Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow Essex CM20 2JE England and Associated Companies throughout the world

Transcription

1

2 Pearson Education Limited Edinburgh Gate Harlow Essex CM20 2JE England and Associated Companies throughout the world Visit us on the World Wide Web at: Pearson Education Limited 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this text does not vest in the author or publisher any trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does the use of such trademarks imply any affiliation with or endorsement of this book by such owners. ISBN 10: ISBN 10: ISBN 13: ISBN 13: British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Printed in the United States of America

3 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS FOR THE DIGITAL WORLD Developing Your Human Relations Skills Interpersonal Relations Case 1 Unveiled on Facebook Lisa works as tech support field representative in the digital printer division of a telecommunications company. The digital printers manufactured and sold by the company are designed for large, commercial printing companies. The starting price for these sophisticated and complex machines is $400,000. In addition to the machines, the company sells service contracts that include field visits by a tech support representative. These visits are necessary when there is a problem with the machine that cannot be resolved by telephone or computer to computer. Lisa s company is located in Cleveland, Ohio. During a February cold spell in Cleveland, a major customer located in Miami was having trouble with a new digital printer. The problem could not be resolved by phone or through computer diagnostics, so Lisa was sent down to Miami. After Lisa arrived, she estimated that the job would take three days to accomplish. At the end of the second day, Lisa received an urgent call from Barry, her boss, who told her to return home as quickly as possible because a customer in Chicago needed her expertise to solve a problem with its giant printing press. Lisa thought that because she had done such a great job in fixing the Miami printing press, she deserved a day of vacation in Florida. So she explained to Barry that the customer needed one more day of hands-on support. As a result, she would be back to the office one day later than planned. The next morning Lisa headed to South Beach in Miami along with two contacts she had made at the customer. One of the customer employees, Jessica, brought along a camcorder because in her words, I love to have souvenirs of good times. Without Lisa granting permission, Jessica then posted a video of her frolicking in the water at South Beach. She also sent a message to the Facebook account of Lisa s boss, alerting him to check out my new video. When Lisa arrived back in the office, Barry confronted her about the video and asked, Explain to me clearly how you were helping our customer with their problem while you were in the water at South Beach. Our company cannot tolerate liars. Lisa replied, I was thinking about the customer s problem while I was at South Beach. Besides, after all that hard work I needed a little rest and relaxation. Case Questions 1. What does this case have to do with interpersonal skills? 2. What would you advise Lisa to do so that she can resolve her problem with her employer? 3. What advice would you offer Jessica, Lisa s work associate who posted a video of her on Facebook? 4. If you were Barry, how would you handle this situation of Lisa having taken a day off to visit South Beach? Interpersonal Relations Role-Play Dealing with the Surprise Video on Facebook The case just presented provides the storyline and the scenario for this role-play. One student plays the role of Lisa who wants to defend herself with respect to the extra day off she took. She might also want to defend herself with respect to the Facebook video. Another student plays the role of Barry who is angry with Lisa, yet he is an ardent Facebook fan. Barry also recognizes that the company badly needs Lisa because of her technical expertise. Run the role-play for about seven minutes. Observers might provide feedback as to how well the issue of the Facebook unveiling has been resolved. 126

4 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS FOR THE DIGITAL WORLD Interpersonal Relations Case 2 Kevin, the Twitter Guy Kevin, a real estate agent, specializing in low-priced homes in Detroit, Michigan, is an avid Twitter user. He spends approximately two hours per day checking out his followers and the people he is following. Kevin posts about six tweets a day with the hope of building his reputation as an intelligent professional, as well as obtaining referrals of potential homebuyers. The contents of 10 tweets Kevin posted last month are presented next. 1. The Detroit Lions might be good this season. Owing a home in downtown is a good investment. /www. 2. My buddies love my barbeques. Get in touch to buy a house. /www. 3. Looks like I have pink eye today. Send along your home-hunting friends. /www. 4. I tried one of those electronic cigarettes. No thanks. Home ownership is a great investment. /www. 5. My niece sent me a Valentine s Day card saying she loves me. /www. 6. Just advised my folks to get a reverse mortgage. I told them home ownership is good. /www. 7. Keep an eye on your BMI (body mass index). Did you know that I sell houses? /www. 8. I may need a new transmission on my SUV. I m waiting for a referral from you guys. /www. 9. It s hot and my AC in the SUV is down. Home ownership is the American Dream. /www. 10. Did you know that Domino s has made its pizzas spicier and tastier? Pizza goes great with a house. /www. Case Questions 1. How well is Kevin doing in terms of projecting the image of an intelligent professional? 2. What advice might you give to Kevin so that his tweeting might lead to more referrals? 3. To what extent is Kevin just wasting time with his Twitter activity? References 1. Several of the facts in this case are from Jessica Marquez, Corporations Footing the Bill for Co-Working, Workforce Management, August 11, 2008, pp Many of the ideas in this list are based on the following sources: Louise Lee, Cell? Well... Use Your Phone for Good, Not Evil, Business Week Small Biz, February/March 2009, p. 22; Cathrine Hatcher, 11 Rules For Good Cell Phone Etiquette, / cbs1tv. com, Accessed December 30, 2007; Amy Novotney, Dangerous Distractions, Monitor on Psychology, February 2009, pp The sources in endnote 2 also apply to endnote 3. In addition are the following: Christine Rosen, Our Cell Phones, Ourselves, The New Atlantis, Summer 2004, p. 31; Alex Williams, Mind Your BlackBerry or Mind Your Manners, The New York Times (www. nytimes. com); Cell Phone Etiquette at the Office, Articlesbase, April 27, 2009; Lynette Spicer, Civility in the Workplace, Iowa State University Extension, (www. extension. iastate/ edu/ mt/ civility), May 4, Quoted in Rosen, Our Cell Phones, Ourselves, The New Atlantis, p Research cited in Novotney, Dangerous Distractions, p Quoted in Barbara Kiviat, Résumé? Check. Nice Suit? Check. Webcam? Time Magazine, November 9, 2009, p Several of the suggestions for what to do and what not to do during a webcam interview are from Kiviat, Résumé? Check. Nice Suit? Check. Webcam? Time Magazine, November 9, 2009, p Abby Ellin, Auditioning in a Video Résumé, The New York Times (nytimes.com), April 21, 2007, p Quoted in Heather Huhman, Use Youth to Your Advantage, www. examiner. com, accessed April 21,

5 INTERPERSONAL SKILLS FOR THE DIGITAL WORLD 10. Paul Hemp, Death by Information Overload, Harvard Business Review, September 2009, p Goes Without Saying, but Say It Anyway: No Porn at Work, HR Specialist: New York Employment Law, June 2008, p For a useful perspective on how social networking is changing society, see Steven Johnson, How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live. Time, June 15, 2009, pp Bridget Carey, Bosses Should Set Social Networking Rules, The Miami Herald (www. miamiherald. com), August 11, Alex Taylor III, Fixing Up Ford, Fortune, May 25, 2009, p Go Topless, Manager s Edge, August 2008, p Alex Williams, Mind Your BlackBerry or Mind Your Manners, The New York Times (www. nytimes. com), June 22, Ibid. 18. Joann S. Lublin, Some Dos and Don ts To Help You Hone Videoconference Skills, The Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2006, p. B Work à la Modem, Business Week, October 4, 1999, p Bridge Gaps with Remote Workers, Manager s Edge, July 2008, p Michelle Conlin, Telecommuting: Out of Sight, Yes. Out of Mind, No, Business Week, February 18, 2008, p Telecommuting Tips, Manager s Edge, December 2007, p Stephen Behnke, Ethics in the Age of the Internet, Monitor on Psychology, July/August 2008, pp Anita Hamilton, Outsmart Your Haters, Time, October 6, 2008, pp Bridget Carey and Niala Boodhoo, How to Deal with What Feels Like Online Identity Theft, The Miami Herald (miamiherald.com), April 14,

6 Developing Teamwork Skills From Chapter 6 of Human Relations: Interpersonal Job-Oriented Skills, 11/e. Andrew J. DuBrin. Copyright 2012 by Pearson Education. Published by Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. 129

7 Developing Teamwork Skills Ann Livermore, head of Hewlett-Packard s storage and servers, software and services businesses, has faced decisions at her company that might have sent some executives heading for the door. But despite deals that cut into her territory, she keeps her focus on the big picture, on the challenges at hand, and on new opportunities for growth. It s all part of knowing that business is a team sport, she says. That sentiment isn t common among business leaders these days. Many senior executives are more focused on their individual well-being than on furthering their company goals. They re quick to jump to new employers when they don t feel appreciated. Some outside H-P had speculated that Livermore was unhappy about relinquishing part of her portfolio after the company announced plans to acquire Electronic Data Systems, an IT Yuri Arcurs/Shutterstock 130