After learning about all the different types of organizational communication in the workplace and throughout the semester, I searched to find a company that I thought embodied the supreme qualities of an ideal workplace. My searching brought me to a website called Eli Lilly and Company. After reading through their total compensation and benefits package and interviewing my uncle who works for the company, in my eyes Lilly gets a five-star rating.
The most appealing aspect to the Lilly Company is their human resources. They offer incredible packages to their employees. One of the first lines I saw when reading about their benefits was, “as a member of the Eil Lilly and Company you will make significant contributions that directly impact the lives of people all around the world…for your contribution, we strive to provide you with rewards that will make a difference in your life- both professionally and personally.” After reading an opening statement like that, how could you not want to immediately sign the contract?
Lilly has amazing benefits they offer their employees and an unbelievable human resource department. Lilly has great programs set up to allow their employees to reach their financial goals. Programs such as the Cash Compensation, encourage workers to believe in the company and work to their maximum potential because when the company is successful, they receive more money. Each year in the first quarter, eligible employees may receive a bonus based on the previous year’s sales growth and earning per share growth, as well as their individual performance and job level. It’s the company’s way of sharing its success with the employees who made the performance possible. These sort of benefits give the employee a sense of pride in the company because they can see first hard how their hard work is paying off. Another incentive Lilly offers their employees is a 401(k) plan. Their 401 (k) plan offers plenty of help in preparing for your retirement years. Lilly guarantees a match of 50 cents for each dollar contributed up to six percent of your monthly salary. The company’s matching contribution is invested in Lilly common stock. Lilly also offers life insurance where you receive free coverage for a death benefit equal to two times your annual base salary.
Not only is Lilly focused on increased worker production through incentives, but they allow opportunities for their employees to grow mentally. Lilly reimburses tuition for approved, job-or career- related courses successfully completed at accredited institutions. For approved non-job-related courses taken at an accredited institution, Lilly reimburses 50% of tuition. As far as Lilly is concerned, a happy employee is a productive employee. This concept follows Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Once their basic needs are satisfied, they can move toward achieving their full human potential (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87). One of the main objectives to the human resources approach is setting up social conditions in the organization so that the goals of the individual merge with those of the organization, and Lilly strives to accomplish this (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87).
Not only does Lilly focus on the employee but they focus on what is important for the employee’s family as well. “Lilly recognizes that an employee worried about his or her kids is not only unhappy but also less productive” (Lilly benefits 4). They offer numerous services such as on-site child development centers, maternity, parenting, and dependent care leaves along with support groups and summer camps for children. Lilly also offers great vacation and holidays for their employees. During your first year at Lilly, you’ll earn eight hours of vacation for each month of service and this increases the longer you are at the company. “If designed correctly, the workplace becomes a site where individuals can realize their full potential and remain continually motivated to do so,” Lilly has worked hard to create this environment. (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 88).
The classical theory that best fits the Eli Lilly Company is a bureaucracy system. According to W. Richard Scott, organizational bureaucracy has the following characteristics, a fixed division of labor, a hierarchy of offices, a set of general rules that govern performances, a separation of personal life from work life, technical qualifications, and a career path for employees (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 77). The Lilly Company exemplifies all of these bureaucratic characteristics.
There is a fixed division of labor starting with the President, and CEO’s and working its way down to supervisors, managers and employees. Lilly has a set of rules and guidelines that all employees must sign and abide by. There is a clear separation of work and personal life. Lilly tries hard to promote family values and offer numerous opportunities for family bonding. Through their programs and family incentives, it proves the company’s loyalty to family and a personal life. Not only does Lilly promote education and training after you are hired for a position, but you have to be a highly qualified candidate to even apply for the job. Within the bureaucratic system you need a degree. Lilly offers numerous paths for employees to move up in their career. Incentives are offered for the pharmaceutical sales representatives to become the top seller. Employees are constantly moving throughout the different branches of the Lilly Company as they are offered better positions.
Eli Lilly and Company is a successful company because of how they train their employees. All of their pharmaceutical sales representatives are trained in their specialty. In organizational communication terms, this is considered the input. As they are trained, they are taking knowledge and information from their environment. Then there is throughput, which is the process of understanding the information. The employees process the information they were given, modify it and adapt it to their specific field. The final step is output, which is the distribution of the information to the world. The employees go out into the field and sell their product.
Along with their human resource department, Lilly works to create team projects in a democratic firm. With the establishment of these teams workers cooperatively engage in self-management because they feel personally invested in the company. Employees practice control over themselves.
After reading the articles, I think Eli Lilly and Company is an excellent corporation to work for because it offers their employees great benefits and they provide a pleasant environment for workers.
http://www.lilly.com/ www.lilly.com/careers
Friday, October 19, 2007
Centralized and Decentralized Organizations
The United States military is a classical model of central organization. The military is under the leadership of specific generals. They are very rigid and follow specific orders. There is one centralized person or headquarters and the government and military branch off from there. In a centralized organization, there’s a clear division of roles, and when you take a unit out, the organization is harmed. Knowledge and power are concentrated and working groups communicate through intermediaries (Brafman, Beckstorm). In contrast, the terrorist’s organizations are an example of a decentralized organization. A decentralized organization has no one in charge and there are no headquarters. There’s an amorphous division of roles, and if you take out a unit, the organization is unharmed. All the knowledge and power are distributed so each individual can grow on their own. The organization is flexible and self-funding. The working groups communicate with each other directly (Brafman, Beckstorm). When these two types of organizations engage in conflict, chaos erupts.
Similar to the reading selection of “The Starfish and the Spider,” when the big music industries try and crack down on the pirating, a new player comes into the scene that’s even more decentralized and more difficult to battle (Brafman, Beckstorm 24). The first principle of decentralization is that as soon as someone or something tries to curb the decentralized organization, the organization continues to grow and is more difficult to control.
This is clearly demonstrated when the U.S. military tries to fight terrorists. Each terrorists group is separate from each other. There is no central unit to fight. The terrorists have leaders all over the world each willing to step up and fight. Similar to the music industries fight against illegal downloading, each time an Internet site gets caught a new and improved version is formed. In the reading “The Starfish and the Spider,” once Kazaa was caught, KazaaLite was formed, then eDonkey and now eMule. eMule is more decentralized than anything the music business has encountered. The software is a completely open source solution (Brafman, Beckstorm 24). Similar to the terrorist organizations, once one is shut down, two more are established except these groups are even more powerful and deadly.
As we can see in the war in Iraq today, nothing is getting accomplished. Each day, hundreds of people are dying but we are not getting any closer to defeating the terrorists. They are fighting with a passion in their hearts a desire to kill whomever they come in contact with. The U.S. military is fighting for a cause we do not fully understand, while the terrorists have lived in these war zones their entire lives. The U.S. military is similar to the analogy of the spider in “The Starfish and the Spider.” If you chop off its head, which is the centralized unit, it dies. The U.S. military has a weakness when it goes against the decentralized terrorists. On the other hand, the terrorists are similar to the starfish, which have no centralized unit or head. If you cut the starfish in half, it will not die, but you will have two starfish to deal with. (Brafman, Beckstorm 31).
I think the United States government needs to stop fighting the terrorists. If we stop adding fuel to their fire, I think the terrorist organizations would shrink. This is similar to the idea of the starfish. If you leave a starfish alone, there is only one starfish but if you start playing with it and break off a leg, you now have two starfish to deal with. The more we aggravate the terrorists, the more powerful they become.
Similar to the reading selection of “The Starfish and the Spider,” when the big music industries try and crack down on the pirating, a new player comes into the scene that’s even more decentralized and more difficult to battle (Brafman, Beckstorm 24). The first principle of decentralization is that as soon as someone or something tries to curb the decentralized organization, the organization continues to grow and is more difficult to control.
This is clearly demonstrated when the U.S. military tries to fight terrorists. Each terrorists group is separate from each other. There is no central unit to fight. The terrorists have leaders all over the world each willing to step up and fight. Similar to the music industries fight against illegal downloading, each time an Internet site gets caught a new and improved version is formed. In the reading “The Starfish and the Spider,” once Kazaa was caught, KazaaLite was formed, then eDonkey and now eMule. eMule is more decentralized than anything the music business has encountered. The software is a completely open source solution (Brafman, Beckstorm 24). Similar to the terrorist organizations, once one is shut down, two more are established except these groups are even more powerful and deadly.
As we can see in the war in Iraq today, nothing is getting accomplished. Each day, hundreds of people are dying but we are not getting any closer to defeating the terrorists. They are fighting with a passion in their hearts a desire to kill whomever they come in contact with. The U.S. military is fighting for a cause we do not fully understand, while the terrorists have lived in these war zones their entire lives. The U.S. military is similar to the analogy of the spider in “The Starfish and the Spider.” If you chop off its head, which is the centralized unit, it dies. The U.S. military has a weakness when it goes against the decentralized terrorists. On the other hand, the terrorists are similar to the starfish, which have no centralized unit or head. If you cut the starfish in half, it will not die, but you will have two starfish to deal with. (Brafman, Beckstorm 31).
I think the United States government needs to stop fighting the terrorists. If we stop adding fuel to their fire, I think the terrorist organizations would shrink. This is similar to the idea of the starfish. If you leave a starfish alone, there is only one starfish but if you start playing with it and break off a leg, you now have two starfish to deal with. The more we aggravate the terrorists, the more powerful they become.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Human Relations vs. Human Resources
Discuss the differences between the human relations and human resource approaches to management. Pay particular attention to how they approach the issue of worker participation.
The foundation of the human relations approach began in the 1920s-1930s when Mary Parker Follett, Elton Mayo, and Chester Barnard started examining the employee-manager relationship in a completely new way (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 82). Their work became the precursor of contemporary thinking about management and leadership. “Human relations thinking emphasized the interpersonal and social needs of individual and marked a clean break from earlier points of view” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 82).
The human relations approach starts with the assumption that “all people want to feel united, tied, bound to something, some cause, bigger than they, commanding them yet worthy of them, summoning them to significance in living” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 82). The key to the human relations approach is to persuade individuals to accept a common purpose, from which all else would follow. The role of management is largely communicative and persuasive. (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 82). Effective managers thus strive to communicate in ways that encourage workers to identify with the organization. Management is seen as more interpersonal than economic.
In the human relations approach to management, workers are offered incentives, and they are given positive reinforcement. Under the human relations approach, workers are studied to discover what their maximum potential is. This concept is called the Hawthorne effect. When workers are given increased attention, it raises productivity (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 85). Simple things such as changing the room color, or the intensity of the lights in a room can increase worker productivity.
The human relations approach identifies many important issues but falls short of truly valuing employee perceptions, worldview, and voice (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87) The human resources approach is concerned with the total organizational climate as well as with how an organization can encourage employee participation and dialogue. Three theorists were behind the original human resources movement: Abraham Maslow, Douglas McGregor, and Rensis Likert.
“According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs people’s basic needs for food, shelter, and belonging must be satisfied before they can move toward achieving their full human potential” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87). Conditions that foster individual health are often good for the prosperity of an organization. Under the human resources approach, management sets up social conditions in the organization so that the goals of the individual merge with those of the organization (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87). If designed correctly, “the workplace becomes a site where individuals can realize their full potential and remain continually motivated to do so” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87).
Douglas McGregor came up with Theory Y which “builds on the best of the human relations approach to offer a fundamentally different view of employees and of their relationship with management” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 90). When employees are given more responsibility and given the ability for autonomy, they are going to perform better. “The Theory Y manager has a more participative and facilitative management style that treats employees as valued human resources” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 90). The most important part of management is to arrange things so people can accomplish their own goals by accomplishing the goals of the organization.
The third theorist Rensis Likert came up with the principle of supportive relationships. “All interactions within an organization should support individual self-worth and importance, with emphasis on the supportive relationships within work groups and open communication among them” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 90).
Another aspect to human resources is performance management: “any system that tracks and gives feedback to employees about how well they are accomplishing objectives tied to each of their key dimensions” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 312).Managers establish project teams in which people come together to create a project. Human resources approach to management works on team building throughout a company.
Human relations and human resource approaches to managements are additions to the workplace. Employees are given a high value in the company and their needs and wants are taken into consideration. Overall both approaches provide a more pleasant atmosphere for employees.
The foundation of the human relations approach began in the 1920s-1930s when Mary Parker Follett, Elton Mayo, and Chester Barnard started examining the employee-manager relationship in a completely new way (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 82). Their work became the precursor of contemporary thinking about management and leadership. “Human relations thinking emphasized the interpersonal and social needs of individual and marked a clean break from earlier points of view” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 82).
The human relations approach starts with the assumption that “all people want to feel united, tied, bound to something, some cause, bigger than they, commanding them yet worthy of them, summoning them to significance in living” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 82). The key to the human relations approach is to persuade individuals to accept a common purpose, from which all else would follow. The role of management is largely communicative and persuasive. (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 82). Effective managers thus strive to communicate in ways that encourage workers to identify with the organization. Management is seen as more interpersonal than economic.
In the human relations approach to management, workers are offered incentives, and they are given positive reinforcement. Under the human relations approach, workers are studied to discover what their maximum potential is. This concept is called the Hawthorne effect. When workers are given increased attention, it raises productivity (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 85). Simple things such as changing the room color, or the intensity of the lights in a room can increase worker productivity.
The human relations approach identifies many important issues but falls short of truly valuing employee perceptions, worldview, and voice (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87) The human resources approach is concerned with the total organizational climate as well as with how an organization can encourage employee participation and dialogue. Three theorists were behind the original human resources movement: Abraham Maslow, Douglas McGregor, and Rensis Likert.
“According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs people’s basic needs for food, shelter, and belonging must be satisfied before they can move toward achieving their full human potential” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87). Conditions that foster individual health are often good for the prosperity of an organization. Under the human resources approach, management sets up social conditions in the organization so that the goals of the individual merge with those of the organization (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87). If designed correctly, “the workplace becomes a site where individuals can realize their full potential and remain continually motivated to do so” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 87).
Douglas McGregor came up with Theory Y which “builds on the best of the human relations approach to offer a fundamentally different view of employees and of their relationship with management” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 90). When employees are given more responsibility and given the ability for autonomy, they are going to perform better. “The Theory Y manager has a more participative and facilitative management style that treats employees as valued human resources” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 90). The most important part of management is to arrange things so people can accomplish their own goals by accomplishing the goals of the organization.
The third theorist Rensis Likert came up with the principle of supportive relationships. “All interactions within an organization should support individual self-worth and importance, with emphasis on the supportive relationships within work groups and open communication among them” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 90).
Another aspect to human resources is performance management: “any system that tracks and gives feedback to employees about how well they are accomplishing objectives tied to each of their key dimensions” (Eisenberg, Goodall Jr., Tretheway 312).Managers establish project teams in which people come together to create a project. Human resources approach to management works on team building throughout a company.
Human relations and human resource approaches to managements are additions to the workplace. Employees are given a high value in the company and their needs and wants are taken into consideration. Overall both approaches provide a more pleasant atmosphere for employees.
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