Page 467 - Fundamentals of Management Myths Debunked (2017)_Flat

466 Part 5 • Controlling
with authority to reprimand are more likely to act when com- Mark is the vice president of company operations. He has
plaints are coming from multiple sources. And third, the dif- been with the company for eight years. Your first impression of
ficult person is more likely to feel pressure to change when Mark was that he was a “know-it-all.” He was quick to put you
a group is speaking out against his or her specific behaviors down and acted as if he was your superior rather than an equal.
than if the complaint is coming from a single source. Based on comments you’ve heard around the offices, it seems
you are not alone. Other executives all seemed to agree that
Mark is a brilliant engineer and operations manager but very
Practicing the Skill difficult to work with. Specific comments you’ve heard include
“an abrasive attitude”; “talks down to people”; “arrogant”;
Read through this scenario and follow the directions at the end “thinks everyone is stupid”; and “poor listener.”
of it:
In your short time in the new job, you’ve already had sev-
Your career has progressed even faster than you thought pos- eral run-ins with Mark. You’ve even talked to your boss, the
sible. After graduating from college with an accounting degree, company president, about him. The president’s response wasn’t
you passed your CPA exam and worked three years for a major surprising: “Mark isn’t easy to deal with. But no one knows
accounting firm. Then you joined General Electric in their fi- this company’s operations like he does. If he ever leaves, I
nance department. Two employers and four jobs later, you have don’t know how we’d replace him. But, that said, he gives me
just been hired by a Fortune 100 mining company as their vice a lot of grief. Sometimes he makes me feel like I work for him
president for finance. What you didn’t expect in the new job rather than the other way around.” Describe what you could do
was having to deal with Mark Hundley. to improve your ability to work with Mark.

Collins State College, School of Accountancy Experiential Exercise
To: Matt Wrobeck, Ethics Committee Chair
From: Dr. Rebecca Rodriguez, Director
Re: Minimizing student cheating

Matt, you’ve probably heard that several of our faculty Keep your list brief (around a page) and send it to me by
members want to develop some specific controls to minimize the end of the week. I’d like to get this out to our entire faculty
opportunities for our students to cheat on homework assign- at our next scheduled monthly meeting.
ments and exams. As the ethics committee chair, I’d like you to This fictionalized organization and message were created for educational
work with them on developing some suggestions. As you look purposes only, and not meant to reflect positively or negatively on manage-
at this topic, please think in terms of ways to control cheating ment practices by any company that may share this name.
(1) before it happens, (2) while in-class exams or assignments
are being completed, and (3) after it has happened.