Midterm 1

Developing Self-Awareness

Gaining Power and Influence

Case study on ‘Managing Personal Stress’

Professor: Dr. Mark Rajai

Prepared by: Rijul Dhruv

Prepared by: Rijul Dhruv

Key dimensions of Self-awareness

The Enigma of Self awareness

Understanding and appreciating

Individual Differences

Important areas of Self Awareness

Summary

Publilius Syrus had proposed as early as 42 B.C.: “It matters

not what you are thought to be, but what you are.”

Self-awareness lies at the heart of the ability to master

oneself, but it is not sufficient.

Self-Awareness is having a clear perception of your

personality, including strengths, weaknesses, thoughts,

beliefs, motivation, and emotions.

Knowledge of oneself – self-awareness, self-insight, self-

understanding – allows you to understand other people,

how they perceive you, your attitude and your responses to

them in the moment.

Managing stress

Managing Time

Setting Priorities and Goals

Self-Awareness

Symptom

Problem

Tactical

Strategic A Hierarchy of Personal Life-

Management Skills

Sensitive line comes at a point where individuals tend to be more defensive or protective when encountered with information about them.

Sensitive line is crossed when something goes against your own self-image that we hold.

Crossing the sensitive line makes us feel uncomfortable and rigid – psychologically and emotionally.

Self-disclosure is a very powerful tool

that contributes to greater self-

awareness without crossing the

sensitive line.

Diversity is the key to success.

Differences among individuals must be perceived

as a pool conflicting ideas that are passionate,

innovative, focused and responsible for a great

invention in the future.

Creating distinctions rather than

focusing on differences bolster social

barriers and restrain self-disclosure.

Five critical areas of self-awareness:

1. Emotional intelligence

2. Personal values

3. Learning Style

4. Orientation toward change

5. Core self-evaluation

These areas have been found to be among the most

important predictors of various aspects of effective

managerial performance.

It is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage

your emotions in positive and constructive ways.

I believe there are 5 skill sets:

The ability to quickly reduce stress

The ability to recognize and manage your emotions

The ability to connect with others using nonverbal

communication

The ability to use humor and play to deal with challenges

The ability to resolve conflicts positively and with confidence

It is an array of non-cognitive skills.

A person with strong emotional intelligence is able to get in touch with and accurately diagnose their own internal feelings.

In corporate world, managers with high EQ are twice more likely to generate higher revenues or get promoted than those with low self-awareness or EQ.

Emotional intelligence evolves as a strong predictive power in managerial success and in work setting – much stronger than IQ scores.

Values are the most enduring characteristics of individuals upon

which attitudes and personal preferences are formed.

Cultural Values:

Trompenaars’ 7 major cultural value dimensions are coined to

identify differences among national cultures.

Universalism Particularism

Individualism Collectivism

Affective Neutral

Specific Diffuse

Achievement Ascription

Past and Present Future

Internal External

Personal values are implicitly related to choice; they guide decisions by

allowing for an individual's choices to be compared to each choice's

associated values.

Rokeach - Two Types of Personal Values:

Terminal

Comfortable life

Exciting life

World at peace

World of beauty

Equality

Family security

Others

Instrumental

Ambitious

Capable

Cheerful

Clean

Courageous

Forgiving

Others

Kohlberg – Value Maturity Model:

Three levels of maturity with six stages of development

Self-centered level – (1) obedience and punishment,

(2) naively egoistic orientations

Conformity level – (3) good person, (4) “doing duty”

orientations

Principled level – (5) contractual legalistic, (6)

conscience of principle

orientation

Learning Style is an individual’s inclination to perceive, interpret

and respond to information in a certain way.

Two key dimensions include:

manner in which you gather information

way in which you evaluate and act on information

David Kolb's theory on learning style:

1. Concrete experience – learn through

personal involvement

2. Abstract conceptualization – build

theories using logic, ideas and

concepts

3. Reflective observation – seek

meaning through study

4. Active experimentation – change

situations and influence others to see

what happens

Concrete Experience

Active

Experimentation

Accommodating Diverging

Reflective

Observation

Assimilating

Abstract Conceptualization

Converging

Awareness about our orientation toward change is

necessary in order to capitalize fully on the strengths

of our learning style.

Two dimensions of change orientation are termed

particularly relevant for managers.

Tolerance of ambiguity:

The extent to which individuals

are threatened by or have

difficulty coping with ambiguity,

uncertainty, unpredictability or

complexity.

Novelty score: coping with new, unfamiliar

situations

Complexity: using multiple, distinctive, or

unrelated info

Insolubility: dealing with problems that are

difficult to solve

The attitude people develop regarding the extent to which they are in

control of their own destiny.

Internal locus of control: Individuals interpret the reinforcement they

receive to be contingent upon their actions

External locus of control: Individuals interpret the reinforcement as being a product of outside forces

Individuals possessing internal locus of control are more likely to Be attentive to aspects of the environment that provide useful

information for the future

Engage in actions to improve their environment

Place greater emphasis on striving for achievement

Be more inclined to develop their own skills

Ask more questions

Remember more information than people with an external locus of control

External locus of control is often associated with high levels of stress and violence, presumably due to less emphasis on self-control.

Core self-evaluation represents a stable personality

trait which encompasses an individual’s

subconscious, fundamental evaluations about

themselves, their own abilities and their own

control.

Big five Attributes:

Extroversion: inclination towards gregariousness and

being outward

Agreeableness: friendly and affable

Conscientiousness: careful, task oriented, and orderly

Neuroticism: emotionally fragile, negative, and fearful

Openness: curious and open to new ideas

Four prominent components include:

Self esteem

Generalized self-efficacy

Neuroticism

Locus of control

Self-Awareness training programs should be encouraged in

order to boost morale within every organization.

Relate what we see in others to our own experience to be

able to manage or interact successfully with them.

Identify your personal sensitive line.

Recognize the cultural differences between your value

orientation and individuals from other age, ethnicity, or

cultures.

Broaden your perspective to welcome different kinds of

activities and increase your exposure to new information.

Balance work activities with some time for self-renewal.

Powered By:- Rijul Dhruv

Building A Power Base

A Balanced View of Power

Strategies for Gaining Organizational

Power

Transforming Power Into

Influence

Conclusion

“The art of leadership... consists in consolidating the attention of the people

against a single adversary and taking care that nothing will split up that

attention.” By Adolf Hitler

Meaning Of Power

Power is the capacity of person, team or organization to

influence others.

The most effective use of power is the most critical

constituent of management.

An out-in-the-box process of methodically mapping the

political terrain, building coalitions, and leading defines

political competence.

Effective use of power is the most crucial element of management.

Influential leaders around the globe play a significant role in making

others feel powerful by their own accomplishments in their

organizations or institutions.

Lack of Power:

Power is associated with domination, manipulation, cunningness or

ruthlessness.

Powerlessness creates ineffective, desultory management, dictatorial,

rules-minded managerial styles.

These negative views are often affiliated with

‘personal power’.

“The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.” by

Edmund Burke, a British philosopher.

Abusive characteristics in managers result into dangerous

consequences in their careers.

Lack of ethical values

Abrasive and intimidating

Arrogant, aloof and cold

Overly ambitious

Corrupt and untrustworthy

Both lack and abuse of power are

equally weakening and destructive.

It is key to learn how to use power wisely using

different strategies.

Having the power of discerning and judging properly a

s to what is true or right.

Expertise: Self learning, formal education and experience

from work knowledge

Personal attraction:

Charisma

Agreeable behavior

Physical characteristics

Effort: Individuals are reliable and dependable

Legitimacy: Increase in acceptance within the organization

Acquiring Power can be tough but Balancing it is the toughest.

Personal attributes and position characteristics determine a

person’s power in an organization.

Networking:

Network across departments builds strong social ties & provides

additional support.

More the decision making a position offers, more is the power.

Involvement in problem solving opportunities.

Involvement with activities directly related

to goals of organization automatically

commands power.

Four important factors that defines a position’s power

potential in an organization:

1. Centrality: The more centralized in position and

the more critical in function, the more of

organizational power they gain.

2. Flexibility:

Flexibility or discretion is the freedom to exercise

one’s judgment

Power can be diminish because conditions

change faster than people are willing or capable

of change to keep up with it

Flexibility is also associated with the lifecycle of a

position

New tasks are much harder to standardize

3. Visibility: Try to increase your visibility; expose your

name every chance you find. Make your presence count.

4. Relevance: Being engaged in activities that are

directly related to the major goals and

issues in an organization.

These days base on the companies nature and the focus of

the business these positions may differ.

As in a developed consumer product

oriented economy, sales and marketing

represent the central focus of most

business.

The skill of transforming power into influence centers on achieving the support of others in ways that stimulates commitment instead of resentment and resistance.

Power is transferred to influence when the goal individual allows to perform base on the desire of the power holder.

Three important strategy categories:

Retribution:

Through intimidation (pressure) or coercion (threaten)

Reciprocity:

Through ingratiation (obligate) or bargain (exchange)

Reason:

A direct approach in persuading the use of facts or needs to

support one’s viewpoint

Influence Strategy Pros Cons

Retribution

• Produces immediate effect

• Manager specifications are followed

• Creates resistance, alienation, resentment

• Stifles innovation and initiative

Reciprocity

• No justification of actions required

• Better results without resentment

• Restricts group commitment

• Expectation of negotiations for every request

Reason

• High level of job satisfaction and low levels of stress

• Prominent form of Compliance

• Requires more people and time

• Takes time to build trust and understanding

Expert power: Act confident and decisive

Keep informed

Willing to share your knowledge with others

Don’t threaten subordinates’ self-esteem – be approachable

Referent power: Treat subordinates fairly

Defend subordinates interests

Be sensitive to subordinates’ needs & feelings

Legitimate power: Be cordial, polite, and confident

Make appropriate requests

Follow proper channels

Exercise power regularly and enforce compliance

Reward power

Verify compliance and accomplishments

Offer rewards for desired actions and behaviors

Offer credible rewards that are desired by subordinates

Coercive power Inform subordinates of rules and penalties

Understand the situation before acting & warn before punishing

Administer punishment consistently & punish in private

It is as important to be able to control and resist the

unwanted influence of others as to be able to influence

them.

In real world you need to be strong and explicit to

develop and master the skill of opposing inappropriate

efforts to control your behavior.

Two skills discussed focusses on gaining power and

translating power into influence.

Skillful use of power for constructive growth of the

organization.

Consequences are destructive if power is used solely for

personal gain.

Increase centrality of your position, flexibility of your job

and visibility of your job performance.

Continuous implementation of the three R’s strategy and its

neutralization to avoid unwanted influence from others.

PAGE 116 - MANAGING PERSONAL STRESS

Powered By:- Rijul Dhruv

1. Violation of Time and Stress Management Principles:

Ineffective and inefficient use of time.

Chet lost track of time because he is always overscheduled.

No specific set agenda or time limits to accomplish tasks.

Work piling – Tasks were not prioritized and issues were handled as they came along.

Wishful thinking – Undetermined long term goals and objectives.

Lack of organizational skills in dealing with the project as a whole rather than dividing and working in parts.

2. Organizational problems reflected in this

case study:

Chet must inform the VP and General Manager of day-to-

day operations about the Central Plant in order for them to

be answerable to the departments they are in line with.

VP and the GM must be responsible for internal employee

problems, discussing delivery issues with the secretary at

the treasurer’s office and answering to VP sales’ questions.

Chet must have at least one administrative assistant to keep

track of his daily logs.

3. Chet’s personal characteristics inhibiting

his effective time management:

Chet spends most of his day on trivial issues rather than the

important ones.

He gets the job done no matter what but for long-term and

preventing future mistakes he needs to set a balance

between his daily schedule, family, weekend and personal

life.

Seemed more like a pushover and needs to learn to say ‘NO’

to other people’s request.

Needs to balance his work with proper hygiene by taking

rest and having regular lunches.

4. If hired as a consultant to Chet, I would

advise him to:

Firstly, review the organization chart and job

responsibilities of top management; eliminating

redundancy by finishing incomplete tasks.

Set-up a schedule for him to comply in order to seek help

incase of any undone tasks remaining at the end of the day

Outline clear and specific goals and objectives and execute

open door policies.

An established information system by the company in order

to save time and money on operations.

Creation of an advanced database system for production.

MSE 608BOL

California State University - Northridge

Professor:

Dr. Mark Rajai

Prepared by:

Rijul Dhruv