Instructions:
Write a critical summary of each article. For each article you should:
Write a minimum of 3 paragraphs critically evaluating the article
One paragraph should provide a brief summary of the article (5 points).
One paragraph should address ideas or concepts in the article with which you agree and why you agree (5 points).
One paragraph should address ideas or concepts that cause you concern or that you question and why those ideas or concepts cause concern or you question them (10 points).
Each article will be worth a total of 20 points. For a total available points of 40.
Paragraphs will be graded on depth and thoughtfulness of the content.
Recources:
Article 1: (Use of monitoring in performance management)
Monitoring Employees: How Far Can You Go? Published by Michael Abcarian on January 27, 2015
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/risk-management/pages/monitoring-employees-gps.aspx
As shifting privacy lines allow employers to reach further and further into employee conduct, it’s increasingly important that you know the legal limits. Many employees will question the legality of increased employer monitoring of offsite conduct, especially when employees are off-duty.
Such monitoring may include the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking and video surveillance. It could include reprimanding employees for things like speeding tickets. These practices are usually within an employer’s legal rights, but managers need to be aware of what is and is not permissible from a legal perspective.
Monitoring On the Clock
One of the most debated employee monitoring practices involves GPS tracking of company-owned and personal automobiles and cell phones. GPS tracking is often used by employers to monitor employee travel routes and to verify that work time is being accurately recorded on time sheets. Employers sometimes suspect that their employees are being less productive than they should, and this may be with good reason. According to a 2013 online survey by salary.com, 69 percent of U.S. workers who were polled said that they waste time every day when they are supposed to be working.
But don’t put a GPS program into motion before taking note of potential pitfalls. When adopting such a program, you should be able to demonstrate that there is a legitimate business rationale behind the decision, such as:
Trying to improve response time and efficiency of routes.
Maintaining accurate timekeeping records.
Increasing safety and/or productivity and helping to prevent theft.
While a legitimate reason is a good start, more is certainly required. You should also be sure to understand relevant state laws. For example, Texas allows employers to monitor GPS systems in any company-issued vehicle or cell phone. But, if employers wish to monitor employee-owned vehicles, they must first receive permission from the employee.
We recommend that you provide clear notice to employees before implementing GPS tracking in order to avoid privacy (and other) lawsuits. One important practice is to implement a policy stating that there should be no expectation of privacy when using company-owned equipment and/or vehicles.
Moreover, whether monitoring company-owned property or even employee-owned equipment that is used for work, you should limit GPS monitoring to work hours and activities. Otherwise, you might gain access to private information, such as facts concerning medical appointments or other purely personal activities.
Going beyond utilization of GPS systems, some employers have installed dash cameras in each of their company-owned vehicles. While some people might view this as overly intrusive, this practice may nonetheless be reasonable to combat “distracted driving.” According to a 2013 study by Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, those engaging in texting, talking on the phone, or like distractions while driving are three times more likely to be involved in a vehicular accident.
In 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued a letter to all employers stating that it is their “responsibility and legal obligation to create and maintain a safe and healthful workplace, and that would include having a clear, unequivocal and enforced policy against the hazard of texting while driving.”
OSHA goes on to say that any company that requires or encourages employees to text while driving is in clear violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. OSHA accordingly urges employers to create and enforce policies that prevent distracted driving. Employers are able to enforce these policies while employees are on the clock, and also when employees are engaging in any work activity, such as talking to supervisors or clients, despite the time.
Monitoring Off the Clock
Policies allowing employers to monitor employees outside of their customary work locations raise questions as to how far you may go when arguably monitoring off-duty activity.
Consider this: may an employer punish an off-duty employee who receives a speeding ticket while dropping off a child at soccer practice? The answer is likely yes. Does it matter if it was in the employee’s personal car? No, in most cases it does not. In fact, some companies have a policy stating that employees who use a car in the course of and scope of employment must report all moving violations to a supervisor. Some such policies provide that if an employee receives three or more moving violations in three years, the employee may face termination.
Lawful Off-Duty Conduct Laws
Before implementing policies that may affect off-duty conduct, you need to review state and federal laws. Some states have laws that protect broad categories of off-duty conduct, or require that an employer demonstrate a connection between the employee’s engagement in an activity and the employer’s business before allowing adverse action against the employee for engaging in that conduct.
For example, in Colorado, it is illegal for an employer to terminate an employee because that employee engaged in any lawful activity off premises during nonworking hours unless the restriction: 1) relates to a bona fide occupational requirement or is reasonably and rationally related to the employee’s employment activities and responsibilities; or 2) is necessary to avoid or prevent the appearance of a conflict of interest with any of the employee’s responsibilities to the employer.
In Montana, employers are prohibited from refusing to hire job applicants or disciplining or discharging an employee for using “lawful consumable products” (such as tobacco or alcohol) if the products are used away from the employer’s premises outside of work hours, with certain exceptions for bona fide occupational requirements or a conflict of interest, similar to those covered by Colorado’s law. In total, 31 states have some sort of off-duty conduct law. You need to tailor your monitoring practices to comply with these state laws.
Certain off-duty employee conduct, such as social media posts, may also be protected under federal laws. As many employers have learned the hard way, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) may restrict an employer’s right to terminate an employee for posting disparaging comments on social media. You can also violate NLRB rules by maintaining overbroad social media policies if they prevent employees from discussing their wages or other conditions of employment.
Article 2: (Best practices in employee development)
Humble Managers Improve Business Performance, Published By Brian O’Connell on November 22, 2021
https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/winter2021/pages/humble-managers-improve-business-performance.aspx
The best workplace managers are often described as confident, charismatic and highly persuasive.
Yet a recent study points out that humility is also a critical leadership trait for cultivating high-performing employees.
The study from the University of South Australia Centre for Workplace Excellence tracked 120 workplace teams comprising a total of 495 team members. Researchers concluded that “leaders who demonstrate humility—through self-awareness, praising others’ strengths and contributions, and being open to feedback”—can achieve positive workplace outcomes and curb negative influences.
Humility is characterized by having self-awareness, showing an appreciation of others and emphasizing a culture of learning.
“In humble leaders, this is demonstrated through open communications, listening well, praising a job well done, valuing the skills of each team member and realizing that they, as leaders, are not infallible,” says Chad Chiu, lead researcher for the study.
Making Humble Work
Are the researchers on to something? Business management experts think so.
“Research proves humble leadership works,” says Melody Wilding, an executive coach who teaches graduate-level human behavior and psychology classes at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College. “Not only are self-aware leaders more effective, but they also impact the bottom line. Companies with self-aware leaders tend to have stronger financial performance.”
High levels of trust also translate into better engagement. When leaders trust their employees and give them more control over their work, their teams tend to report 75 percent less stress, 50 percent higher productivity and 40 percent less burnout, according to research by Paul J. Zak, a professor of economic sciences, psychology and management at Claremont Graduate University.
Meanwhile, researchers from the University of Singapore and Arizona State University found that humble CEOs are more likely to have better-performing management teams and stronger company performance.
Among myriad other changes, the pandemic and the shift to remote work highlighted the need for humility in leadership.
“In an age of disconnection, higher workloads and rising burnout, it’s essential we have leaders who display empathy and have a pulse on team morale,” Wilding says. “We also need leaders at the helm who admit they don’t have all the answers and they sometimes make mistakes.”
Antonia Hock, global head of the Ritz-Carlton Leadership Center, a business consultancy in Washington, D.C., advises managers to ask themselves these questions after leading meetings, having one-on-ones or sending group e-mails:
Did I ask for feedback, ideas and opinions because I was really engaged or just as a token way to close?
Were the concepts, ideas or processes that I presented first vetted with employees at various levels? “Leaders miss on this one all the time,” Hock says. “No one likes to be asked to buy into directives that they had no voice in forming.”
Did I acknowledge the role that others played in creating, designing or driving my ideas or thoughts? “Great leadership does not exist in a vacuum, so actively [point out] who advised you, inspired you or contributed,” Hock adds. “If you don’t have anyone in this category, that’s a problem.”
Can Humility Be Taught?
Many workplace experts contend that humility can be learned, but with one caveat.
“Humility can definitely be taught to managers, but being self-aware is key,” says Todd Mosetter, vice president of content development at Building Champions, an executive coaching firm in Lake Oswego, Ore. “Getting feedback from your peers and outsiders can help you see what you’re missing.”
That’s just for starters. Other steps managers can take to develop humility at work include the following:
Stay in balance. Another way to define humility is “not thinking too much or too little of yourself,” according to Mosetter.
“Too much, and you come across as arrogant and lose [your] curiosity. Too little, and you can keep fear and doubt from allowing you to leverage your gifts and opportunities,” he says. “Great leaders find that sweet spot between both sides and are able to confidently leverage their gifts while staying curious and always looking for ways to grow and improve.”
Commit to your employees. Andrew Carnegie, one of the most successful U.S. business leaders, made it a point to remember all of his employees’ names. “The simple act of remembering names was enough to convince him that every employee had an important part to play in his company,” says Jim Pendergast, senior vice president at AltLINE Sobanco, a Birmingham, Ala.-based financial services company.
Admit your mistakes. Managers who make amends on the job aren’t common, but maybe they should be.
“Businesses thrive on the humility of their leaders,” Pendergast says. “Both employees and clients look for [leaders who] are confident in their actions but willing to admit mistakes and make concessions when they’re wrong. The people who are most willing to learn from both their mistakes and [the mistakes of] those they work with and for will rise to the top before anyone else.”
Entertain fresh outlooks. “When our management team launches a recruitment drive, we make it clear to candidates from the outset which gaps exist” in the organization, says Craig Brown, chief marketing manager at Dora Wirth (Languages) Ltd., a life sciences company in London. “This encourages new starters to express themselves and come up with solutions for us. Acting with humility means that we see fresh expertise not as a threat but as an opportunity to grow.”
Be a team player. Can a manager blend the traditional traits of a confident boss with the modern-day traits of a humble leader that appeal to today’s workforce? Yes—and the ability to do so often involves working alongside your team members.
An example of a leader who did this during the pandemic is Hint Water founder and CEO Kara Goldin, says Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation.com, an online business services company in Calabasas, Calif.
“Goldin stocked shelves of the company’s product at retail storefronts alongside her employees,” Sweeney says. “She didn’t need to do it, but she was able to create a deeper understanding of her market because she was out on the front lines seeing how customers shop and essentially conducting market research. An empathetic leader knows when team members need the help and rolls up their sleeves to get to work alongside their team.”
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