Benefits of Synergy Discussion

Student 1:

• The labor movement and labor unions came about in America out of necessity. When more people turned to factory work during the industrial revolution rather than being self employed such as farming, that changed the way things worked. With many capitalists more focused on their own profits someone had to look out for the employees. “Labor union leadership enters into good faith negotiations with management representatives over terms of employment such as work hours, pay, and job security.” (Martoccio, pg 307). Labor unions help ensure that employees are protected from unfair treatment or being taken advantage of. Employees join labor unions for many different reasons including personal, political, social, and job considerations. Many employees see joining a labor union as a solution to a real or perceived problem. Unions can help employees receive better wages, which is also a big reason for joining. Employees covered under collective bargaining often enjoy higher wages and re more likely to participate in a variety of employee benefit programs.

Student 2:

• “The labor movement has developed a multilevel organizational structure. This complex of organizations ranges from local unions to the two principal federations—the AFL-CIO and the Change to Win Coalition. Structured unions then pursue strategies to build membership and representation of workers in as many workplaces as possible.” (J. J. Martocchio, J. Martocchio, 310). Local unions are the most important type of unions to employees, because they work directly with employers to broker deals on behalf of their members on a day-to-day basis. National unions serve as the over-arching organizing body for affiliate local unions. “The national union is active in organizing workers within its jurisdiction, engaging in collective bargaining at the national level, and assisting its locals in their negotiations. In addition, the national union may provide numerous educational and research services for its locals, dispense strike funds, publish the union newspaper, provide legal counsel, and actively lobby at national and state levels.” (J. J. Martocchio, J. Martocchio, 311)People join labor unions in order to remedy unfavorable labor conditions as a collective. It would be extremely difficult for an individual worker to address their grievances alone, but workers can negotiate for their rights more effectively using the collective power of labor unions. Employees join labor unions to create negotiating power as a collective unit to bargain for fair and equitable compensation and benefits, to establish job security, and weaken the autonomy of executives.

Student 3:

• I have chosen the telecommunication industry for my driving force analysis. Below are the following factors that affect this industry:Communication-Highly Important-Wireless internet is becoming the future quickly. There is an increasing demand for speedier data connectivity, higher resolution, quicker video streaming, and ample multimedia applications.Popularity-High importance-The popularity of wireless internet and all it offers is steaduly increasing revenue and lots of organizations are flocking towards it. Mergers- High Importance-Attractive to investors which makes the value higher. Telecommunications companies are a rarity in the stock market; their shares have, at times, exhibited characteristics of both income and growth stocks (Beers, B. 2019).Government Deregulation- Low- In 1996, Congress approved and President Clinton signed into law The Telecommunications act of 1996. One of the primary goals of this act was to restructure the telecommunications industry in order to foster competition by attempting “to reduce regulatory barriers for entry and competition(N/A, N.D). When this was done they wanted to make it so the telecommunication industry would have as much competition as possible. The communication driving force has had the most impact because of how much wireless internet and the digital age has come into play. It has sped up over the last five years and I do not see it slowing down.

Student 4:

• For the Driving Force analysis I would like to choose Technology Industry. In the current generation the technology is growing very fast and changing according to the consumer taste frequently. Technology has been a great success in the recent past. There are many factors which are driving the technology industry. They are,
  1. Customer needs – More Important – The customer needs in the current generation are really increasing. To meet the customer expectation and demand the research & development team has been spending a lot of money and time as well. If one customer needs are met another new demand increases. So, matching the customer needs are really challenging at the same time it is driving the industry as well.
  2. Data – More important – Data storage is another important aspect which has changed the technology industry to the heights. There are many companies who spends a lot of time in data saving and most importantly they look for database where the can be stored safe, confidential and accessible easily when they want. Every big company wants the data storage facility and increases the demand of technology in the market.
  3. User friendly tools – Less Important – Most of the people look for any tools they use has to be user friendly. Taking an example of mobile, how it has been transformed from just a phone to a device now. When it started it was just used to talk to another person and today nobody can live without mobile. People also have got used to mobiles and frequent changes in the mobile options makes them user friendly.
  4. Security – More important – Data security is the primary reason for a technology to grow. In the current generation it is easy to hack any kind of data which are stored with any kind of security. To stop the hackers, the companies will need to spend a lot of money on data safety and pay the companies who do the data safety for others which leads to technology growth
  5. New Skills and New Players – Less Important – There have been multiple companies who are coming with new skillset and with new type of technology and they are getting introduced in the market. This is also driving the technology industry. The more and more new players appears the industry starts widening and the number of people involved in the same industry also will increase.
  6. Competition – More Important – Competition is common in any industry. When there is a tight competition in the market, the competitors to stay constant in the market and to gain competitive advantage, they will start focussing on the products they offer. They also strive to provide better quality to retain the customers in the company. Where there is a competition there is a chance of growth in any sector. It is applicable for technology as well.
  7. Innovation – More Important – Change is the only thing constant in any business. To meet the customer demands, many companies have been involved in a lot of Research and development to modify the products they offer. Innovation attracts people to buy and try them. This brings up more revenue to the industry and becomes a cause of growth. Innovation in technical field is vital because the current generation always expects new innovations and it gets appreciated as well.

Student 5:

• In terms of job evaluation, working in teams should always be considered as a criterion for working appraisals. In order for an associate to be promoted to a position such as management, the associate’s ability to work in a team is vital in an organization’s efforts to achieve new goals. As associates work in teams, certain skills such as effective communication and leadership are applied and further developed. In order for managers to convey goals effectively, the ability to communicate amongst various associates is essential to accomplishing new tasks. Regardless of how “independent” a job may seem, generally teamwork is needed amongst all jobs. For example, jobs such as electricians or semi-truck drivers are generally completed by one person. On the other hand, the electrician is usually setting up cables to accommodate appliances that are later installed by a maintenance person. Additionally, truck drivers may take long drives with equipment, but are often met at a meeting point with another truck driver awaiting to transfer the goods. Consequently, If the initial duties by the electrician and semi-truck driver are not finished, then the rest of the assignment cannot be completed. Although the teamwork is not always direct, it is important that the specific aspect of job is completed to ensure the completion of the overall task. On the other hand, people who prefer to work alone can benefit by allotting their own specific time to complete a task. Not to mention, there are less chances of conflicts arising and a possibility that the task can be completed faster (Chitra, 2018). Unfortunately, although a task may be completed amongst a group correctly, it was due to one or few people among the group. According to Hitt, Miller, Colella, and Triana, sometimes it is “better to have individuals work separately, even if the final product was successful” (Hitt, Miller, Colella, and Triana, 2018, p. 364) Overall, working in teams has proven to benefit a company by six different factors: fostering creativity and learning, blending complementary strengths, building trust, teaching conflict resolution skills, promoting ownership, and encouraging healthy risk taking (Mattson, n.d.). Working in a team can take the pressure off individuals and allow individuals who are more knowledgeable in a subject to provide more insight amongst the group.

Student 6:

• I believe that working in teams brings about a certain dynamic that makes a task or job to be accomplished with more understanding and thoroughness. It has been proven that a level of synergy is created by the team which brings about a more efficient output to accomplish any task. There can be drawbacks from operating in teams as well, team members can have issues with communication, and cohesion. The fact is that not all task or jobs require people to work in teams, managers need to ask the hard question. Is the team needed? Managers must ascertain whether a project requires collective work. “Some situations do not call for teamwork and are better handled by individuals working alone” (Colella, Hitt, Miller, & Triana, 2018, p. 366).I believe that if you are working in a team task-based job environment that your employees should have to work in a team or group. The employees will have to understand that teamwork is the concept that is being established and if they have concerns they need to communicate them. Once they communicate them to management, it is managements task to help the employee overcome their concerns and grow into a real team member. They can learn and understand that past bad experiences can be overcome to learn the benefits of working in teams. Managers can also determine if the task that is being performed can be structured to enable for someone that has a problem working in a team environment might be able to excel performing unitary task. “Unitary task is a task that cannot be divided and must be performed by an individual” (Colella, Hitt, Miller, & Triana, 2018, p. 372). Workers who want to be evaluated on their own merits solely must determine if working in a team environment is where they want to be employed. This part of the question reminds me of being in the Navy, being in the Navy is considered a team environment but each individual is evaluated on their own merits. When they are evaluated, teamwork is only one grading category out of many. As a manager you must understand if they are apprehensive about teamwork as it could cause a conflict if the individual does not see or share the views of others. Ultimately we want a workforce that wants to work and is focused on the success of the team and everyone pitches in to accomplish the team goal. There has to be a strong structure, “Teams also need the right mix and number of members, optimally designed tasks and processes, and norms that discourage destructive behavior and promote positive dynamics” (Haas & Mortensen, 2016).