Analysis: Tough Guy Case Study
The Tough Guy Case Study examines the employees of investment bank Hudson Smith Gordon (“Hudson”) and their reactions to the behavior of one of its vice presidents, Chip Mazey (Yemen & Clawson, 2007). This analysis will discuss the issues of unresolved conflict among Hudson employees and possible remedies to consider. Recommendations will be provided which should be implemented by Hudson management to minimize conflict and its effects in the workplace.
Introduction
Several employees have witnessed varied offensive conduct by Mazey but have kept opinions to themselves until recently (Yemen & Clawson, 2007). Senior management at Hudson is aware of his behavior via 360o reviews; however, Mazey’s ability to produce revenue secured his promotion to vice president (Yemen & Clawson, 2007). Mazey acquiesces to upper management and believes employees of lower stature should do the same for him, while also accepting his unprofessional, degrading and condescending habits (Yemen & Clawson, 2007).
Defining the Problem
In the 10 years Mazey had been employed with Hudson, he was observed throwing things which barely missed employees, yelling at subordinates “in a rage” and making “derogatory and demeaning remarks” possibly regarding ethnicity or origin, among other inappropriate behavior (Yemen & Clawson, 2007). Mazey can be considered as a workplace bully. Hocker and Wilmot (2011) define bullying as “repeated and persistent patterns of negative workplace behavior that is ongoing for six months or longer in duration” (p. 175). The excessive bullying behavior Mazey displayed created interpersonal tension that affected productivity. Hudson associates were hesitant, or refused to work with Mazey due to prior...
... middle of paper ...
...2011). Are you causing your staff mental injury? Canadian Business, 84(1/2), 71. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Database (AN: 57410420)
McKinnell, J. (2012). When your boss is almost a psychopath. Maclean's, 125(32), 64. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Database (AN: 78546729)
Seagriff, B. L. (2010). Keep Your Lunch Money: Alleviating Workplace Bullying with Mediation. Ohio State Journal on Dispute Resolution, 25(2), 575-602. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Database (AN: 51613327)
SHRM.org. (2014). Mediation specialist: Job description. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/samples/jobdescriptions/pages/cms_010338.aspx
Stalcup, A. (2013). Surviving toxic work environments. Analytical & Bioanalytical Chemistry, 405(4), 1145-1147. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Database (AN: 84944726)
Yemen, G., & Clawson, J. (2007). Tough guy. Charlottesville, VA: Darden Business Publishing
Berry, P. A., Gillespie, G. L., Gates, D., & Schafer, J. (2012). Novice Nurse Productivity Following Workplace Bullying. Journal Of Nursing Scholarship, 44(1), 80-87. doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.2011.01436.x
General Motors became a “centralized organization, so decision-making authority is concentrated in the hands of top-level managers, and little authority is delegated to lower levels” (Ferrell et al., 2015, p. 199). Centralized organizations have little upward communication and top-level manager may not be aware of problems and unethical activities. According to Ferrell et al., (2015), it has been noted that “centralized organization may exert influence on their employees because they have a central core of policies and codes of ethical conduct” (p. 201). Conversely, to survive at GM employees praised the CEO intelligence and carried out their orders by keeping a low profile, and never made waves. GM rewarded employees who followed the old traditional ways and those that challenged their thinking lost promotion opportunities or their jobs. However, General Motors experienced conflict between corporate management responsibility and social responsibility. Consequently, General Motors “attempted to implement a new mentality upon its management in a short period of time” (Goussak, Webber, & Ser, 2012, p. 49) by changing the company’s environment, but
Wilson, B. L., Diedrich, A., Phelps, C. L., & Choi, M. (2011). Bullies at work the impact of horizontal hostility in the hospital setting and intent to leave. The Journal of Nursing Admistration, 41, 453-457. doi:10.1097/NNA.0b013e3182346e90
It is not normal nor is it okay that bullying and lateral violence against one another in this profession occurs. Marshall (2017), describes the issue of incivility as being the norm. Based on her experiences with incivility the issue gets pushed to the side, ignored or the victim takes on self-blame. Incivility can take the form of rolling eyes, being interrupted while speaking, being yelled at or inappropriately addressed, being made fun of in person or on social media, it may take on the shape or form of physical actions and Marshall’s goal of awareness is whether verbal, psychological or physical it is not normal or
Workplace bullying is defined as any as any type of repetitive abuse in which the victim of the bullying behaviour suffers verbal abuse, threats, humiliating or intimidating behaviours, or behaviours that interfere with his or her job performance and are meant to place at risk the health and safety of the victim (Murray, 2009). Bullying can take many forms, some blatant, others more subtle. Researchers ha...
She would like bullying to be considered a never-event, much like hospital-acquired infections. By employing some of the tactics proposed in the Healthy Workplace Bill, the author of this paper believes she can make a difference. Leadership Goal and Implementation To attain the position of a Trauma Coordinator, the author of this paper believes she needs to rebuild her self-confidence before returning to the trauma services arena. “Self-confidence is the fundamental basis from which leadership grows” (Dao, 2016). She is in therapy to repair some of the damage sustained while working for a manager who engaged in workplace bullying.
Riaz, M. & Junaid, F. (2011). Types, Sources, Cost and Consequences of Workplace Conflicts. Asian Journal of Management Research. 2(1), 600-611.
Fast, N., & Chen, S. (2009). When the boss feels inadequate: power, incompetence, and aggression. Psychological Science, 20(11), 1406-1413. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02452.x
Vessey, J., Demarco, R., & DiFazio, R. (2010). Bullying, harassment, and horizontal violence in the nursing workforce: The state of the science. Annual Review Of Nursing Research, 28, 133-157. doi:10.1891/0739-6686.28.133
In the case study, one of the negatives mentioned was the fact that there was bullying within the company. Former head of the company’s hardware division, Jen Ellsworth who was laid off from Valve, referred to the organisation as ‘high school’ where there was a clear line separating the ‘in crowd’ from the ‘out crowd.’ She mentioned in a Grey Area Podcast that she had a hard time adjusting to the management
Robinson, S. L., & Bennett, R. J. (1995). “A typology of deviant workplace behaviors: A
Namie, Ph.D., Gary, and Ruth Namie, Ph.D. The Bully at Work: What You Can Do to Stop the Hurt and Reclaim Your Dignity On the Job. First Edition. Naperville: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2000. 274-275. Print.
Neimen, Samantha, Brandon Robers, and Simon Robers. “Bullying: A State of Affairs.” Journal of Law & Education (n.d.):n. pag. Print.
Drawing on this book the ABC programme BUSINESS ETHICS YANNICK MOTREFF TOPIC 1 reported that up to 0.5% of women and 2% of men could be classified as psychopaths and described how coming across them in organisations could present an employee with situations of harassment and humiliation. Psychopaths are also described as being grandiose, manipulative and cold-hearted (Bernstein et al. 2000) and lacking in genuine remorse or empathy. Other traits, described in a New Scientist article (Spinney, 2004)
What is workplace bullying? According to the Workplace Bullying Institute “ 35 per cent of the U.S workforce repor...