Leadership is the process of developing ideas and a vision, living by values that support those ideas and that vision, influencing others to embrace them in their own behaviors, and making hard decisions about human and other resources. Leadership includes the seven foundation competencies developed throughout this book and more. In contrast, management focuses on looking inward, improving the present, tight controls, direct- ing, coordinating, efficiency, and the like. Both leaders and managers must accept three key functions to be effective: authority, responsibility, and accountability.
Organizational behavior involves the dynamic interplay among employees, leaders, teams, and the organization itself. We introduced seven competencies in this chapter and suggested the dynamic interplay among these competencies.
The ethics competency includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities to incorporate values and principles that distinguish right from wrong when making decisions and choosing behaviors. Managers and employees often experience ethical dilemmas—
situations in which a decision must be made that involves multiple values.
The self competency includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities to assess a person’s own strengths and weaknesses; set and pursue professional and personal goals; balance work and personal life; and engage in new learning—including new or modified skills, behaviors, and attitudes. This competency is especially inherent to the individual.
Mastering it requires a lifelong process of learning and career management.
The diversity competency includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities to value unique individual and group characteristics, embrace such characteristics as sources of orga- nizational strength, and appreciate the uniqueness of each individual and group.
These characteristics can act as potential sources of organizational strength. The core components of this competency are related to a framework of six primary categories of diversity: age, race, ethnicity, gender, physical abilities and qualities, and sexual ori- entation. These types of diversity are important because they often reflect differences in perspectives, lifestyles, attitudes, values, and behaviors. How leaders and employees embrace and respond to diversity influences an organization’s effectiveness.
1. State the core differences between leadership and management.
2. Outline the framework for learning about organizational behavior.
3. Describe the ethics competency and its contribution to effective performance.
4. Describe the self competency and its contribution to effective performance.
5. Describe the diversity competency and its contribution to effective performance.
Chapter Summary
Intangibles Every transaction has both tangible (e.g., monetary) and intan- gible (e.g., reputational) value. The intangible is growing faster; it is the increasing role of personal services for many organizations and the economy as a whole.
Blur The new world in which we will come to live and work.44
The revolution in technologies is a driving force in creating the state of blur and the need to actively manage change. Throughout this book, we discuss topics from the human side of the organization that are related to the introduction and use of technol- ogy and which, in turn, are affected by it.
The rapid rise in use of the Internet throughout the world is the most obvious expression of economies and businesses that focus on technology.45 The Internet seems to bring the entire world to a person’s desktop, laptop, or personal digital assistant instantaneously and to quickly address any query or curiosity. The ever- expanding online World Wide Web is but the most recent indication of a trend during the past few decades that has brought businesses, customers, and others continually closer in real time. Technologies have shaped our expectations about acceptable time frames for communicating, performing tasks, and seeing results.
The across cultures competency includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities to rec- ognize and embrace similarities and differences among nations and cultures and then approach key organizational and strategic issues with an open and curious mind.
Individuals’ and groups’ perceptions, communication, decisions, and behaviors are influenced by their culture. Too often, one’s culture may influence the development of sweeping negative stereotypes about those from other cultures.
The communication competency includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities to trans- mit, receive, and understand data, information, thoughts, and emotions— nonverbal, verbal, written, listening, electronic, and the like—for accurately transferring and exchanging information and emotions. Core components of this competency are describing, active listening, questioning, nonverbal communication, empathizing, ver- bal communication, and written communication. This competency is like the body’s circulatory system, nourishing and carrying information to other competencies to enhance individual, team, and organizational effectiveness.
The teams competency includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities to develop, sup- port, and lead teams to achieve organizational goals. Recognition of the potential for individual and team differences is stressed.
The change competency includes the knowledge, skills, and abilities to recognize and implement needed adaptations or entirely new transformations. New technologies are one of the primary sources of change, which creates a state of blur. The Internet is a primary enabler of increasing organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
6. Describe the across cultures competency and its contribution to effective performance.
7. Describe the communication competency and its contribution to effective performance.
8. Describe the teams competency and its contribution to effective performance.
9. Describe the change competency and its contribution to effective performance.
Across cultures competency, 17 Active listening, 20
Career, 13
Career development, 14 Career plan, 14
Change competency, 23
Communication competency, 19 Competency, 8
Cultural values, 17 Culture, 17 Describing skill, 19 Diversity competency, 14 Empathizing skill, 20 Ethical dilemma, 10
Ethics, 10
Ethics competency, 10 Global mind-set, 18 Leader, 4
Leadership, 4 Manager, 5
Nonverbal communication, 20 Organizational behavior, 4 Questioning skill, 20 Self competency, 12 Teams competency, 21 Verbal communication, 20 Written communication, 20
Key Terms and Concepts
1. In the Learning from Experience feature, Indra Nooyi states: “Performance with Purpose rests on three pil- lars: human sustainability, environmental sustainability, and talent sustainability.” Go to the PepsiCo website at www.pepsico.com. Click on “Company” and choose
“PepsiCo Values and Philosophy.” Which attributes of the ethics competency are illustrated in PepsiCo’s state- ment of “Guiding Principles”?
2. Review the Ethics Competency feature entitled “Robert A. Eckert, Chairman and CEO, Mattel, Inc.” Which attributes of the ethics competency are illustrated in this feature?
3. Review the Diversity Competency feature on “Aetna’s Diverse Discoveries Program.” Which attributes of the diversity competency are illustrated in this feature?
Discussion Questions
Instructions
The statements in this inventory describe specific knowledge/
skills/abilities that are needed to be an effective leader or professional. This inventory focuses on the individual rather than teams or the organization as a whole with respect to the key competencies developed in this book. For each specific knowledge/skill/ability statement, you are to assess yourself on a scale from 1 to 10, according to the descriptive state- ments provided on the scale shown here.
10 I am outstanding on this knowledge/skill/ability.
9 I am very good on this knowledge/skill/ability.
8 I am good on this knowledge/skill/ability.
7 I am average on this knowledge/skill/ability.
6 I am barely adequate on this knowledge/skill/ability.
5 I am lacking on this knowledge/skill/ability.
4 I am weak on this knowledge/skill/ability.
3 I am very weak on this knowledge/skill/ability.
2 I have little relevant experience on this knowledge/skill/
ability, but the experiences I have had are poor.
1 I have no relevant experience. I have not yet begun to develop this knowledge/skill/ability.
Fill in the blank next to each listed specific knowledge/
skill/ability with a number from the preceding scale that you think is most descriptive of yourself. It is important that you choose a number that is most descriptive of what you are actu- ally like rather than what you would prefer to be like or how you would like others to see you.
Statements of Knowledge/Skills/Abilities
_____ 1. Maintains an awareness of own behavior and how it affects others.
_____ 2. Is able to set priorities and manage time.
_____ 3. Knows own limitations and asks for help when necessary.
_____ 4. Assesses and establishes own life- and work- related goals.
_____ 5. Takes responsibility for decisions and managing self.
_____ 6. Perseveres in the face of obstacles or criticism.
_____ 7. Is not self-promoting or arrogant.
_____ 8. Recovers quickly from failure, including learning from mistakes.
_____ 9. Tries to learn continuously.
_____ 10. Pursues feedback openly and nondefensively.
_____ 11. Organizes and presents ideas effectively.
_____ 12. Detects and understands others’ values, motives, and emotions.
_____ 13. Presents written materials clearly and concisely.
_____ 14. Listens actively and nonjudgmentally.
_____ 15. Responds appropriately to positive and negative feedback.
_____ 16. Is aware of and sensitive to nonverbal messages.
_____ 17. Holds people’s attention when communicating.
_____ 18. Shares information willingly.
_____ 19. Expresses own needs, opinions, and preferences without offending others.
_____ 20. Uses a variety of computer-based (electronic) resources to communicate.
_____ 21. Encourages the inclusion of those who are differ- ent from self.
_____ 22. Seeks to learn from those with different charac- teristics and perspectives.
_____ 23. Embraces and demonstrates respect for people of other cultures and races.
_____ 24. Shows sensitivity to the needs and concerns of others.
_____ 25. Seeks positive win–win or appropriate compromise solutions to conflicts based on diversity issues.
_____ 26. Embraces unique individual and group characteris- tics as potential sources of organizational strength.
_____ 27. Is sensitive to differences among people and seeks ways to work with them.
_____ 28. Respects the ideas, values, and traditions of others.
_____ 29. Identifies opportunities to promote diversity.
_____ 30. Invests personal effort in helping people with attributes different from self to succeed.
4. Review the Self Competency feature on “Indra Nooyi’s Development Journey.” Which attributes of the self competency are illustrated in this feature?
5. Review the Across Cultures Competency feature on
“Carlos Ghosn, CEO, Nissan-Renault.” Which attri- butes of the across cultures competency are illustrated in this feature?
6. Review the Communication Competency feature on
“Maureen Chiquet, Global CEO, Chanel S.A.” In addi- tion to active listening, what other attributes of the
communication competency appear to be illustrated in this feature?
7. Review the Teams Competency feature on “Grant Reid, President, Mars Drinks.” Which attributes of the teams competency are illustrated in this feature?
8. Review the Change Competency feature on “Indra Nooyi Leads Change at PepsiCo.” Which attributes of the change competency are illustrated in this feature?
9. What aspect of your life or role that you play reflects some or all of the variables that go into creating the state of blur? Explain.