I know I’ve given you activities similar to this before but I’d like you to take some of the new information about honesty and ethics into consideration as you think about today’s question.

You have two resumes on your desk. One is from a bright, young college graduate with no experience. His college major is in line with the work you do within your organisation and - even better - he graduated from the same university you went to and has the same fraternity ties!

The second resume is from a man with a college education as well. He has about 20 years experience in the industry and has been relatively successful.

They’re both good candidates, but how will you choose?

Will you look at their experience levels? The younger candidate has very little but he’s mallable - you can mold him the way your organisation wishes him to be. He’ll also present a fresh, modern viewpoint when it comes to new developments. The second candidate is older - true - but he has all the experience. Will he be difficult to work with or will that experience add value to your team?

Or - will you hire the younger guy because you have common interests?

Oh - you didn’t think people made unethical decisions like that? Well, they do. And the funny part is that many of them don’t even consciously realize they’re choosing one person over another for an unethical reason. They’re justifying their decisions with concrete points that simply aren’t as strong as they could be in order to cover up the real reasons.

So which candidate would you hire? I’d love to know!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Manager Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

As a manager you should certainly be able to deal with conflict, even if it means negotiating. The truth, however, is that every member of your team should be able to do the same thing because doing so will mean they’re better able to work together as a team.

One way to teach conflict management is to play a game known as “Divide the Loot.” While we often suggest playing this game with real money, you can take some sort of play money to use instead. Here’s how to play:

• Divide your team into two groups so that one can be the “management” and the other can represent “employees.”
• Each group will start it’s own “pot” of money. Each person will pay a different amount into the pot but no one will know how much anyone else put into the pot.
• After a set amount of time, the activity leader will take both pots, combine them into one, and then add his own contribution.
• He’ll then total the pot and tell everyone how much is in the pot.
• Everyone will know how much he contributed individually but no one will know how much anyone else, from their own team or the other, contributed. No one knows how much the project manager contributed either.
• The teams will each have 10 minutes to decide how to fairly split the total of the pot amongst everyone in the room. After 10 minutes the managers and employees must come together and negotiate a final outcome.

The goal here is to encourage everyone to come to a final decision, working together to make a fair negotiation. Try to keep the atmosphere in the room friendly. It is, after all, fake money and no one is going to lose anything at the end of the day!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Courses

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”

Some of you may have heard these questions before but I think they’re a fun way to bring the true consequences of unethical thinking into light. Consider each of the following questions and be honest - you’re the only one who will know your answers.

1. A pregnant woman already has eight children. Three are deaf, two blind, and one mentally retarded. The pregnant woman herself has syphilis. Should she have an abortion?
2. The world is going to elect one leader and you have the deciding vote. Each candidate has his own qualities: Candidate A associates with astrologers and questionable politicians, has had affairs, smokes, and drinks heavily. Candidate B was kicked out of office two times, sleeps late into the day, drinks heavily, and used opium in college. Candidate C is a decorated war hero, non-smoker, vegetarian, occasional drinker, and has been faithful in all of his relationships. Who would you choose?

Do you have your answers?

First, if you answered YES to recommending an abortion you would have killed Beethoven.

As for the politicians. The first is Franklin D. Roosevelt, the second Winston Churchill, and the third Adolph Hitler.

The point here is that there is always more to a decision than meets the eye. It’s important to ask questions and make educated decisions rather than jumping to conclusions based on the initial set of facts given to us. Sometimes those gathering the facts are biased or they’re just plain misleading. It’s up to you to sort fact from fiction and make the most ethical decisions possible.

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

I thought we’d end the week with a little exercise - perhaps one of the most thought provoking yet.

Imagine that you work for a company that, for whatever reason, had a workforce that consisted primarily of white males. Throughout the years you have managed to change the face of the workforce and the company now has a significant number of female, African American, Asian, and Hispanic workers.

Your organisation is experiencing severe financial difficulties and you will need to lay off about 1/3 of your 1,000 member workforce. If your plan works you will be able to hire them all back in approximately 6-9 months.

What will you do in order to:

• Choose which employees to lay off while not changing the diversity you’ve worked to hard to create?
• Communicate the decision to lay off a significant number of employees to the rest of the team? and
• Make sure your team understands the change is temporary in nature?

It’s a tall order, for sure. How will you handle the decision making process?

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Here’s a brief time management exercise to get your juices flowing as you prepare to wrap up your week and enjoy the weekend.

Imagine you are preparing to open your own business (selling whatever you wish) in a local shopping mall. Despite having no business experience or contacts in the field, you do have a very strong business plan. Before you can get started you’re going to have to meet with several people. These include:

• The manager of the mall for lease negotiation
• A lawyer to help you form your business
• An accountant to help you learn to handle your finances
• A banker to help you get a small business loan
• An advertising agency to learn how to promote your business
• An interior designer for the inside layout of the store
• A staffing company to help you find employees
• Suppliers, to arrange for credit and inventory

Your job today is to determine in what order you need to meet these people. Remember, if you meet with one person without having met with another one first you may have to have a second meeting. Set your schedule in a way that will minimize duplicating your efforts.

Let me know what you come up with!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training Courses

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”