Assignment 3.

1. Discuss the importance of quality team works, and team building.

Teamwork is a vital element of total quality. These are organizations, not individuals that
create products and provide services. Consequently, peak performance and continual
improvement are group, not individual, endeavors. There are several reasons of the
importance of quality team works and team building:
Facilitates better communication
Activities that create discussion enable open communication among employees, and
between employees and management. This can improve office relationships and in turn,
the quality of work done.
Motivates employees
Team leadership and team building go hand in hand. The more comfortable your
employees are to express their ideas and opinions, the more confident they will
become. This will motivate them to take on new challenges.
Promotes creativity
Taking a team outside of an office setting and exposing them to new experiences will
force them to think outside of their normal routine. Working together with other team
members can ignite creativity and fresh ideas, which are great qualities to bring back to
the office.
Develops problem-solving skills
In public relations a crisis can happen at any time. Team building activities that require
coworkers to work together to solve problems can improve the ability to think rationally
and strategically. Teams that are able to determine when a problem arises and know
what they can do about it, can then effectively take charge when a real crisis occurs.
Breaks the barrier
Team building increases the trust factor with your employees. Often in corporate
settings there is a disconnection between the leadership team and employees. Team
building exercises give leadership the opportunity to be seen as a colleague rather than
a boss, which can do wonders for employee morale.

2. How would you handle conflicts in quality teams?

Conflicts in quality teams can be prevented and resolved by applying following
strategies:
 Plan and work to establish a culture where individuality and dissent are in balance
with teamwork and cooperation.
Establish clear criteria for deciding when decisions will be made by individuals and
when they will be made by teams.
Dont allow individuals to build personal empires or to use the organization to
advance personal agendas.
Encourage and recognize individual risk-taking behavior that breaks the
organization out of unhelpful habits and negative mental frameworks.
Encourage healthy, productive competition, and discourage unhealthy,
counterproductive competition.
Recognize how difficult it can be to ensure effective cooperation, and spend the
energy necessary to get just the right amount of it.
Value constructive dissent, and encourage it.
Reward and recognize both dissent and teamwork when they solve problems.
Reevaluate the project, problem, or idea when no dissent or doubt is expressed.
Ingrain into new employees the need for balance between the concepts of
cooperation and constructive dissent.
Realistically and regularly assess the ability and willingness of employees to
cooperate effectively.
Understand that some employees are going to clash, so determine where this is
happening and remix rather than wasting precious organizational energy trying to
get people to like each other.
Ensure that the organizations value system and reward/recognition systems are
geared toward cooperation with constructive dissent rather than dog-eat-dog
competition or cooperation at all costs.
Teach employees how to manage both dissent (not let it get out of hand) and
agreement.
Quickly assess whether conflict is healthy or destructive, and take immediate steps
to encourage the former and resolve or eliminate the latter.

3. How do you reward quality achievements in a team? How should a liquid

/ on-demand workforce be rewarded for quality achievements?
The most successful leaders are those who recognize and reward their team's efforts.
This not only builds trust, but also strengthens loyalty.
The keys to developing a reward program are as follows:
Identification of company or group goals that the reward program will support
Identification of the desired employee performance or behaviors that will reinforce the
company's goals
Determination of key measurements of the performance or behavior, based on the
individual or group's previous achievements
Determination of appropriate rewards
Communication of program to employees

The rewards can be in the form of variable pay, bonuses, profit sharing, stocks.

4. How do you communicate effectively?

Effective communication means the message is received, understood, and acted on in
 the desired manner. It is the senders responsibility to ensure that there is effective
communication. Effective communication involves receiving, understanding, and acting
on the message. But it also may require persuasion, motivation, monitoring, and
leadership on the part of managers.

5. Why are listening skills important?

The ability to accurately receive and interpret messages in the communication process
is one of the most crucial ones. Listening is key to all effective communication; without it
messages are easily misunderstood, communication breaks down, and the sender of
the message can easily become frustrated or irritated. Good listening skills lead to
better customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes, increased sharing
of information, innovative work.

6. What are the management strategies for quality-focused interpersonal

needs?
Management strategies for quality-focused interpersonal needs are:
Recognition of the need: To have employees with good interpersonal skills, managers
must recognize the need for these skills.
Careful selection: When interpersonal skills are made a part of the selection process,
the process changes somewhat.
Training: It is the uncommon individual who possesses inborn interpersonal skills. Some
people are naturally good at dealing with others.
Measurement and reward: If managers value interpersonal skills, these skills will be
measured as part of the normal performance-appraisal process.

7. What are the principles of overcoming negativity and conflicts in the

workplace?
Managers who identify negativity in their organizations should take appropriate actions
to eliminate it. Following are principles that can help address the problem:
Communicate: frequent, ongoing, effective communication is the best defense against
negativity in organizations, and it is the best tool for overcoming negativity that has
already set in.
Establish clear expectations: make sure all employees know what is expected of them
as individuals and as members of the team.
Provide for anxiety venting: managers need to give their direct reports opportunities to
vent in a nonthreatening, affirming environment.
Build trust: negativity cannot flourish in an atmosphere of trust.
Involve employees: involve employees by asking their opinions, soliciting their
feedback, and making them part of the solution.

8. How can you manage conflict in the workplace?

The following guidelines can be used by managers for resolving a conflict:
Determine how important the issue is to all people involved.
Determine whether all people involved are willing and able to discuss the issue in a
positive manner.
Select a private place where the issue can be discussed confidentially by everyone
involved.
 Make sure that both sides understand that they are responsible for both the problem
and the solution.
Solicit opening comments from both sides. Let them express their concerns, feelings,
ideas, and thoughts, but in a non-accusatory manner.
Guide participants toward a clear and specific definition of the problem.
Encourage participants to propose solutions. Examine the problem from a variety of
different perspectives and discuss any and all solutions proposed.
Evaluate the costs versus the gains (cost-benefit analysis) of all proposed solutions and
discuss them openly. Choose the best solution.
Reflect on the issue and discuss the conflict resolution process. Encourage participants
to express their opinions as to how the process might be improved.

9. How do you communicate in conflict situations? How can you develop

trust in a digital economy?
In a work environment where clashes are typical, correspondence is exceptionally
important. Accentuation ought to be laid after getting a legitimate arrangement instead
of pointing the finger at each other through the discourse. If the proposed arrangement
does not work out, do not take a shot at similar thoughts. New ideas ought to be
conceptualized and should to stay away from the fizzled ones. The contentions can't be
determined promptly thus so as to keep up trust between two gatherings is an absolute
necessity by keeping the guarantees made.
The following guidelines for using communication in managing conflict will be helpful:
The initial attitude of those involved in the conflict can predetermine the outcome. This
means that if a person enters into a situation spoiling for a fight, he or she will probably
get one. Communication prior to such a situation aimed at convincing either or both
parties to view it as an opportunity to cooperatively solve a problem can help
predetermine a positive outcome.
When possible, conflict guidelines should be in place before conflicts occur. It is not
uncommon for conflict to be exacerbated by disagreements over how it should be
resolved. Before entering into a situation in which conflict might occur, make sure all
parties understand how decisions will be made, who has the right to give input, and
what issues are irrelevant.
Assessing blame should not be allowed. It is predictable that two people in a conflict
situation will blame each other. If human interaction is allowed to get hung up on the
rocks and shoals of blame, it will never move forward. The approach that says We
have a problem. How can we work together to solve it? is more likely to result in a
positive solution than arguing over who is to blame.

More of the same solutions should be eliminated. When a particular strategy for
resolving conflict is tried but proves to be ineffective, dont continue using it. Some
managers get stuck on a particular approach and stay with it even when the approach
clearly doesnt work. Try something new instead of using more of the same solutions.
Maintain trust by keeping promises. Trust is fundamental to all aspects of total quality. It
is especially important in managing conflict. Trust is difficult to win
but easy to lose. Managers in a total quality setting must keep their promises and, in so
doing, build trust among employees.
10. Why does quality suffer if there is a major conflict? How do
disruptions effect quality in a digital economy?
When there is an internal conflict quality suffers for a number of reasons:
Internal politics tend to perpetuate outdated processes, procedures, and technologies.
Organizations that are suffering the ill effects of internal politics often lose the best and
brightest employees. If a work group is low performing and does not want to do better,
its members may actually drive out anyone who tries to improve.
An organizations morale suffers when infighting, buck passing, and rumor mongering
all of which invariably result from the practice of internal politicsare allowed to become
part of the dominant corporate culture. Loss of quality, competitiveness, and customers
as the organizations focus is diverted from what really matters.

Social Networking Articles

1. Details On Volkswagens Guilty Plea & $4.3 Billion In Fines + 6 Indictments
Summary: This article discusses Volkswagen's guilty plea to 3 felony counts, the
criminal and civil penalties that amount to $4.3 billion dollars and the individual
indictments they face for defrauding consumers with the software used in their clean
diesel vehicles.

My view: In my opinion, it is completely unacceptable to fake the results of tests for air
pollution for anyone, and even more for a huge corporation as Volkswagen. The
company's greed has probably led them to committing a fraud but now this scandal has
affected the company's reputation badly. It will take them a lot of time and resources to
bounce back, if they ever are able to do that. Hope this situation become a valuable
lesson and it doesn't happen again.

Discussion link: https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!

topic/sonetw/Du1kVl_Q6uY

2. EPA locks in 2025 fuel efficiency rules

Summary: USEPA chief Gina McCarthy locked in the legally binding determination that
the fuel efficiency rules instituted by President Barack Obama should be locked in
through 2025. The rules require automakers to nearly double the fleet wide fuel
efficiency rating by 2025 which will make the rating somewhere between 50.8 to 52.6
mpg. Car makers pleaded with President Trump to revisit these requirements as the
cost will be high for them. Environmental activists praise the decision as this will reduce
the use of oil. Some estimate it will reduce oil usage by 2.4 million barrels a day.
McCarthy states that the rules are "feasible, practical and appropriate" and in "the best
interests of the auto industry."

My view: No one will argue that taking the environment issue into consideration when it
comes to automobile industry is very important. But I think that when making the
decision described in the article (double fleet-wide efficiency by 2025) automakers
 scientists opinions should be involved too. How will this affect the industry? How will the
cost change to produce a car? How will it affect to consumers?

Most of the companies in automobile industry are working to find a balance between the
oil use and cost. Yes, the regulations should exist and they should motivate the
companies, but increasing the fuel efficiency by 50% in 7 years seems to be a harsh
one.

Discussion link: https://groups.google.com/forum/?

utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!topic/sonetw/LYv5RZQbXVQ

3. France Now Offering 200 State Subsidy for Electric Bicycles

Summary: This article states that France government encouraging public to use electric
bicycles as alternative transport system. The government is offering cash incentive for
electric bicycle to save environment. The incentives also come with some restrictions
such as no incentive for lead acid battery bicycle and buyers are not allowed to sell it
back within a year. It also explains how Norway has successfully increased the rate of
electric vehicle purchase.

My view: In my opinion, this is a great initiative by the French government. .I think that
initiative like this should be introduced in many countries because it has a lot of benefits
to it. It could potentially lead to the reduction of pollution caused by usage of cars, and
decrease in petrol consumption, as well as less traffic on the roads. Moreover, travelling
on a bike on a daily basis can be considered an exercise and is good for health.

Discussion link: https://groups.google.com/forum/?

utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!topic/sonetw/V0c0NTnkfcI