Driven by Money

Insights from class Jan 25, 2007

1. Money is everything

As much as we would like to deny the importance of money, it is the backbone and the main engine that drives a company. Everything that a business does boils down to making revenue. In class I decided to join the group focused on the capitol engine. I realized that although all the other engines are very important to the function of a business, it is all based on and limited by capitol. Without capitol, none of the other engines can function. With excess capitol, those engines could function more freely, effectively and innovatively.

2. Any problem can usually be reduced to a money problem

I saw this as our capitol group worked on the NASA case-in-point. There were a lot of problems within each engine of the company. The communication was not very effective in the people engine. Technology was outdated or limited within the technology engine and confusion and ignorance ran rampant within the organizational engine. Although there were all these problems within the other engines that run a company, what is the problem underlying all these problems? Money. Insufficient capitol is in my opinion the root cause of the Columbia disaster. Had more funds been available we would’ve seen more efficient DAT risk analyses, less minimizing of the importance of safety-of-flight-issues, greater safety awareness, less concern for flight schedules and greater flexibility in correcting problem situations. Had financing not been a major concern and problem for NASA at the time of the Columbia disaster, I’m sure we would’ve seen an effective resolution of the safety problem that occurred during the final launch of the space shuttle Columbia.

3. We need to change our focus

We as a society and especially as businesses are focused too much on making money. Although it is a necessary part of business, there are more important things to focus on than money. Obviously the number one issue in any business should be the safety of the employees. Focusing on safety will save money in the long run when you consider the costs of worker’s compensation, health care and law suits. Beyond just saving money however, there is great benefit in focusing on employee satisfaction. When employees have their needs met they will produce revenue because they have a desire to give back instead of feeling forced to produce. Google is a good example of a business that focuses on its employees’ comfort. As a result, they are able to receive the most qualified employees and lead the market in innovation because the employees are happy to give back for what they receive. I think all businesses could learn a lot from the Google model.

Organizational Success

1. The Adhocracy Model

An adhocracy is is defined as "an organization with little or no structure" (www.dictionary.com). Althought the structure may be minimal, I believe it can be the most effective method of organizing a business. Using an adhocracy allows every single member of the business an equal opportunity to contribute time, talents, and intellectual abilities to a particular cause. Contrast that to using a bureaucracy defined as "administration marked by hierarchical authority among numerous offices" (www.dictionary.com). In a bureaucracy it is much harder for the lower level people to contribute all of their abilities to the cause becuase management usually only wants what they are hired to do.

2. Have An Abundance Mentality

Many times people wish to withhold information or ideas because they want the credit or payoff for coming up with the idea. However, in an organization or group that is working together in a common cause such a practice can be very detrimental. If everyone held on to their innovative ideas, there would be no innovation. Contrast that with the abuncance mentality where everyone is interested in the progression of the group as a whole and therefore places all their insights, ideas, revelations and stratagies out in the open for everyone to review, critique and synthesize. Such an approach would drastically increase the possibilities and results of any group.

3. Know the Five Engines

In class we talked about the five engines that run any and all organizations which are: people, organization, market, technology, and capital. Any organization can be broken up into these main categories. Organizational communication stratagies are very important in helping these five engines effectively communicate with each other. Fluid communication between thse five engines would help keep the overall goals of the company in perspective and lead to a results driven structure within the organization.

Be Ruthlessly Compassionate

1. Avoid the Five Cancers of Communication

In class we talked about the five cancers of communication. These are competing, comparing, complaining, criticizing and contending. This definitely applies to us as members of the Church. These "cancers" are too often the cause of people leaving the Church. Many Latter-Day Saints, especially recent converts, become inactive due to being offended by some other member. I believe that anytime offense is taken it is most likely due to one of those five cancers being used by the offending person. If those cancers were nonexistent in the Church, I'm sure that we would see much higher activity percentages.

We also see these five cancers showing up in the Columbia case. I think that competition was probably the most responsible of the cancers. The management seemed to be competing against the teams they set up to investigate the situation. It was as if they set up the investigation teams simply to show proaction when in reality they didn't want any solution that was not convenient. Had the management not been involved in so much competition to stay on schedule, they probably would have been more receptive to the demands and findings of the DAT team.

2. Win/Win Don't Negotiate

Negotiation is the lesser form of win/win. Win/win is the preferred method in resolving conflicts. I think this can apply to Church settings. Often in the Church we get organized into councils, teams, and quorums that have to decide on certain policies, activities and positions. Knowing how to create a win/win situation will benefit not only the people involved in the negotiation, but also everyone who is affected by the results of the outcome. I think in the Church we have an advantage of being led by the Spirit which, if followed, will always lead to a win/win situation.

Had the people involved in the challenger disaster taken a win/win approach to solving the problem, none of the astronauts would have died that fateful day. Instead they tried to take a win/lose position which actually generated a lose/lose situation. The managers did not want to be thrown of schedule so they decided to risk the possible failure of the shuttle's protective shield upon reentry. The risk taken caused the deaths of seven astronauts. Besides this huge loss, the shuttle was also left in thousands of pieces making NASA's future schedule an impossibility. This was the ultimate lose/lose situation.

3. Be Ruthlessly Compassionate

Being ruthlessly compassionate is the highest form of win/win. In the Church this definitely is seen among our leaders. When our leaders make a statement of position it is ruthless. There is no denying God's will. However, at the same time we are compassionate. We don't force these positions onto other people. We are compassionate with their beliefs and positions yet ruthless in sticking with our own position. This would also be a good way to conduct meetings. We should not be shy in boldly presenting what they believe the proper position should be. We also should be very compassionate when hearing other peoples positions and discuss the pros and cons of such positions. If everyone acts in this manner no one will be offended and eventually the best possible solution will rise and present itself as the only possible solution.

In regards to the Columbia case, some people needed to be more ruthless while others needed to be more compassionate. Had the DAT group been more ruthless they could have secured their demanded photographs for more accurate information. They also could have forced the higher people in command to hear their warnings of the high plausibility of catastrophe. Also the management should have been more compassionate to the DAT group in listening and heeding their demands and warnings. The DAT group was assembled to estimate the possible dangers, when these dangers were found they were simply ignored.

Religion and Organizational Communication

Insights From Class:

1. "Godliness is profitable unto all things" (1 Timothy 4:8).

I think this scripture really applies to what we talked about in class today. As we were talking about love, consideration, courage, intrinsic motivation and having common goals within an organization, I couldn't help but realize that all these qualities and methods of management are all things that we are taught in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We learn about all these qualities and many more every time we go to church. I believe that if we live the principles of the gospel and seek to improve upon our abilities to follow those principles, we will be more successful in all aspects of our lives, whether in business, family or personally related.

2. Be The Solution.

A powerful insight that I had in class today came to me when when Brother Adams talked about how he got his job as the night manager at the Wilkinson Center. He was a solution to their problem. Because he was a solution, they couldn't live without him. They actually created a position that didn't exist and then hired him to that position so that they could have his talents in their organization.

3. Do not be "commanded in all things" (D&C 58:26).

I have never thought of this scripture applying to my career and things outside the Church. This is very sound advice for those who want to be successful and work their way up in a corporation. If you do work and projects that need to be done and do it not only when you are assigned to, you will definitely get the attention of the managers. You will be a much more valuable asset to the company and will have a good chance of moving up in position within the company.

Case Study: Columbia's Final Mission

Five Panel Questions:

1. If the loss of foam on the shuttle was classified as an "in-flight anomaly" clearly acknowledging that it presented a significant safety hazard, then why did NASA do nothing to correct the problem?
2. How is it possible that the Debris Assessment Team (DAB) was not given a clear objective nor the knowledge of to whom the findings should be reported?
3. Why were the engineers unable to send safety concerns to higher management to see that they get the proper attention?
4. How could the channels of communication be corrected to prevent future accidents?
5. Why wasn't the DAT allowed direct communication to the Mission Management Team (MMT)?
   

Five Insights:

1. Communication is the medium through which every task and activity within an organization is made known, shared, understood, agreed upon, undertaken, presented, analyzed, and clarified.
   
2. Without communication, nothing in an organization could function.
3. Improper or poor communication is similar to having no communication, what needs to be done is impossible to do if not communicated properly and clearly.
4. Almost any problem within an organization could be attributed to the failure of communication.
5. Managers and leaders should be responsible to see that ideas and concerns are communicated clearly and unfiltered to the proper authorities who can initiate action to correct a situation or problem.

Application:

As I was reading this case study I couldn't help but think of the organization of the Idaho National Lab (INL) where I currently work as an intern. The lab has it's own internal organization of managers and leaders. The Lab is funded and managed by the Department of Energy (DOE). The problem is that the lab also receives a lot of outsourced work from other companies such as NASA and other government agencies. Many times it can be confusing trying to figure out who is responsible for what. The INL is very large and has many different departments that work for a number of different companies. Sometimes we are working on a project that will be applied to more than one of those companies and will have to try to appease the demands of both companies on the one project. This can often lead to difficulty in understanding the requirements and specifications of certain projects.

Church Organization Insights

1. I thought it was very interesting how we talked about the inside out approach to correcting problems with communication within an organization. I think that is definitely one of the reasons that the Church's organization functions so well. Not only is the organization well aligned, it is also trustworthy on a personal level.

2. I also found it interesting that within the Church there is a separation between the hierarchy of leadership and and training. What I'm talking about is the auxiliary programs of the Church. The axillary presidencies are responsible for training and teaching principles to the organizations over which they preside; however, those organizations are led and governed by the leadership hierarchy within the Church.

3. As we were discussing how the Church communicates within it's own various organizations and programs we noticed that everything came down to presidencies and councils. Every organization has a presidency and a council who answer to a higher presidency and council. And communication works this way all the way up to the "CEO" of the Church who is the Prophet of the Church along with the First Quorum of the Presidency. Although the Church's organization can be very complex at times, it is also very simple and straight forward.

One reason why these presidencies and councils work so well is because usually only people who have proven their trustworthiness are chosen to fill such positions regardless of their ability. This, I believe, helps account for the effectiveness of the Church's organizational structure.

A Brief Glimpse of the Man Himself

1. Best Lessons in leadership came from...

• Being a missionary (training and leading groups of missionaries).
• Serving in church callings.
• Serving as Vice President of the Psychology Society for the last one and a half years.

2. Best lessons in communicating came from...

• Having a girlfriend.
• Reading "How To Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.
• My Mother's amazing example.

3. Organizations experienced:

• The Idaho National Lab (INL) working as an intern.
  
• College including affiliated societies and organizations
  
• Church
• Scouts
• Different Jobs

4. Insights from the previous question:

• I have been working at the INL in Idaho Falls as an intern for the last year. I have come to realize the complexity of the organization and how important it really is to have things organized well and as simply as possible. The INL is a very large organization and could definitely use the services of a professional Organizational Consultant!
• I am also serving as the Psychology Societies Vice President for the fourth semester in a row. Organization really helps us to delegate and get much more done than in previous semesters before we delegated to lower level leadership.

5. The traditional American Hot Dog is tasty but is nothing compared to a Polish Sausage.

6. Places I've lived:

• I grew up in Salt Lake City and have basically lived there my whole life. I lived in Poland for two years while serving my mission. I also lived in Laie, Hawaii for six months while attending BYU-Hawaii. I constantly think about Hawaii and dream of going back as much as possible!

7. An achievement of which I am proud:

• Last semester I was published with the National Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. I was co-author of a paper called "A Taxonomy and Database for Capturing Human Reliability and Human Performance Data".

8. Industries in which I am interested:

• Cross-cultural and international organizational consulting
• Real Estate!
• Real Estate!
• Real Estate!
• Technology

9. My Goals:

• Be able to retire by age 35
• Become a nationally recognized OB Consultant
• Have a fun, successful and righteous family
• Serve another mission with my wife in the future
• Climb Mt. Everest
• Go motorcycling in the Namibian dessert
• Explore the Caribbean Islands on a yacht