Analysis by Amna S., Haya al-D., and Fatima al-F.

Hell’s Kitchen is a show in which the world famous chef Gorden Ramsey, who is the host of the show and the owner of the restaurant “Hell’s Kictchen”, puts 12 young chefs through a distressing challenge to win the restaurant of their dreams. Moreover, in the last episode (episode 11) of season 1, chef Ramsey puts the two last contestants, which are Ralph and Michel, into the final test. In the final test, which is a 60 hours test, chef Ramsey splits Hell’s Kitchen into two parts.

Then, he puts the two contestants head to head with their own restaurants so that he will designate which one of the contestant is going to be the winner of the restaurant. In this episode, the test begins when the two contestants design their restaurants, write up their own menu, come up with a name for their own restaurant, and choose their staff from the former competitors who were eliminated in the previous episodes. After that, the competition of running their own restaurants and giving the best food and service begins. In other words, the two chefs constraint mostly on managing their group in the most efficient way in order to produce good food and service that will satisfy their customer.

Finally after the final test is over, chef Ramsey depends on the evaluations of the customers and his own judgment of the performance of Ralph and Michel to decide over who wins the restaurant. At the end of the episode, Michael won the competition.

Continue reading "Five Stages of Group Formation in Hell's Kitchen, S01E10" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

by A. Sultan., F. Fakhri, and H. Dossary

Synopsis

Hell’s Kitchen is a show in which the world famous chef Gorden Ramsey, who is the host of the show and the owner of the restaurant “Hell’s Kictchen”, puts 12 young chefs through a distressing challenge to win the restaurant of their dreams. Moreover, in the last episode (episode 11) of season 1, chef Ramsey puts the two last contestants, which are Ralph and Michel, into the final test. In the final test, which is a 60 hours test, chef Ramsey splits Hell’s Kitchen into two parts. Then, he puts the two contestants head to head with their own restaurants so that he will designate which one of the contestant is going to be the winner of the restaurant. In this episode, the test begins when the two contestants design their restaurants, write up their own menu, come up with a name for their own restaurant, and choose their staff from the former competitors who were eliminated in the previous episodes. After that, the competition of running their own restaurants and giving the best food and service begins. In other words, the two chefs constraint mostly on managing their group in the most efficient way in order to produce good food and service that will satisfy their customer. Finally after the final test is over, chef Ramsey depends on the evaluations of the customers and his own judgment of the performance of Ralph and Michel to decide over who wins the restaurant. At the end of the episode, Michael won the competition.

Theory

The trait theory of leadership attempts to identify specific characteristics (physical, mental, personality) associated with leadership success. It relies on research that relates various traits to certain success criteria, resulting in finding the following shared traits of leaders: abilities, personality traits, and motivation. Firstly, abilities: effective leaders share specific skills that allow them to perform their jobs including interpersonal, cognitive, and technical skills. Secondly, personality traits: successful leaders' posses certain personality traits like energy level, stress tolerance, self-confidence, emotional maturity, personal integrity, and originality. Lastly, motivation: leaders exhibit some motivational traits including high need for power, high need for achievement, week need for affiliation, and persuasiveness.

Continue reading "Leadership Traits in Hell's Kitchen, S01E10" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 6:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

Analysis by Jinane T.

Theoretical Overview

Stress can be defined as a feeling of anxiety, worry and tension perceived by an individual. While these feelings are the human means of identifying stress itself, they are technically the manifestation or byproduct of a stressful encounter. Stress is both a stimulus, and a response. The model of stressors, stress and outcomes employed in Organizations: Behaviour, Structures, Processes explains the concept of stress in the workplace using relationships between ‘stressors’ (the demanding situations that cause stress), ‘outcomes’ (the effects and consequences of encountering that stress), and ‘moderators’ (the personal set of characteristics, predispositions and conditions an individual processes stress with).

Background

Sydney Bristow, a vivacious, athletic grad student, discovers that her not-so-typical after-school job as an agent for SD-6, a top-secret division of the CIA, holds some deadly secrets that not only put her life in danger but also threaten the security of the free world... Recruited freshman year, the then shy and lonely Sydney jumped at the chance to add some meaning and excitement to her life. Little did she know how great she’d be at espionage or how much she’d love it. Today Sydney is no longer shy or alone. Boyfriend Danny has just proposed and her best friend Francie couldn’t be happier. Sydney now finds herself facing a moral dilemma: What does she want from the rest of her life, and what does she tell her friends and would-be fiancé?

Sydney’s SD-6 partner, Marcus Dixon, a devoted family man, warns her not to reveal her secret to Danny, and Sydney knows that SD-6 leader Sloane would not look kindly on any breach of security. If there’s one rule you don’t break, this is the one you don’t break. When Sydney breaks protocol and tells Danny about her secret life, her world is spun terrifyingly sideways: Danny’s life is placed in mortal danger, and Sydney is in a fight for her own life. She discovers that her long-estranged father, Jack Bristow, is also SD-6 and that the organization is covering up a nefarious plan — they are not a branch of the CIA, but are actually an enemy of the United States. With nowhere else to turn, Sydney seeks the aid of the real CIA to regain a sense of justice. She is enlisted as a double agent. Her mission is now to complete her cases at SD-6 while reporting her findings back to the CIA. Thus she begins the long and arduous task of destroying SD-6 from the inside. Towards the end of the pilot episode, Sydney learns that her father is also a double agent with the CIA, and she begins to question where his true allegiances really lie.

Relevant Video Segments:

* Sydney vents to Danny about her poor performance in an exam at school.

* Sydney tells her fiancé she is a secret agent.

* Sydney recalls her induction process into SD-6 during an awkward meeting with Danny. On a flight to their next assignment, Sydney discusses the pressures of keeping her identity a secret with colleague Marcus Dixon.

* Sydney returns home to find Danny murdered and confronts her boss, Sloane, at SD-6 headquarters.

*The foreign enemy tortures Sydney when she is captured on a Hong Kong assignment.

* Sydney makes a resolved return to SD-6 after her extended absence.

Analysis & Application

The first half of Alias’ pilot episode sees Sydney encountering stress on an individual level and on an organizational level. The fact that Sydney’s fiancé is unaware of her secret identity with the agency causes her a great deal of emotional difficulty. We see her lying to Danny about her job “with the bank” and making up locations for business trips to explain her absence during overseas work assignments. The toll this takes on Sydney is apparent in the scene where we see her relaxing at home with Danny. Even during an intimate moment with her fiancé, Sydney’s expression reveals that she is struggling with the idea of keeping her secret from him. Sydney is experiencing the cognitive outcomes of that stressor. Clearly, the strain of her secret wins out as Sydney decides to let Danny in on the truth in a behavioral outcome to that stress.

The unrelenting pace of action and change associated with working as a secret agent would ordinarily be an extremely pervasive individual stressor. This degree of change and action however, does not seem to cause serious health and/or psychological problems for Sydney – indicating that she probably differs in terms of personality from the majority of the population. We can say that Sydney possesses hardiness, a quality that is proven to offset, or buffer the stressful impacts of change an individual encounters. This would imply that Sydney fits the ‘three-characteristic theory of hardiness’. Hardy people:

Continue reading "Workplace Stress in Alias, S01E01" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

Analysis by M. Hasnain.

Part 1

“It's always interesting to watch people who have been incredibly successful in their own businesses work in a group made up of equally strong personalities”, -Donald Trump

The theory being used is the Five-Stage Model from Chapter 8 that describes the stages of group development. A group is defined as a “collection of individuals in which behavior and/or performance of one member is influenced by behavior and/or performance of other members.” We are looking at how groups evolve over a period of time from the very initial stages of forming until the very end when the group is adjourning. The following fully describes the five (5) stages:

*Forming: this is very first step of group formation when no one knows each other and begins by “breaking the ice” and “getting acquainted”. This is the time when “group members are trying out behaviors, testing their position, and asking others questions. “The group is establishing loose, but specific ground rules”.

*Storming. “This is the conflict phase” where members clash with each other through “arguing, debating, and experimenting with roles”. Attempts are made to “move into leadership roles”. At this point “the group’s hierarchy starts to take shape”.

*Norming. “The group starts to work more effectively together. There is a sense of togetherness or attraction to being a part of a group. This is the beginning of cohesiveness. A set of group-driven expectations is communicated within the group.”

*Performing. “A group structure, hierarchy, and norms are in place. The group is focused on accomplishing goals and being an efficient unit. This is an important stage in that the group is mature”.

*Adjourning. “The group prepares to disband. The goals have been accomplished and tasks finished. Some members will be depressed over the loss of cohesiveness in the future”.

The textbook points out that these stages don’t have a set time limit or period. In fact two or more stages could easily occur at the same time; this is just a “general framework”.

Continue reading "Stages of Group Development in The Apprentice, S01E01" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

Analysis by M. Husnain

Part 1

“Are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all that claim it?”, -Tyler Durden, Fight Club

The topic being used is from Chapter 10, and is based on Power, and the five interpersonal bases of power. Power is defined as the “ability to get others to do what one wants them to do”. We are going to look at the illustration of the 5 different types of Power:

Legitimate: “A person’s ability to influence others by being in a more powerful position”. For example, supervisors have legitimate power over their subordinates.

Reward: “A person’s ability to reward the behavior of others. It is often used to back up the use of legitimate power. It works best when employees understand how they can achieve rewards”. Examples of rewards are recognition, a pay raise, and issuing stock shares to employees.

Coercive: This is the “opposite of reward power”, and it’s the “capability to punish noncompliance of followers”. Examples are blocking promotion, and firing the employee.

Referent: “Power based on charisma due to personality or style of behavior”. This power is also a personal characteristic of an individual.

Expert:“The power to influence others based on special expertise”. Experts can “have power even when their rank is low”. Whereas the powers mentioned above are given by the organization, expert power is a personal characteristic. Examples are possessing expertise on “technical, administrative, or personal matters”.

Part 2

“People are always asking me if I know Tyler Durden.”, -The Narrator, Fight Club

The video being used for analysis is the movie Fight Club. The plot description from Yahoo Movies tells us: “The mundane existence of a product liability evaluator and insomniac, who is addicted to self-help groups, is turned upside down when he meets a sado-masochistic anarchist who is secretly plotting to overthrow civilization. As their friendship grows, they become increasingly involved in a secret society of "fight clubs" where men act out their aggressions and violently beat one another to a pulp.”

Other things we need to know are about the lead character, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt); he wears leather jackets, fashionable sunglasses, and is really portrayed as a cool person who is calm in any situation. He is the founder and head of Fight Club. At the end of the movie we find out Tyler is the alter-ego of our other lead character (Edward Norton), the narrator whose name we are never told. They are both one and the same, physically Tyler does not exist; he only exists in the narrator’s head and is a hallucination. Tyler is essentially the ultimate man and represents the ego of the narrator. Tyler is perfect for our analysis of Power. Because I am analyzing the 5 types of power, there are several scenes spread out over the movie. These are the scenes being used for analysis in chronological order...

Continue reading "Bases of Interpersonal Power in Fight Club" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

Analysis by. Mustapha Hasnain

Part 1

“So, where’s the motivation?”, Peter Gibbons – Office Space

The first theory I am using is Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory found in Chapter 5, and is one of many theories that describe how employees are motivated. This theory states that “job satisfaction results from the presence of intrinsic motivators and that job dissatisfaction stems from not having extrinsic factors”. Intrinsic motivators, also called satisfiers, are related to the job content and are comprised of “feelings of achievement, meaningful work, opportunities for advancement, increase in responsibility, recognition, and opportunities for growth”.

According to Herzberg, if these conditions are present in a work environment and in employees, “they build strong levels of motivation that result in good job performance”. The more these factors are present, the higher is an employee’s job satisfaction. Extrinsic motivators, also called dissatisfiers or hygiene factors, are related to “the job context” and include “pay, status, job security, working conditions, fringe benefits, policies and procedure, and interpersonal relations.” Although the presence of these conditions does not necessarily motivate an employee, their absence results in dissatisfaction. Thus, the less of these factors present, the higher an employee’s job dissatisfaction.

This theory is considered to be the “most criticized” out of all the other motivation theories. Some of the reasons being: a limited sample of professions was used in developing it; oversimplification of the causes of job satisfaction; and it “requires people to look at themselves retrospectively”. Nonetheless, this theory is still used by academics and researchers. I find the theory to be very useful due to its simple and logical application in describing job satisfaction.

Continue reading "Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory of Motivation in Office Space" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

Analysis by Hala A.

Definition: Stress is a feeling of tenseness, anxiety or worry. It is resulted by many different Stressors. A stressor is a potentially harmful or threatening external event or situation. Stressors fall into three main categories and stress may also be caused as a result of a mixture of them. Stressors come at an Individual, Group, and Organizational level or Non-work issues. Individual stressors include role conflict or ambiguity or overload. It also includes Responsibility for people, harassment of pace of change. “Role conflict is present whenever compliance by an individual to one set of expectations about the job is in conflict with compliance to another set of expectations.

Facets of role conflict include being torn by conflicting demands from a supervisor about the job and being pressured to get along with people with whom you are not compatible. Group and Organizational stressors include Intra/Inter-group relationships, organizational culture and non work stressors are mainly those you find at a person’s home. Intra/Inter-group relationships describe a person’s relationship with other members of the organization or the group where his work is located. Organizational Culture is a distinction that this organization has, for example, taking clients out to dinner and discussing business over drinks. Another example of organizational culture is whether it is autocratic, democratic or laissez-faire. Examples of non-work stressors are taking care of the elderly, children, the house and also taking college courses.

Continue reading "Stressors in Ugly Betty, S01E08" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 10:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

Analysis by Hala A.

Definition: Stress describes a person when they feel tense, anxious or worried. Stress is the cause of Stressors and results in Stress Outcomes. Stressors are at an individual, group, organizational, non-work level or a mixture of these levels. At the individual level, role conflict is when a person’s compliance with one set of expectations conflicts with another leading to stress. Non-Work stressors mainly refer to family obligations or taking care of elderly/children or college stress. Stress outcomes are divided into behavioral, cognitive, physiological and each person’s stress outcomes differ without doubt based on heredity, age, sex, diet, personality traits and many others. Behavioral outcomes include changes in satisfaction, performance, absenteeism, turnover, accidents and healthcare issues. Cognitive outcome examples are poor decision making, lack of concentration, forgetfulness, frustration and apathy. Finally, physiological outcome examples include increased blood pressure or cholesterol levels, coronary heart disease and hyperventilation.

Background: Grey’s Anatomy is a new show in which the setting is in a hospital just like ER. It discusses the lives of 5 medical interns at Seattle Grace Hospital. The most important person in the whole show is Meredith Grey. The show depicts the relationships and the very stressful day-to-day lives which these interns have and what they go through. Meredith and one of her attending, namely Derek Shepherd, are in love. Attending are normally one step higher than the direct bosses of these interns-residents- in the hierarchy chain of command in a hospital. Derek was married to Allison and he divorced her after choosing her over Meredith at the start. But then, he realized that he was too much in love with Meredith and less so with his wife. Thus, he went back to Meredith and they are currently in a relationship. A ferry that ran into a container ship because of fog leaves bodies everywhere and the ferry itself is on fire is the situation in this episode. All the interns are there helping US Coast Guard and rescue teams rescuing and saving whoever they find. Meredith was there and as she was helping a man on the edge of the sea; he’s in too much pain that he kicks her by mistake into the water.

Continue reading "Stress in Grey's Anatomy, S03E16" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

Professor Francesca Gino of Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business has some interesting research about people's "ability to observe and identify ethical misconduct that occurred either gradually or abruptly" and the implication for leaders' attempts to instill ethical values in the workplace.

“We find that most individuals are more apt to engage in unethical behavior when it falls along the slippery slope, because they aren’t aware that it’s happening,” Gino said. She noted that, in many ways, it’s similar to the “boiling frog syndrome,” referring to the adage that frogs immediately hop out of boiling water, but when put in unheated water fail to notice a gradually rising temperature and eventually cook to death.

According to Gino, members of an organization may eventually realize that something is wrong, but by then may believe they have a conflict of interest for failing to report the misconduct and thus ignore the unethical conduct and contribute to it becoming ingrained in the culture. “Once the ethical line has been crossed, an institutionalization of corruption can occur in which unethical acts become a common part of daily activities and people often have a vested interest in remaining quiet,” she said.

His recommendations?

According to Gino, the best way for companies to combat unintentional tendencies that may represent unethical behavior is to focus on changing the organizational factors that make these types of gradual breakdowns possible, rather than attempting to change individual employee behavior. Within an organization, the human resources department is best suited to spearhead efforts at such reform, she says.

But, first and foremost, says Gino, “Companies must more clearly and consistently communicate ethical standards to employees and strive to create a culture in which there’s a commitment to doing the right thing and in which people are encouraged to speak up.”

And to jump up too before they find themselves in hot water.

See/Hear also: Podcast with Dr. Francesca discussing these research results: Ignorance Isn’t Bliss: Tepper School of Business Study Shows Unethical Conduct Often Inadvertently Overlooked

Posted by Starling Hunter at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

By Amna

Theoretical Overview. Fiedler’s contingency model of leadership is a model which proposes that leadership success is dependent on the “favorableness” or “fit” of leadership style with situational factors. The three situational characteristics addressed in the model are leader- member relations, task- structure, and position power. Firstly, Leader- member relations, relates to the level of “confidence”, “trust”, and “respect” that the leader gets from his followers. Secondly, task- structure, relates to “how structured a job is with regard to requirements, problem-solving alternatives, and feedback on job success.” Thirdly and finally, position power, relates to the degree of power intrinsic in the leadership position. In the two extremes in the model, the favorable leadership style is task- motivated. A task-motivated leader in highly favorable and unfavorable situations achieves the “desired performance.” The model categorizes eight situations with different combinations (good or poor, high or low, and strong or weak) of leader-member relations, task- structure, and position power, respectively. The “very favorable extreme”, with good leader-member relations, high task structure, and strong position power denotes task-motivated leader as the favorable leadership style. In the moderate range, the six middle situations favor relationship-motivated leadership style. The “very unfavorable” extreme with poor leader-member relationship, low task structure, and weak position power also favors task- motivated leadership style.

Continue reading "Situational Factors and Leadership in "The Godfather"" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 6:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

By Amna

Theoretical Overview. The behaviors of effective leaders can be studied by interpreting and connecting what leaders do in “accomplishing the task” and “maintaining the effort of people doing the task.” One distinct style of leadership is job-centered leader, whose focus is on completing a task and supervising closely in order for subordinates to accomplish their tasks following the assigned procedure. A job- centered leader initiates task structure; which “involves behavior in which the leader organizes and defines the relationships in the group, tends to establish well-defined patterns and channels of communication, and spells out ways of getting the job done.” This leader’s main focus is on the attainment of goals and results.

Continue reading "Leadership Behavior in "The Godfather"" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count

By Amna

Theoretical Overview. Trait theory of leadership, aims at defining specific attributes (physical, mental, personality associated) that relate to leadership success; Although, there is not a particular attribute or mix of qualities that a leader encompasses, the theory depends on research which hypothesizes the numerous traits (abilities, personality traits, motivation) and factors contributing to leadership success. Abilities: effective leaders possess particular abilities and skills that permit them to accomplish their jobs: cognitive, technical, and interpersonal skills. Personality traits: effective leaders exhibit particular personality traits including personal integrity, self-confidence and emotional maturity. Finally, Motivation: effective leaders exude particular motivational attributes encompassing a relatively high desire for power, high levels of accomplishment and persuasiveness.

Scene Summary. An old friend visits the Godfather to make a request for the Godfather to avenge his daughter who was the victim of a serious assault. He comes to the Godfather for “justice” because he believes he has failed to get justice from the legal system. The Godfather is affronted by the fact that this “friend” has failed to treat him as a friend and only comes to see him when he wants a service done, in this case murder. The Godfather reminds him of the obligations of friendship before ultimately agreeing to help him and provide the service required, but only in exchange for the man’s agreement to reciprocate service when called upon by the Godfather. (ch.1 0:50- 6:40mins)

Continue reading "Leadership Traits in "The Godfather"" »

Posted by Starling Hunter at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Link Count