourcing Trims Payrolls at Home, Boosts Economies Abroad,” it claims that not only outsourcing goes beyond the issue of lost jobs. It could be helping in the war against terror. They have cheap labor there and bring in 13 billion in profit a year with their IT call centers in Pakistan. The money that they are bringing in helps not only with their economy. (Maceda & Seigenthaler, 2004) The evidence makes a strong argument for taking the business overseas. Isn’t enough to convince me that there perspective is correct. I just need to see more data to really get a history of how the company is actually doing and what would happen if the center would get attack. More sources would help me with this one as well.

In the video “America’s Disappearing Factory Jobs,” the question asked will the jobs ever return. (Maceda & Seigenthaler, 2003) They made a good case on how jobs are going overseas and not coming back to the states. They are making too much money to bring the companies back. I wouldn’t, but I would give more opportunities for my employees to transfer with there the job especially if I had to move my company overseas. There was a lot of good evidence, but I would still need more data on this as well and see how they have been doing over the past years and what they are projecting.

I totally agree with bringing the jobs back to the U.S. I know that would be a more expensive move to have your company here in the states than overseas, but we still have a lot of Americans without jobs. Having better technology would up the production and also cut down the time to get the products out. That’s one argument I can agree with getting products out with little mistakes and it is a good quality.

I can agree with all of the point of views made in these articles. Going overseas may be the best thing for the company. How would really argue about cheap labor and making money. At the end that is what it’s all about for all of the businesses. I still would like to see companies come back. Nothing is saying you can’t keep your business overseas and running a state side hub.

student 5:

What do we mean by stress? What are the general causes of workplace stress according to the demand-control model and the effort-reward imbalance model? Explain each model and compare and contrast.

Stress is considered as the strain on an individual that comes from a change in normal routine. It can be physical, mental, and emotional depending on the outer force that causes the stress. Stress can come from all angles of life. It is as natural as breathing and sometimes can be beneficial in terms of achieving goals, and elevating skills. Stress turns negative when no final result is reached, or no break is given or found in between stress situations. According to an article written by Cleveland clinic, “Stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. Stress is a normal part of life. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. Even positive life changes such as a promotion, a mortgage, or the birth of a child produce stress” (ClevelandClinic.org, 2019).

Workplace stress is caused from a large number of combinations and factors within a job structure, operations, and environment. Workplace stress can derive from heavy workloads and over-promotion, to bullying and unethical organization culture. In some settings, workplace stress is done by employees bringing stress from home to the workplace.Most times, workplace stress is the direct result of the company and the many business operation variables that have the power to cause stress on employees. Excessively high workloads, A lack of control over work activities, A lack of interpersonal support, insufficient experience or training, a new promotion, job security, and bullying or harassment may cause workplace stress on employees.

The demand-control model is focused on the balance of job requirements and control. It also deals with the levels of demand compared to the control over how that demand is met and distributed. “This model, developed by Karasek (1979), states that those who experience high demands at work with little control are more likely than other employees to feel stressed” (www.employeeinsights.com/demands-control-model-for-work-stress/). The effort-reward imbalance model is focused on employee’s social status in companies, as well as work recognition. Employees that are not gaining efficient rewards from their efforts will develop high stress levels. “The model defines threatening job conditions as a “mismatch between high workload (high demand) and low control over long-term rewards” (103, p. 1128). Siegrist emphasizes personal control over long-term reward since “distressing experiences often result from basic threats to the continuity of a crucial social role”, among adults, often the occupational role” (Wigger, 2011).

Demand-control determines that workplace stress comes from high work demands with little control over completion options or techniques. Effort-reward determines that workplace stress comes from and develops in employees who are either not getting enough credit/rewards for their work, or are in competitive environments that have social strains to maintain rewards and employment. Both systems can cause stress on the employees of a company, and should be used together to produce a perfect balancing workplace environment that protects employees from workplace stress, or at least with breaks in between workplace stress situations.

student 6:

The text defines stress as “a feeling of tension that occurs when a person perceives that a situation is about to exceed her ability to cope and consequently could endanger her well-being”, with workplace or job stress being defined as “the feeling that one’s capabilities, resources, or needs do not match the demands or requirements of the job” (Hitt, 2018). There are two models of workplace stress, the demand-control model and the effort-reward imbalance model.

The demand-control model concerns the demands faced by an employee and the degree to which that employee has control over meeting those demands. In other words, “’[d]emand’ levels are the contingent factor which determines whether low control leads to either passivity or psychological strain; and ‘control’ levels are the contingent factor which determines whether demands lead to either active learning or psychological strain” (Karasek, 2011). Generally speaking, lack of resources, high demands, capability for meeting demands, and control (or lack thereof) are causes of workplace stress according to this model.

The effort-reward imbalance model concerns the amount of effort required to be expended by an employee and the rewards received resultant of said effort. This model “posits that failed reciprocity between high efforts spent at work and low rewards received in turn elicits strong negative emotions and stress reactions with adverse long‐term effects on health” (Siegrist, 2017). Here general causes of workplace stress are attributed to inequitable treatment and rewards that do not match the amount of effort required.

Comparing the two models, there could be a linkage between effort and demand as well as rewards imbalance and control. If the requirements of a job are demanding and require extraordinary effort to achieve, but the rewards for such achievement are imbalanced and the individual has little to no control as to whether the requirements are met, both models could be seen as working in tandem. In cases where demands are low, the effort required may also be low; the difference here is that there may be little control or autonomy, but rewards imbalance is less likely to be an issue. In general, to some degree, I believe that both models have relevance. Factors from both models may be responsible for workplace stress.

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