CAN YOU DO THIS FOR ME DUE 9/15/2019
REPLY TO 2 OTHER CLASSMATES THREADS.EACH REPLY MUST BE A MINIMUM OF 200 WORDS AND INCLUDE AT LEAST 2 SCHOLARLY RESOURCES.
The Replies
You will be required to write substantive replies to a minimum of 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be a minimum of 200 words and include at least 2 scholarly resources. Acceptable sources include the textbook, the Bible, outside scholarly articles, etc.
Substantive replies, in contrast to perfunctory replies, add value to the forum, enhance learning, and contain references to any new concepts or ideas presented.
The following suggestions will aid you in successfully composing substantive responses:
· Compare/contrast the findings of others with your research.
· Compare how the findings of others relate/add to the concepts learned in the required readings.
· Share additional knowledge regarding the key topic that relates to the thread.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Review your posts and the Student Expectations prior to submission in order to ensure that your sources are properly cited.
1ST REPLY
Renee McCormick
Discussion Board: Social Loafing
The issue of social loafing has long been an issue from projects in school and work. Kugihara (1999) explains social loafing as a phenomenon when the volume of work by a person in a group is less than if the task were to be performed individually. It is the reduction of motivation and effort within collective work that may seem to be unidentifiable making the group member’s input to be reduced and go unnoticed. Social Loafers are one of the four threats to creativity within a team setting (Meredith & Shafer, 2016). These individuals are typically the annoyance to the productive members wanting to accomplish the task at hand. The lack of effort undermines the effectiveness sought in the Six Sigma productivity and lean processes.
The social loafing topic for the discussion post is both an academic interest and personal interest. As one of the threats to team creativity, social loafing seems to be a continuing theme from school to work. This phenomenon is frustrating in group settings, especially with the online school atmosphere. The similar frustration is currently being experienced at my work with a coworker, who quit in the past week during the research of this topic.
Comparison
Social loafing is a society issue found throughout the world. Comparison between male and female has spurred several studies. A Japanese study found men are more likely to be social loafers in comparison to women through several social experiments arguing women value collective tasks more than men and men are expected to work in power-oriented roles (Kugihara, 1999). Kugihara notes the comparison of gender roles and social loafing to other nationalities with similar results, including the United States with a greater gender difference.
Thompson and Thorton (2014) studied social loafing with preschoolers to determine if gender differences could be identified as a link to the Theory of Mind. Their study found the three-year-olds did not have the capacity for social loafing, yet the four to five-year-olds did. Social loafing at this age is argued by Thompson and Thorton to be associated with maturity as the preschool girls were more apt than the boys, suggesting this is tied to girls advanced language comprehension and creative play.
Group work experiences different stages through the timeline. With group work, there are four different stages including Stage 1: Dependency and inclusion, Stage 2: counter-dependency and fight, Stage 3: trust and structure, and Stage 4: work and termination (Lee & Sergueeva, 2016). It is within the second stage that social loafing is found due to the power struggles, role confusion, and need for identification within the group setting. Suggestions to improve the struggles of stage two and prevent social loafing would be confident in expressing ideas, communication, team members adapt to the work ethics of each other, maintain organization and cooperation between group members.
Moving beyond gender roles, a direct relation between social loafing and the envy emotion was connected by Thompson, Glaso, and Martinsen in the effort to discover the roots of social loafing (2016). Envious individuals found to respond negatively in situations where they cannot influence the allocation of outcomes and chose to limit their contribution to the group by social loafing as a dysfunctional behavioral response. Furthermore, the study found envious individuals resort to coping response, like social loafing, when they perceive a threat to oneself such as reduced self-esteem and loss of control. These individuals will engage in counter-productive work behaviors directed at other coworkers they perceive as a threat. Results of the study found when a person feels less self-worth, they are compelled to respond like limiting their effort and are willing to sacrifice the overall outcome of the project to create an advantage for themselves. This is a threat to team cohesiveness, creativity, and production.
Article Summary
The lack of effort in a person’s work is considered an ethical compromise in the workplace (Dobos, 2017). Gandhi is quoted in the article that “for every person who refuses to work someone else much work twice as much” (p. 525). Workloads are a balancing act on the scales as if one chooses to use social loafing behavior, others must pick up their slack to accomplish the task. The article notes that the withholding of effort and information could be considered guilty of theft depending on what is being affected.
Wasting time is the theft of an employer, including doing non-work-related tasks during work hours. Social loafing is a time-wasting distraction away from accomplishing the task at hand. Dobos (2017) notes this productivity loss equals annually an average of $5720 per employee. Leaving work incomplete or the act of social loafing is considered the theft against a co-worker as one is stealing time and effort they could use on another task. Dobos notes of research conducted by Flanagan and Gregory showing there are times the lazy employee is motivated to find the shortcut for work and reduce the workload, but it is the social loafing away from supporting the group to be a different issue. Employees with a mindset of self-entitlement thinking employers owe them a debt of gratitude for their effort will not want to participate in working teams as their efforts will not be acknowledged.
Biblical Integration
In several places, the Bible warns against being lazy. The book of Proverbs provides many references to this warning. Proverbs 10:4 states it plainly “Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth” (ESV). Additionally, “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor” (Proverbs 12:24, ESV). The final example ties to productive work over social loafing stating “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (Proverbs 14:23, ESV).
The apostle Paul cautions the church in Thessalonica of social loafing and laziness to their faith. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10 is Paul reminding the believers not to be idle with their work as the apostles provided a good example for their ways. As the group stayed with the Thessalonica church, they did not rely on their supplies but worked harder to help the church. Paul recaps with the rule given to the church: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10, ESV).
Application
The application with social loafing is simple: follow the golden rule. Be considerate to your coworkers and understanding one’s place in the effort to accomplish the task. Most workplaces will not tolerate social loafing as it affects the bottom line. Those choosing to skate through with minimal effort are noticed by management and overlooked for career advancement. In the same application, one needs to give credit where credit is due. If the individuals feel their work is not being adequately acknowledged by the team leader, they are more likely to reduce their efforts. The team lead has the responsibility to the group for admitting efforts of individuals. Thompson, Glaso, and Martinsen (2016) recommends supervisors involve employees more in the decision making roles to create unity within the group and reducing the envious behavior that leads to social loafing.
Annotated Bibliography
Dobos, N. (2017). What’s so deviant about Production Deviance? The ethics of “Withholding Effort” in the workplace. Social Theory & Practice, 43(3), 519. doi:https://doi.org/10.5840/soctheorpract20178112
Dobos (2017) questions if employees are required to perform to their best ability and why those that seem to underperform are labeled as “production deviants” (p. 519). The article argues employees have the ethical-moral obligation to work as hard as they reasonably and sustainably are able. The concern of social loafing is identified as theft to the employer through either wasting time, withholding information from coworkers, and a self-entitled attitude towards the company. It comes down to the extrinsic and intrinsic motivators of each employee to maintain their work productivity. If the employee is tasked with a production number, they will meet that amount and choose not to exceed if they do not have the right motivation.
Kugihara, N. (1999). Gender and Social Loafing in Japan. Journal of Social Psychology, 139(4), 516. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/00224549909598410
Recognizing the age of the article, it was selected as the historical details provided by Kugihara (1999) are important to note showing the comparison of social loafing on an international scale. The article notes the study was originally conducted in Japan showing men are more likely to participate in social loafing than women. Kugihara compares the study results to the cultures of other countries drawing comparisons to the United States and China. Overall, the results are consistent with showing only 20% of the men made group effort whereas 60% of the women continued choosing not to socially loaf in the study.
Lee, S. H., & Sergueeva, K. (2016). What do students think about group work in business education? An investigation into the benefits, challenges, and student-suggested solutions. Journal of Education for Business, 91(7), 380. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2016.1237933
Studying the stages of group work, Lee and Sergueeva (2016) broke down each stage within a study with students to find the benefits and challenges of group work. The students provided their perspective of success and frustrations at each stage along with their suggestions to improve productivity. Social loafing is found within the second stage of group development as this is where power struggles affect the student roles within the group. The author assumed in stage two is where most of the conflicts lay, yet the study results found more conflicts and challenges within the third stage of trust and structure.
Meredith, J. R., & Shafer, S. M. (2016). Operations and Supply Chain Management for MBAs (6th ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
The course textbook reviews several aspects of business operations and supply chain management (Meredith & Shafer, 2016). Instruction in the book includes competitive strategy, project management, supply chain processes, and process improvement. Specific to this discussion board forum, social loafing is discussed as a threat to team creativity in brainstorming within the analyze phase of DMAIC for Six Sigma process improvement.
Thompson, G., Glaso, L., & Martinsen, O. (2016). Antecedents and Consequences of Envy. Journal of Social Psychology, 156(2), 139-153. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2015.1047439
Through a study focusing on envy, Thompson, Glaso, and Martinsen (2016) found a direct link of the negative emotion to social loafing. The social loafing is a coping behavioral response to the reduced self-esteem and lack of control the individual is feeling. The negative impact on a person’s perception will only increase the negativity towards others and the refusal to accomplish work. If the envy is left to grow, it will impact the group teamwork and work behavior towards one another. Results show managers there is a strong need for good managerial styles within the workforce to reduce the feelings of envy between coworkers to help alleviate possible social loafing.
Thompson, R. B., & Thornton, B. (2014). Gender and theory of mind in preschoolers’ group effort: Evidence for timing differences behind children’s earliest social loafing. Journal of Social Psychology, 154(6), 475. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2014.933763
Thompson and Thornton (2014) conducted a development study on preschool children to find the theory of mind and the possible beginning of social loafing. The three-year-old children tested did not show signs, yet the four and five-year-old test subjects did show early and established signs of social loafing. Of the children studied, Thompson and Thornton found girls are more capable of the social loafing characteristics than the boy test subjects. The authors argue this may be due to children’s language ability and comprehension which is typically more advanced in girls than boys at the preschool age level.
2ND REPLY
Kayla Hurst
Key Concept Explanation
Modern-day organizations consistently look for ways to improve their business practices to improve both their products and operational impacts on the environment through continuous improvement programs. The International Standards Organization (ISO) serves as the creator of the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certifications of business practices. ISO 9000 was created to serve as a checklist of good business practices that can be employed by an organization so that they can ensure that they are providing quality services and or products consistently (Terziovski & Guerrero, 2014). ISO 14000, on the other hand, is a certification that focuses more on the systematic daily operations of operations and the impact that these operations have on the environment (Sebastianelli, Tamimi, & Iacocca, 2015). Although both ISO 9000 and 14000 have different uses for organizations, they both have their place within business operations.
Comparison
The textbook serves to provide a general introduction to the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards whereas further research helps to provide more detail analysis of the ISO standards and their applications. The current ISO 9000 the standard serves as an outline of the general specifics of quality management systems of companies that need to provide consistency in their products and services to meet the governing guidelines as well as increase customer satisfaction through process improvement (Terziovski & Guerrero, 2014). This differs from the goals of the ISO 14000 standards. In more recent years ISO 14000 has become more common with industries and organizations because of the growing concern that the public has with environmental issues such as climate change and environmental preservation (Sebastianelli, Tamimi, & Iacocca, 2015). This public scrutiny has served as external pressure to hold organizations responsible regarding their environmental impacts. The ISO 14000 standard serves as an industry answer to this external pressure due to its goal of optimizing environmental performance through the control of documents, records, operations, statistical techniques, corrective actions, preventative actions, and training methods (Meredith & Shafer, 2016). The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certifications have become important signals to customers that signify organizations are meeting specific standards.
Article Summary
The article by Ueki seeks to investigate how the pressure to implement the ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards from customers can have an overall impact on both the customer-supplier relationships and process enhancements (2016). The article discusses how the globalization of manufacturing allows organizations to conduct business in countries with emerging economies. The downside to this relationship is that those organizations can often find it difficult to meet the same standards that the customers want those international organizations are capable of meeting. While the outcome of the adaptation of ISO standards is generally seen as positive for an organization, the implementation can be dangerous given the fact that the actual adaptation process can be pricey. If an organization is not aware of this and careful of its implementation, this could be detrimental to the organization. “Therefore, if the adaptation of ISO standards facilitate customer-supplier collaboration, then more firms in developing countries will consider adopting ISO standards or equivalent management methods worthy of investment” (Ueki, 2016, p. 2234). These findings suggest that pressure put on suppliers results in collective relationships, that effective communication with customers and suppliers improve quality control, and that the improvement of quality control is not dependent on customer pressure and relationships.
Biblical Integration
As Christians we should seek to do the best for those around us even when practicing business. Although this may be the more costly path for organizations when organizations take on these attributes it is noted by customers. Colossians 3:23-24 states, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (ESV). This highlights the importance of seeking to serve the Lord first when making decisions. The bible also talks about how we should thrive to take care of our environments. In Genesis 1:26-28 God gives us dominion on the earth and everything in it. Jeremiah 2:7 states, “And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination” (ESV). As faithful servants, it is our responsibility to take care of what he has given us by keeping our environment healthy.
Application
The goal of every organization is to maximize the return for their stakeholders. In today’s fast-paced society many organizations turn to continuous improvement methods to ensure that they are maximizing their profits through the ability to offer products and services with minimal defects and variations. Most of these continuous improvement efforts aim to do this through the implementation of standards. The ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 standards allow organizations to maintain operational standards that allow them to increase sales and profit margins. This is why more organizations continue to align their operations with the pursuit of ISO 9000 and ISO 1400 certifications.
Annotated Bibliography
El Mokadem, M. (2016). ISO 9000 moderation role over supply chain alignment in manufacturing context. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 27(3), 338-363.
The article explains how ISO 9000 aligns supply chain activities. Supply management emphasizes the importance of aligning activities that will produce value for customers and better performance across the supply chain to attain higher levels of customer service and cost-effectiveness. To collect the data the author used the cluster analysis method and then a limited regression analysis. The research found that when IOS 9000 is implemented it led to higher levels of alignment in customer needs and supplier criteria. The research provided insights on understanding the role that ISO 9000 plays in best business practices and not just a conformance standard.
Lakhal, L. (2014). The relationship between ISO 9000 certification, TQM practices, and organizational performance. The Quality Management Journal, 21(3), 38-48.
This article discussed the correlation between ISO 9000 certification and Total Quality Management practices (TQM). Most research that has been done on these quality control practices have been conflicting. The author asks three questions 1) Is ISO 9000 a beginning point for TQM? 2) How does ISO 9000 affect organizational performance? 3) What is the effect of TQM practices on organizational performance? From the research of the 176 Tunisian companies, the article provides proof that the two approaches are directly related. The suggestion is that when ISO is implemented first and then TQM it is better organizational performance.
Terziovski, M., & Guerrero, J-L. (2014). ISO 9000 quality system certification and its impact on product and process innovation performance. International Journal of Production Economics, 158, 197-207. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2014.08.011.
The articles state that although many organizations are beginning to adopt the ISO 9000 standards there is not a lot of studies that prove the relationship between ISO 9000 certification and innovation performance. The authors examine how ISO 9000 certification has impacted the product and processes of 220 companies in Australia. They concluded that the ISO 9000 certification does not have a significant impact on product innovation, but instead, it highlights differences in increasing activities that will affect the company’s ability in being innovative. The article suggests that companies that apply ISO 9000 standards are most likely to add restructuring by including internal customer concepts within the company to improve collaboration and create a more streamlined structure for process improvement.
Sebastianelli, R., Tamimi, N., & Iacocca, K. (2015) Improving the quality of environmental management: impact on shareholder value, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 32(1), 53-80.
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate a link between improved environmental performance and increased market value in organizations that are traded publicly. More companies are looking to provide quality environmental performance because of the increasing demands of shareholders and customers wanting more eco-friendly products. People are becoming more concern with certain environmental issues that affect our communities such as climate change, energy, conservation, and pollution. The article suggests that environmental sustainability will help transform the way companies conduct business. The question is asked if the benefits of improving an organization’s environmental performance such as decreasing costs or preserving energy will improve its profits.
Ueki, Y. (2016). Customer pressure, customer–manufacturer–supplier relationships, and quality control performance. Journal of Business Research, 69(6), 2233-2238.
This the article discusses the driving forces that foster information sharing and relationships among customers and suppliers. The relationship can be beneficial if the supplier can learn from the customer and provide the customer with better quality and production control. This may motivate the suppliers to embrace quality management methods like the ISO 9000 and 14000 standards. The article also focuses on the supplier’s assertiveness toward embracing ISO standards. The study hypothesizes that the attitudes toward adopting these standards and comparable standards can affect customer relationships and even quality control performance. The author investigates how customer pressure is conveyed through a three-party chain of the focal firm, customer and supplier, unlike other studies that have investigated a two-party link.
References
El Mokadem, M. (2016). ISO 9000 moderation role over supply chain alignment in manufacturing context. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 27(3), 338-363.
Lakhal, L. (2014). The relationship between ISO 9000 certification, TQM practices, and organizational performance. The Quality Management Journal, 21(3), 38-48.
Terziovski, M., & Guerrero, J-L. (2014). ISO 9000 quality system certification and its impact on product and process innovation performance. International Journal of Production Economics, 158, 197-207. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2014.08.011.
Sebastianelli, R., Tamimi, N., & Iacocca, K. (2015) Improving the quality of environmental management: impact on shareholder value, International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management, 32(1), 53-80.
Ueki, Y. (2016). Customer pressure, customer–manufacturer–supplier relationships, and quality control performance. Journal of Business Research, 69(6), 2233-2238.
