In response to Katie: Has a manager ever motivated you in a particular way that made you more motivated?

I work at Walgreens now and have for a few months now. I have talked to several of the managers and I find that many of them are rather young and do not have a degree in management. One of the managers is in his early twenties and does not have a college degree. However, being a manager he is making tons more money than most other people in his age group. This in itself motivates me to work harder because I would like to get noticed for being a proficient worker rather than a slacker. This way there is a bigger opportunity for me to someday be a manager before I even get a degree. I guess to an extent it is about the money that motivates me, but right now it is just the idea that hard work gets noticed and will pay off in the long run. Do you think that it is fair that people who don't work hard to get a degree become managers?

Which is the best alternative to job specialization?

Some alternatives to job specialization include job enlargement, job enrichment and job rotation. Job enlargment is a good idea because it could possibly make the employees feel more important and not get bored with their job. However, some employees do not like the idea of a bigger work load and would get stressed out. Job enrichment is nice because it should definately make the employee feel more powerful and influential in the work place. Sometimes this isn't for all people. Some people like a steady work enviornment such as the original job specialization. In my opinion, job rotation is the best alternative to job specialization. I believe this because doing something different everyday or every few hours helps work go by faster. Also, it educates the worker to be capable of working in other parts of the business in case of another employee calling in sick. Although it does cost more money to train employees in all of the different fields I think that it is beneficial in the end because you won't be totally out of luck if one of your employees calls in sick. What are some other ideas for alternatives to job specialization?

In response to Jason and the Swine

I believe that the swine flu will have a major effect on the economy. I think more people will feel the need to obtain health care in case they contract the deadly flu. Also, companies don't want their employees catching a deadly virus so maybe they will go to further lengths to help and protect their employees. However, this will probably mean higher taxes to help cover the costs of more health care and more money taken out of people's pay checks. That is bad because the less money the population has, the less money they are willing to spend on businesses. My hope is that the new vaccine will help get rid of the swine flu scare. Maybe companies can just help pay for their employees to get vaccinated and have that be the end of it. What should a big company do if several employees contract swine flu?

lecture on sustainability

I thought that this lecture was a good way to open people's eyes to what is really going on in the world. We should have the common sense to know that we cannot keep living the way we are. Wasting resources that eventually will diminish. However, not many people are actually doing anything to prevent the global warming or over pollution of our world. It is inevitable that if we continue down the path we are headed there will be no future for us. This lecture got me thinking of how much effort we all must put in to create a positive future. Recycling is a great idea and the incentive of rewards is awsome to help people start contributing. Unfortunately, most people need an incentive to begin helping. I believe that there should be more lectures available to the public to make people realize the dangers of our wastefulness and pollution. We should all be working together as communities to help figure out a plan to save our enviornment. What are some ideas for a way out of this mess??

Do companies really hire on just talent alone?

In chapter 6 we read about different cultures and ethnicities. We now have laws that say a company must not discriminate against anyone for their race, gender, religion and so on. Also, it looks better if a company has a wide variety of cultures. However, a company should not choose to hire a woman, or an african american just because they have to. I heard a story yesterday that made me think about the ethical approach to hiring people. A friend of mine was in a flight training school and Southwest Airlines were looking for possible candidates for a job. As soon as they found out that their was an african american woman, they automaticaly chose to recruit her because they knew it would look good on their company. However, the woman was not even a good pilot. She was a little below average in the class and made a lot of mistakes. After working for Southwest for 10 years, she still is not a pilot. And usually you get promoted to a pilot after 5 years. That does not seem like a fair way to hire people. Their was a lot of other talented people who wanted that job, but didn't even get a chance. Everyone should have an equal oppurtunity to obtain employment. That is wrong that a company would hire someone specifically for their race. Why do you think their is still prejudice today and how does it affect our employment opportunities?

In response to tom

What kind of preventative measures would you suggest a company take to keep employees in line with their code of ethics?

Ethics can be a hard topic for a manager to cover with their employees. Every employee could have a different opinion on what is right and what is wrong. A manager needs to be flexible when handling the situation of ethics because you don't want to offend anyone by saying that they are wrong in thinking a certain way. I believe that a manager should emphasize the fact that the ethical rules are in favor of the company. That way the employees should not get directly mad at the manager himself if they have different opinions. If you place the blame on the company rather than a person then the employees can't really be mad at anyone in particular.
I think that their should definatly be a code of ethics for every employee to have and be required to read. Then their should be test to see who is actually taking it seriously. Also, I think that role playing is a good idea so that employees can experience situations first hand. If a manager finds out that an employee has been unethical their should be a well known punishment. This should help prevent employees from acting unethical if they know they can't get away with it. What companies do you think have the best ethical behavior based on your own experience?

In response to Lauren

Does the government have too much power when it comes to technology?

In my opinion the government has way too much technology for me to even begin to fathom. I think that it is wrong to hack into someone's private life. What ever I do on my computer should not be seen by a complete stranger who doesn't even know me. I agree that certain information is not a threat, such as how many times I visit keene.edu. But thinking about the government looking at the pictures on my computer really creeps me out! That is a complerte invasion of privacy and I think it should be a crime. When is it safe to draw the line? How far can the government go before it is really considered an invasion of privacy?

The College Credit Card Hustle

After reading the article about advertising to college students, I was pretty shocked. I had no idea that universities were actually making money off selling credit cards to students. I think that is a very unethical practice because we all know what kind of debt students can get into with a credit card. The country is already in debt enough, do they really want the younger generation making the same mistakes? I think that credit debt is one of the reasons our country is in an economic crisis. If the college students begin building their debt now, then we are putting ourselves in a position to live in the "rat race". Working hard for our money and then spending it all on our bills. I do not think that colleges have the right to hand out student information to banks, especially when they are just trying to rope them into buying a credit card. It is just so wrong! Is it ethical to raise money for a university by putting students in danger of owing major debt?

Training/Education or Experience??

I believe that it is more important for a manager to have the proper education and training in order to be the most successful. Although experience is crucial, it will not teach you how to master accounting skills or the necessary managing skills needed. Also, training is crucial because you don't want to be thrown into a situation not knowing what you are doing. The training will prepare you with the knowledge of how to handle certain obstacles or challenges. Now I'm not saying experience isn't a good tool for manager's. I believe that if you don't have experience you will be overwhelmed when you have to deal with the real life problems. But, I still think you would be more prepared with an educational understanding and an efficient training program. What types of training and education do you think a manager should be required to take?