In seventh week, I learnt about how to recruit employees, factors that can bias interviewers, methods to minimize the bias, and employee training process. Learning about these topics can not only improve the quality of employees, nut also help leaders to maintain their dignity and ethics, because of the elimination of bias and discrimination. In addition, through reading the textbook and articles, I acquired the knowledge of hiring process and the idea of how to design a hiring program, which can be helpful to my leadership in the future.

In Northouse’s (2010) textbook, he described the process of hiring and training. These are important not only to employers and interviewers, but also to future interviewees, just like me. Although I was involved into interviews for student associations, I have never gone through an employment process before. Therefore, knowledge of hiring process is useful to me, because knowing the process and the criteria of employments assist me to arrange my applications.

From my experiences of interviews, my conclusion about interviewing was identical to Fernández-Araóz’s (1999): hiring a proper person is difficult but possible. To select an appropriate member, interviewers should minimize bias, such as “just like me” bias, use structured interview, involve test of emotional intelligence, and believe references (Fernández-Araóz, 1999). Although, interviewer may not obtain details of the candidate’s performance (Northouse, 2010), asking the candidate’s previous employer is a plus to the objectivity of decision making.

From Northouse’s (2010) book, I finally found the reason why one of my subordinates was not as passionate as before her entering into my section, when I was the secretory of section of student rights in student association of my college—lack of good orientation. After reading about the function and importance of orientation, I realized that the quality of orientation programs impacts the passion of new employees significantly. As an employer or supervisor, I should firstly make new members feel they were welcomed, which is vital to the formation of ownership. Next I should introduce my organization to them and introduce them to other colleagues. Finally, I should provide a skill training session to them. Because the student association I worked in does not require signing protocols in law, I did not experience the explanation of payments to my subordinates. But I should go through the encouragement step in the list. The insufficient orientation caused a reduction on the efficiency of my subordinate’s work. For example, the girl that did not receive enough concentration from me tended to be reluctant to do her tasks, even I emphasized the deadline. Her creativity was also depressed by the low level of passion. I was confused by this girl’s behavior without knowledge of the importance of qualified orientation programs, but this chapter of Northouse helped me to clears the puzzle, which is the reason why I appreciate the content of this week.

To sum up, the content of this week is practical and helpful to me, no matter if as a future interviewer or interviewee.

Reference:

Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Fernández-Araóz, C. (1999). Hiring without firing. Harvard Business Review, 77, 4.

During this week, I learnt about theories and methods of participative leadership. For an eligible leader, being autocratic may undermine his/her leadership and may cause more turnovers.

Although, subordinate may know that the leader has sufficient intelligence and dignity to make correct decisions, but without participation, they may reluctant to implement the decision. In Northouse’s (2010) book, the author mentioned that the participation of subordinates into the process of decision making can create the ownerships of followers, and improve the performance in processing decided plans (2010). When I studied in my undergraduate school, I was a member of both the student association and a comic club. The secretary of my section made his decision without informing me, and he only discussed with two vice-secretaries. Therefore, I did not feel that I have much responsibility for the tasks, which cause a lack of passion in my work; even I did the task in my own. The reasons why the leader of my section in student association may be that the leader classified the situation of those decisions were simple and he was confident. However, he did not conscious about that he may classified the issues in an incorrect way; and lacking subordinates’ participation may cause the loss of new ideas because the leader was too used to his own style; also, when the context change, he may miss the timing of reaction without subordinates’ help (2007). In contrast, I participated in the decision making processes of activities of the comic club, so I thought it was my responsibility to hold high quality events. As a result, I felt being delighted when I worked for these events, and I worked more efficiently.

From my perspective, I prefer a combination of C-I and C-II approaches listed in the textbook (2010) as a subordinate or a leader, because individuals may not express their real opinion in a group discussion considering peers’ standpoints. Although, A-II approach also includes the investigation of subordinates, I prefer to share the problem with subordinates to obtain more precise suggestions. In addition, with the sharing the problem, subordinates may gain a deeper understand of the leader’s pressure and the reasons of the decision made by the leader, which can reduce the complaints of followers when they conduct the plan. Admittedly, a leader who makes decision in an autocratic way can also acquire subordinates’ understanding; participation of subordinates into decision making process achieves deeper sympathy and triggers their passion on implementing the decision.

Despite of my preferences, it is inappropriate to refuse all five Normative Decision Models, because each of them fits some situations (2010). For instance, G-II approach would be more proper when high quality of the decision is required and decision makers have adequate time and money to process a relatively large scale of discussion.

Reference:

Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Snowden, D. J., & Boone, M. E. (January 01, 2007). A leader’s framework for decision making. A leader’s framework for decision making. Harvard Business Review, 85, 11, 68-76.

In this week, I learnt about the ethical concern of leaders, and different concerns for different types of leadership. Prior to learning about ethical issues on leadership, I thought I was an ethical leader. However, after reading Banaji’s (2003) article, I realized that I may not a totally ethical leader, even I consistently trying to be more ethical. I definitely man biased by numerous unconscious beliefs, although I may not know what they are. For example, I have been in a recruiting committee of student association of my college. I found that members of committee tend to recruit students who have good looking or are extroverts. The reason why they do so may be that people assume that a good looking person is more eligible than others, and an extrovert can do better job than an introvert, although extroversion may not a sine qua non of the job they would take charge of.

Similarly, people tend to make decisions that are favored by their group. For instance, individuals are prone to help and provide useful information to acquaintance and friends instead of aliens. It may seem like reasonable because people have more chances to chat with friends. However, as a leader, providing certain information to minority of members in a group can be an unethical behavior. The leader may convey the information unconsciously, but it can cause severe problem on justice. I have met some leaders in the student association who told the subordinates who have close private friendship with them how to prepare for election of next secretory, with the knowledge of the criteria of the election. Although, these leaders tried to avoid providing too much information to their “preferred” subordinates, they failed to maintain their evenness and objectivity.

From my perspective, biases that favor the leader and biases that favor those who can benefit the leader are more likely to be conducted deliberately than unconsciously. In my opinion, these types of bias can be avoided by code of conduct and individual’s anti-unethical behavior. However, in Banaji’s (2003) article, it is written that people also can be biased unintentionally. People tend to claim their contribution excessively, and, similarly, a company is prone to exaggeratedly praise their products unconsciously. It might be the nature of a seller to overpraise their products that they are selling, because they have to convince buyers to achieve finance success. To be honest, even the leaders who consider themselves as ethical persons, for example me, cannot maintain their objectivity when they judge their proposals, because the leaders and their team took a lot of effort on their work and desire the adoption of their plans.

In addition, individuals in different types of leadership may be biased in various ways (2010). As a transformational and authentic leader, I should aware of the fluctuation of conditions, the value of subordinates, and the influences of my behavior to subordinates. Meanwhile, I ought to possess the wisdom to judge which value is right and benefits stakeholders without hurting others, and which one is wrong.

References:

Northouse, P. G. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Banaji, M. R., Bazerman, M. H., & Chugh, D. (2003). How (un) ethical are you?. Harvard Business Review, 81, 12, 56-64.

During this week, I learnt about authentic leadership, and emotional and social intelligence. According to what I leant, establishment of authentic leadership can be influenced by emotional intelligence, and emotional and social intelligence can be improved by intensive practice and taking efforts, although individuals are born with certain traits. In Goleman’s article (1998), he writes five components of emotional intelligence, which are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. Although I have self-awareness, self-regulation, and empathy, I am not good at communicate with various types of people and motivate others. Thus, I have to improve myself in these two aspects, because it has been proved that individuals are able to promote the emotional and social intelligence through practice. From my personal experiences, I found that I can do well on meaning, mission, structure, and resources, but not on power and existence, which fits the situation of my advantages and disadvantages in my emotional and social intelligence. I was the secretaries of a new section of the student association of my college, I clarified the mission of the new section and gave the tasks to each subordinates according to their abilities and made the section conducted several complicated projects. However, my vise-secretaries told me that other subordinates in our section were feeling depressed, because they cannot have adequate talks with me, and they feel lack of passion when they conduct routine. By then, I realized that I should improve myself on these aspects of my emotional intelligence and my authentic leadership, and my leadership had been already injured by my weaknesses. As I mentioned in last week in my MBTI types, I am an introvert type person, so I enjoy silence and may not be pleased by talking. However, I know that innate traits are not excuses of my blind point on my development of leadership, so I decided to practice and inspire emotions of members in my section. I talked to each subordinates in my section and conducted a party in my section to encourage my team members. My actions triggered my team members and made them work more efficiently. Through this experience, I understood that improvement of myself (the leader) benefits the team tremendously.

As a matter of fact, I met a serious problem after I came to the U.S.. Because language and unfamiliarity of American style of communication or culture, I was lost and did not try to obtain a leader position here, and for the same reason, efficiency of my communication with others were reduced a lot. On the other hand, I tried to talk to others as much as possible to improve my communication skills in English, because I know practice is the best approach to improve my capability to be a leader in a foreign country. Fortunately, I acquired a research assistant job on campus during winter break, and then a teaching assistant job later in the beginning of this semester (my second semester). I appreciate my former experiences, because that taught me that I should be optimistic. In addition, the theory in Goleman’s article (2008) reinsured me that I am able to change myself in my emotional and social intelligence.

Reference:

Goleman, D., & Boyatzis, R. (2008). Social intelligence and the biology of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 86, 9, 74-81.

Goleman, D. (1998). What makes a leader?. Harvard Business Review, 76, 6.)