Posted: February 28th, 2023

HOMEWORK

Week 1

1)
Robert Edmonds

The most recent recall on the FDA’s website is the recall of Enoki Mushrooms distributed by Xin Ao International Group Corp. The mushrooms were found to have the Listeria bacteria when a random sample was tested by the Maryland Department of Health. The company has stopped the distribution of the mushrooms while they try and find what caused the contamination. This one was surprising to me because after further research this is common in the enoki mushrooms going back to 2020 from what I could find. I love mushrooms and this is a popular mushroom for Nabe and Ramen which me and my family eat pretty often so now it is something I will have to think twice about purchasing.

Reference:

Xin Ao International Group Corp. Recalls “Sss Enoki Mushroom” & “K-Fresh Mushroom” Because of Potential Health Risk. (2023, February 17). U.S. Food And Drug Administration. 

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/xin-ao-international-group-corp-recalls-sss-enoki-mushroom-k-fresh-mushroom-because-potential-health#recall-announcement

Module 4 Week 2 Discussion A Culture of Quality

2)
Seneca Leiva

I wanted to take the opportunity at what a business should not do.”Hot take” but if anyone here can benefit from my point of view. I hope you can. Up until a year ago, performance reviews and file quality was handled by direct managers. To alleviate the manager’s workload or for some other reason (an executive’s new idea), our organization decided to create a “file review” team. The results have been mediocre.  

The criterion used seems to be different from what associates deal with on a daily basis. They also judge/score other aspects of the files not pertinent to their responsibility. To make matters worse, these reviews are all done by associates who have not been in the field. These scores directly impact manager performance. Therefore, I see them reaching back out to the reviewers and challenging their decisions. Sometimes they will adjust their review sometimes they won’t. The majority of the time they re-adjust.

I find this to be incredibly wasteful. My manager has better things to do. He/she could be providing me with direct feedback accustomed to my strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately, associates are not able to review, challenge or ask anything about the file review. Instead once a month you are presented with an email report card. Which is then forwarded over to managers who pick it apart.

For proper quality control in any business, there have to be clear-cut ways to deliver constructive criticism. Empathetic, with enough communication (Forbes Coaches Council, 2022). Criteria has to be up-to-date and readily available. Most people want to receive ways to do their job better. But few are properly equipped and/or willing to give this precious information (Abi-Esber et al., 2022, p. 1).

References

Abi-Esber, N., Abel, J. E., Schroeder, J., & Gino, F. (2022). “Just letting you know … ” underestimating others’ desire for constructive feedback. 
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 
123(6), 1362-1385. 

https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000393

Forbes Coaches Council. (2022, June 24). 
Helpful Feedback Or Harmful Critique? 14 Elements Of Constructive Criticism. Forbes. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2022/06/24/helpful-feedback-or-harmful-critique-14-elements-of-constructive-criticism/?sh=66388e332738

3)

William

Roberts

After reading the abstract from David Campbells book The Socially Constructed Organization, I can look back at my career and see many similarities to Campbells’s description of organizations ever adapting to internal and external factors. The manager or senior leaders definitely have the most influence and set the tone for how the culture is established, and every time a new key player is introduced, the organization resets as they feel out the personability of the new member. The same can be said when you introduce an entry level employee into the organization. Everyone tries to set a good example and are on their best behavior to not establish any poor habits with the impressionable worker.  Most organizations have cyclical events or busy days and slow days. When those tasks arise that are important, time sensitive or both, the culture will adapt to a more focused mindset culture. During those days those tasks are more manageable, the culture can turn light hearted or playful.  Not all changes to culture are healthy changes. A culture can turn sour immediately after dealing with inappropriate or illegal events. If two or more individuals have a disagreement that remains unresolved, the tension in the work center could remain hostile, even for the parties that were not involved. The toxic relationship alters the organizations harmony that is highly likely to affect the morale and performance for the entire team. There are an endless number of scenarios that can be introduced to an organization that could modify the culture either temporarily or permanently. I believe that the culture can be influenced by managers, but not fully controlled.

William

Campbell, David. (2000) 
The Socially Constructed Organization. Systemic Retrieved from: 

https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy2016.trident.edu

          /login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=369321&site=ehost-live.

4)
Alexis West

Hello Class, 

Organizational culture is the values and shared beliefs between members of an organization. “Social psychologist Geert Hofstede believed that while national cultures are based on deeply held values, organizational cultures are more concerned with practices. The repetition of those practices or behaviors within a workplace help to define the organization’s culture” (
What is organizational culture: ATD, n.d.). An organization’s leader really helps shape the culture. An organization’s culture helps to motivate future employees to join the organization and stay or it could lead to people wanting to leave. Organizational culture can be managed just like other systems and processes. Everyone in an organization helps to cultivate the culture in daily interactions and operations. It can be difficult to manage especially at the leader’s level as they don’t always see what’s happening at the lower levels. Establishing a mission and values for an  organization can be useful tools to help manage the culture. Managing the culture of an organization can be used as strategic control. As the culture can be in line with the formulation and execution of strategic goals and plans for the organization. Leaders can use culture to manage strategic management tasks and influence its employees to get the mission done. 

References

What is organizational culture: ATD. Main. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2023, from 

https://www.td.org/talent-development-glossary-terms/what-is-organizational-culture

– Alexis West