Hello, My Name is Doris (Participative Style)

Summary

When Doris Miller meets John Fremont, her company's hip new art director, sparks fly-at least for Doris. In the cluttered house she shared with her late mother, Doris mines the Internet for information on her one-and-only, guided by the 13-year-old granddaughter of her best pal Roz. When Doris begins showing up at John's regular haunts, she wins over his Williamsburg friends. Her new life brings Doris a thrilling perspective, but also creates a rift between her and her longtime friends and family, who believe she's making a fool of herself over a guy half her age. Eager for all the experiences she has missed out on, Doris throws caution to the wind and follows her heart for the very first time.

(Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hello_my_name_is_doris/)

Application of OB Concept: Path-Goal Model of Leadership

                There was this particular scene in the movie I would like to focus on. When John first came in to the office as the Art Director, the first thing he first did was to remove his office door. He did so because he wanted to encourage his subordinates to freely enter his office should they need anything from him, especially if they have ideas about work-related matters. This depicts a participative style under the Path-Goal Model of Leadership. It provided his subordinates an avenue to provide input in decision-making situations.

Reflection

                Ever since I saw what he did, I started thinking of doing the same when I become a manager or leader in the workplace. I believe that what John did is a good way to improve the relationship between a manager and his subordinates. Also, it encourages more participation in from the employees as they are free to communicate any ideas they might have to the manager.

The Internship (Self-managing Teams)

Summary

Billy and Nick are salesmen whose careers have been torpedoed by the digital world. Trying to prove they are not obsolete, they defy the odds by talking their way into a coveted internship at Google, along with a battalion of brilliant college students. But, gaining entrance to this utopia is only half the battle. Now they must compete with a group of the nation's most elite, tech-savvy geniuses to prove that necessity really is the mother of re-invention.

(Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2234155/plotsummary)

Application of OB Concept: Self-managing Teams

To secure a job in Google, the interns are divided into groups and are assigned to accomplish certain tasks. They can perform the tasks anyway they want but they have to deliver results. One of the main tasks for their internship is to create an application that will generate the most number of downloads. Because there is no specific instructions as to how to come up with such application, Bill and Nick convinced their teammates to go out and party. Although this is not the conventional way of accomplishing a task, they were able to produce an app that prevents drunk people from reckless phone usage.

Reflection

Having self-managed teams in an organization provides employees a chance to be creative in doing their work. In the movie, Bill and Nick team were able to develop an app while drunk and they were like a natural work team when they discussed about the task. They were not forced to just sit on their desks and come up with something. Being given the autonomy on how to do your work is probably one of the best ways to develop one’s self in an organization. However, these teams should be responsible and accountable also for their actions. 

How to Get Away with Murder s02e12-14 (Psychological Contract)

Summary

                With Philip still out there, Annalise tries to keep the team from panicking and get one step ahead of Philip's threats. Meanwhile, Wes and Laurel start putting the pieces of Wes' mother’s death together, but some things just aren't adding up on. Annalise moves forward with a plan to protect the team from Philip but the risk involved may prove to be too dangerous. Meanwhile, Wes continues to search for new information regarding his mother's death. In flashback, the Mahoney case takes a drastic turn for Annalise's client. The Keating 5 are called into questioning by A.D.A Denver about the night Emily Sinclair was murdered. Meanwhile, Caleb goes missing as the manhunt for Philip intensifies. In flashback, Annalise's tactics in the Mahoney case leads to a devastating result.

(Source: http://www.tvbuzer.com/tv-shows/How-To-Get-Away-With-Murder/Season-2/Episode-12)

Application of OB Concept: Psychological Contract

                A psychological contract is concerned about the mutual expectations of inputs and outcomes between an employer and his employees. In this episode, all of Annalise’s associates were getting paranoid because of what happened in the Hapstall mansion. They didn’t know what to do because Annalise wouldn’t talk to them at first. However, Connor admitted that they needed Annalise when Philip sent them a video to threaten them. Annalise ended the cold war between them and said “Let Mama handle this, like always.” She promised to take care of things and in return, she asked her associates to just sit back and trust her.  With that, the team made a huge effort to make sure that they state the same story with their interrogation with the A.D.A. However, Annalise clarified to them that she, herself, isn’t sure what is going to happen to them. She told them to go out and enjoy what could possibly their last night out of jail, not making any false promises.

Reflection

                To avoid chaos and misunderstandings in the workplace, both the employer and the employees should be clear about their expectations from one another. In this example, when Annalise wouldn’t talk to her employees, their work couldn’t get done. I think that this is true in most, if not all, situations because it is hard to perform your job without knowing what is expected of you. Mutual obligations of an employer and his employees must be discussed properly. Also, like what Annalise did, if an employer makes a promise to his employees, it is also important to disclose any possible reneging so as to not create expectations that are too high to reach. 

Mean Girls (Informal Leader)

Summary

                Raised in the African bush country by her zoologist parents, Cady Heron thinks she knows all about the "survival of the fittest". But the law of the jungle takes on a whole new meaning when the home-schooled 16-year old enters public high school for the first time. Trying to find her place between jocks, mathletes, and other subcultures, Cady crosses paths with the meanest species of all - the Queen Bee, aka the cool and calculating Regina George, leader of the school's most fashionable clique, the Plastics. When Cady falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels, though, the Queen Bee is stung - and she schemes to destroy Cady's social future. Cady's own claws soon come out as she leaps into a hilarious "Girl World" war that has the whole school running for cover.

(Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377092/plotsummary)

Application of OB Concept: Informal Leaders

                An informal group develops on the basis of common interests, proximity and friendships. The Plastics is an informal group bound together mainly by its members’ popularity status in school. Also, the Plastics share the same interests in fashion, boys, gossip and drama. Regina George is undeniably the leader of this informal group, with her being the Queen Bee. As an “informal leader,” Regina does several tasks such as invite new people to the group (when she invited Cady to join them), modelling norms (“on Wednesdays we wear pink”), and building group cohesiveness by creating competitions against other groups (Burn Book).

Reflection

                Being a leader, formal or informal, may create a huge impact on the members of the group. The leader is the most influential in terms of the behavior of the group. In the movie, Regina uses her leader status only to bully people (including her friends) into doing what she wants. She is actually very effective in encouraging certain actions from the people around her, but over time, they realized that Regina is not treating them right. For me, being a leader means you cannot only think of yourself. It means that you should value the wellbeing of everyone in your group.

Suits s06e01 (Leadership: Situational Flexibility)

Summary

                After signing a plea deal to spare his colleagues at Pearson Specter Litt, Mike will be confronted with the harsh realities of prison life as he starts his two-year sentence. Meanwhile, the once bustling Pearson Specter Litt offices are a ghost town – the partners have defected, leaving Harvey, Jessica, Louis, Donna and Rachel to pick up the pieces. But the firm’s troubles are far from over and they will have to deal with the fallout from Mike's crime before they can even begin to rebuild.

(Source: http://airingnext.com/tv-shows/suits/season-6-episode-1)

Application of OB Concept: Situational Flexibility

                Appropriate leadership behavior should be dependent of three main things: leader, followers and situation. Jessica, as the leader and the managing partner, needs to act quickly if she wants to save the firm. Because she only has a few employees left in the firm, she must properly designate tasks, making sure that everybody does their part correctly. Also, she has to see to it that everybody gets along well with one another so they can work as team. With the firm’s current situation, Jessica has upped her game. She wants to be fully aware of all the problems at hand, the possible solutions to these, and the firm’s remaining resources to spend.

Reflection

                The way you lead your subordinates cannot be the same all the time. Sometimes, you have to deviate from the norm or the standards when the situation calls for it. Being a leader means that you have to be flexible to any circumstances that your organization might face. There is no one specific rule on how you should behave as a leader. One kind of leadership behavior may work for an organization facing this specific dilemma, but may not for another organization or another problem. In the end, leaders should be able to adapt quickly to any situation to effectively manage an organization.

Me Before You (Motivation)

Summary

                Louisa “Lou” Clark (Emilia Clarke) lives in a quaint town in the English countryside. With no clear direction in her life, the quirky and creative 26-year-old goes from one job to the next in order to help her tight-knit family make ends meet. Her normally cheery outlook is put to the test, however, when she faces her newest career challenge. Taking a job at the local “castle,” she becomes caregiver and companion to Will Traynor (Sam Claflin), a wealthy young banker who became wheelchair bound in an accident two years prior, and whose whole world changed dramatically in the blink of an eye. No longer the adventurous soul he once was, the now cynical Will has all but given up. That is until Lou determines to show him that life is worth living. Embarking together on a series of adventures, both Lou and Will get more than they bargained for, and find their lives—and hearts—changing in ways neither one could have imagined.

(Source: http://www.metacritic.com/movie/me-before-you)

Application of OB Concept: Motivation

                Lou was in desperate need of a job so she happily took the caregiving work for the Traynors, who are willing to pay her a hefty sum of money. At first, it was enough to motivate her to go to work every day despite her being uncomfortable with Will’s company. With the way Will treats her (during her first few days at work), she was not able to find satisfaction with what she is doing. Nonetheless, she wouldn’t quit her job because she knows how much the money she will earn could help her family. She only found meaning with her job, when she later on discovered that she can prevent Will from continuing his plans to acquire euthanasia. And when she wasn’t able to convince Will, she even told his parents that they do not have to pay him for the few months that she worked them.

Reflection

                Money can only motivate people to do their job up to a certain extent. Unlike intrinsic motivation, money cannot give most employees a personal satisfaction from their job. In the movie, Lou tried to find meaning in her job beyond her salary and I can relate to her because of that. You should always try to find a work you love doing because that encourages creativity and productivity. So, if like Lou, you are stuck in a job because you really need the money, you should look at your job from a different point of view and try to see the beauty of what you’re doing.

Margaret Tate (The Proposal): Autocratic Manager

                Margaret instills in her subordinates how powerful she is, and uses the fear it creates to make them follow her every order. Her employees do as she says without question for the fear of getting fired, or worse, humiliated. This promotes efficiency and productivity in the workplace. However, when she is not in the office, her people tend to slack off. They are so dependent on Margaret so they cannot (or prefer not to) function properly in her absence. Although they act nicely in front of her, they talk about her behind her back and even refer to her as a “monster.” The autocratic manager that Margaret depicts is not an ideal model of organizational behavior because it disrupts a healthy relationship between a manager and the subordinates. In the movie, Margaret may have gotten the job done with her type of management, but the employees cannot derive satisfaction from their job.