Cartoons

The Trouble with Technology

Perceptions in the workplace are determined by the perceiver, the target, and the situation. People in organizations are always judging each other, and as this cartoon illustrates, the man and the computer are judging one another. A number of perceptual errors occur within organizations such as attribution theory which can be referenced in this cartoon. Attribution theory suggests that “when we observe an individual’s behaviour, we try to determine whether the individual is responsible for the behaviour (the cause is internal), or whether something outside the individual caused the behaviour (the cause is external)” (Langton, Robbins, and Judge, 2009, 36). Both the man and the computer blame externally caused behaviour for the others lack of ability. This perceptual error tends to become distorted as individuals commonly put more emphasis on internal or personal factors and less emphasis on external factors (Langton et al., 2009).

Perception is also principle in interacting effectively. Communication is affected by the sender’s perception of the receiver and the receiver’s perception of the sender (Langton et al., 2009).  With reference to the cartoon, the man in particular faces barriers to effective communication such as defensiveness, computer jargon, his experience and attitude, as well as information overload most likely. These barriers make him blame the computer by stating, “Can’t you do anything right?” and therefore blame external causes. Evidently, computers as a new tool in the workplace are likely to cause stress to certain older employees based on their perceptions of technology and communication.

Adjusting to Change

Adapting to change in the work place is all part of a job. Companies are constantly changing and that is due to competition as well as advancements. Competition is defiantly a huge contributor to the changes in the work place because it forces the company to adapt to the changes going on in the world. It makes it a lot easier to explain this to the employees of the company because all of the other companies are making these changes. This gives the employees a better understanding why the changes are being implemented. The advancements in the company can be anything from regular advancement to technological advancements. If the company has any advancements they have to tell their employees about the changes in the company. Mainly the most common changes are the technological advancements. Since computers and devices have been added to companies they have less room and need for paper. This is helping the company to save money as well, which is the angle most companies take when telling their employees about changes within the business. In this cartoon there has clearly been some changes in the workplace that some people in the workplace are not prepared for and also not happy with. There is always going to be the veterans at the workplace that are not going to like the changes and be against it. This is something that the leaders of the company are going to have to deal with no matter what. Changes are going to happen especially with all of the different advancements that the world has made.  

Redundancy 

Translation from Finnish to English: (First) Giant layoffs threaten Kyyttö Industries. (Second) Thank you for the past years.

In today’s business environment the competition is fierce and companies tirelessly try to find ways to increase productivity and profitability. In hope to save money, they lay off people - sometimes the lay-offs are temporary, sometimes people are made redundant. Whether the layoffs consider only one or a few people or tens and hundreds of people, the situation is challenging for both the employer and employee.

In the past, a person might have been working in a same job for his/her entire life. Nowadays, even though companies seek employees that are committed, hard working and loyal, the focus has began to be more in the short term success, rapid revenues and massive growth rates. It seems that companies want something more, better and faster these days. Can growth be eternal? And can the cost be dead-beaten and/or laid-off employees?

The above cartoon reflects the contemporary and sometimes very dramatic changes in workplace in a humorous way. In some industries, where the competition is toughest or the market saturated, employees experience constant fear of losing their job which affects the working environment and even the organizational culture. The threat of layoffs may also cause wrong kind of competition between employees who desperately try to keep their jobs. Hostile working environment and fear are major stress factors in workplace, and the possible tension between trade unions and employers won’t make the situation any easier.

Luckily there are companies that cherish their workforce as a powerful resource for the company. These companies are most likely to organize some sort of support for the laid-off employees and help them to get back on track. These programs are thought through carefully and they have to be cost-efficient to be worthwhile.

What comes to the younger working generations, mostly the X and Y, the valuation of long term employment in one and same company is decreasing. For example the "Xers" appreciate flexibility, life options and job satisfaction, and somewhat similarly the "Yers" have high expectations and they seek meaning in their work (Langton, Robbins, & Judge, 2011). Nowadays life is not only about work, it is about working in a meaningful job and about the possibility to make a change. Layoffs, viewed from this angle, may also have a positive side to them.

Is the customer always right?

This cartoon is explaining an issue that is faced by many companies. The issue arises when companies analyze what their team can do differently to insure optimal customer service and find that in some cases customers can be to blame. A new pandemic for online businesses are that of credit card charge back fraud. Many online businesses will sell product, ship products to the clients, only for the clients to complete something called a chargeback. The customer can complain that the item they received is not what they expected and the charge back will refund all payment to the customer. This forces a loss upon the online business. The worst part about this is that credit card companies take little to no action to insure these chargebacks are not fraudulent (Millstone, 2010). After working many years in retail I have also witnessed that some customers are extremely hard to satisfy and in many cases cannot be satisfied. Some would claim this is to be blamed on the mindset of the customer but thankfully there are ways to created “Better Customers”.  There are three full proof ways to change a customers from “bad” to “good” the first is giving them a trial for free to allow them to feel as if you are giving them something not just trying to sell them. The second is bring proof, it is important to implement a word of mouth referral system as it will show proof that you have happy customers and that will go a long way in keeping new customers interested and happy with your product. Lastly, show them savings. Saving customers money on the products they are purchasing is a definite way to make them happy (Cullen, 2012).

 

Respect your employees

 

Changes in the workplace are all different, but employees have to be smart enough to decipher what is good for the company and their well being. In this cartoon the employee is being asked to change himself in order to get a job. Not all change in the workplace is going to be acceptable and as an employee it is your job to make sure you know your rights and what is good for you personally. That being said, the employers should know what to ask of their employees with respect to them. They do not need to ask more of the employees than expected. Employers sometimes get aggressive and desperate when it comes to change in the business because they do not expect it and don’t know what to do. If the company for example wants women for the role and it needs to be filled as quickly as possible then they may go to the extremes. Not so much as to ask a man for a sex change but more like asking internally and recruiting someone that might not be as qualified. When faced with change in the workplace the employees and employers have their own ways of dealing with it and the most important thing is that it is communicated and make sure everyone understands what is going on. This can be communicated via email or in person but they need to make sure that they are not missing any facts and that everything is addressed right away so no conflicts arise.