Premium Essay

Zero-Tolerance Managers

In: Other Topics

Submitted By moundalek
Words 820
Pages 4
“The most basic premise of learning in an organizational sense is the detection and correction of error” (Moss and Sanchez, 2004). The need to correct errors, among other things, can explain the importance of feedback, particularly the constructive type. Feedback is of utmost importance and not properly addressing issues related to it can lead to a feedback back gap. Once this gap is discovered it is necessary to determine appropriate managerial strategies to close it. The feedback gap results from employees’ feedback avoiding behavior (FAB) and is usually due to fear of negative feedback (self-preservation needs) or appearing incompetent (impression management needs), and is widened by managers’ behavior since the latter determine the cost of feedback seeking (Moss and Sanchez, 2004).
One type of managers that negatively affects the feedback gap is the zero-tolerant manager. Usually emotionally and physically distant from his employees, this manager is oblivious to situational factors contributing to employee performance which in turn causes him to attribute poor performance to internal employee characteristics instead of taking the context into account. Employees avoid feedback from the zero-tolerant manager because they believe he will directly blame them while disregarding all other factors. Moss and Sanchez offer this type of managers a few solutions to reduce FAB and the feedback gap: such as having an open mind about causes of poor performance, managing psychological and physical distance, engaging in active listening and giving effective feedback. Perhaps, however, prevention is better than cure. Why not avoid or decrease the chances of appointing a zero-tolerant manager to begin with?
An article found in the archive of Harvard Business School “The Young and the Clueless” by Kerry A. Bunker, Kathy E. Kram and Sharon Ting, attributes some of the

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Spanning the Globe

...1. Introduction Most diversity initiatives start from the top with the leadership commitment. A high-level strategy is developed, complete with vision, mission and goals. But by the time it gets to the bottom (if it ever makes it!), it is often interpreted very differently. The intent of top-down approaches is noble, but without an equally effective bottom-up strategy, diversity initiatives invariably get stuck in the middle. In most cases, when a company decides to focus on diversity, the CEO and other top-level executives will incorporate a philosophical message in a variety of company publications and in presentations and reports given both internally and externally. These well-worded communications usually speak to ‘valuing and respecting diversity’, ‘the desire to have an organisation that is representative of the labour force and customer base’, ‘social responsibility, and compliant with the law and anti-discrimination policies’. A wide variety of processes, policies, and strategies are then developed to promote awareness and appreciation of differences, ensure fair treatment, increase representation, and create a culture of inclusion. 3. Key features of a bottom-up approach # Focus on the individual Recognising that change happens one person at a time and that everyone is different (e.g. have had different experiences), a bottom-up approach develops different learning solutions and strategies to meet individuals where they are. For example, white males often feel...

Words: 923 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Creating a Plan for Positive Influence

...Creating a Plan for Positive Influence Sandra Frieze University of Phoenix Creating a Plan for Positive Influence The effect of a positive influence plan in a business can transform a working environment, especially when a team needs to work together for a period of one year before the project is complete. Productivity increases, customers are more satisfied and new clients are attracted to the company. A manager must take time to fully develop and implement a plan based on positive influence. This is accomplished through self-analysis, daily efforts in role modeling and instilling positive behaviors in workers. These types of initiatives create a motivated and dedicated team. Positive Behaviors Assess yourself critically in terms of your own positive behavior. As the manager, you are the role model for your employees so you need to correct and address issues, such as pessimistic language, in a timely manner. If a negative issue comes up, it is important to address and resolve the issue in as much of a positive way as possible. Establishing and keeping a positive atmosphere and environment can take some effort. Encourage your employees to become more positive in little ways like smiling more, speaking in an upbeat tone and thanking co-workers more often for their contributions. Beyond being positive, work to keep your team enthusiastic about the project. The assigned project’s timeline is long and employees can get distracted and discouraged when the project does...

Words: 784 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Sexual Harrasment

...1. In my opinion there should be a zero tolerance policy for sexual harassment. If you are found guilty of it I think you should be fired right there on the spot. I don't care if the person being "harassed" is at the same level as the harassor or if they are a superior and a subordinate. No one should have to deal with that in a work place. Now the issue would be was it without a doubt sexual harassment or does it fall into the gray area. 2. If a sexual harassment claim has been made the human resource department should investigate the claim thoroughly to make sure the claim is valid. If the claim is found to be invalid the accuser should be either terminated. 3. I know there are some cases that would fall into the gray area. Not every case is as clear cut and isolated to one event. Sometimes there are cases when a female coworker could be wearing a outfit that is not 100% appropriate for work, as an example. A male colleague could say something to her about her outfit that was not meant to be sexual but that's the way the female coworker took it and reported him to HR. In this case what the male colleague said could be taken out of context and in an absolute zero tolerance policy he could be fired on the spot. There does need to some room for these types of situations and others like it. An investigation needs to be had by a non biased person, the work record of the people who are involved should be taken into consideration and a counseling session with the outcome of the...

Words: 317 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Policy Analysis

...Analysis I Zero Tolerance Policies Angelina Swofford October 27th 2013 CJA/464 Paul Brouillette Policy Analysis In this paper we are going to be discussing Zero-Tolerance policies and how they affect everyone in the community including the accused and the victim as well as those on the outside. We are going to discuss if this is a regulatory or a legislative policy and if there is any issues with the constitution with implementing this policy. There will also be a discussion of who started this policy and the reason for it being implemented into a policy. Zero-Tolerance Policies Zero Tolerance is something that happens in a lot of areas but the places we hear of it most is in schools and when it has to do with drugs. It is the intent of the legislature to promote safe and supportive learning environments in schools. This is to help protect all of those who are within the school building including staff and students. Zero-Tolerance Policies have to cover everyone within the school and all the same rules have to apply to everyone. In order to prosecute or give disciplinary actions within a school that hosts zero tolerance policies has to be based on a particular circumstance of a student’s misconduct (Florida Department of Education, 2005). Schools have a zero tolerance for bullying and drugs so these two zero tolerance polices go hand in hand. They also have zero tolerance policies that center just around drugs like in Elk Point South Dakota it is absolutely zero tolerance...

Words: 864 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Zero Tolerance

...Running head: ZERO TOLERANCE Zero Tolerance Tara Harrigan, Udawna Neal, Shamada Platt, Shareese Williams Grand Canyon University Legal Issues in Education EDA 555 Dr. Denise Geier February 06, 2013 Zero Tolerance Zero tolerance began as a government plan to keep our schools safe and is now believed to be a major contributing factor to the downfall of the public education system. This policy stems from the Gun-free School Act (GFSA) of 1994. The act mandated that any student found to have brought a firearm to school would be automatically expelled from school for at least a year. The act was later initiated to encompass nonviolent offenses such as possession of drugs, persistent profanity, rebelliousness toward authority, vandalizing school property, and activities associated with gangs on school property. (Fries & DeMitchell, 2007) However, what was meant to be accomplished by this act, and what actually happened were very contrasting events. The GFSA was the first law which took control of disciplining students out of the hands of administrators and left it up to the written “rule” provided by state legislation (Martinez, 2009). The discretion of the discipline process was placed at the hands of the classroom teachers and administrators interpretation of that rule. The most notable complaint is the complete ridiculousness of some of the harsh responses to petty offenses that fall under the guidelines of what defines a punishable offense or weapon possession...

Words: 1588 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Facts

...Driving a motor vehicle is a privilege. A car is as dangerous as loaded weapon. There are over 255,000,000 registered vehicles in U.S. More than 5.8 million crashes occur every year. The economic cost of crashes exceeds $230 Billion. A fatal crash can cost as much as $500,000. Each year, over 37,000 people die in car-related crashes. One in every three collisions results in injury. There are two types of bad drivers—Aggressive and Unaware. The first step to become better is to identify your weaknesses, strengths and emotional state. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are over 205 million licensed drivers in the U.S. Your driving record is available to the public. Your record of health or mental condition is not. You may lose your license if you accumulate too many points on your record. Your license can be canceled if you give incorrect information or move to another state. To reinstate the suspended license you will need to serve the period of suspension, pay an applicable service fees and any fines ordered by court. You cannot drive on a revoked, canceled or suspended license. You must report a collision with damages over $500 to the MVC within 10 days. You are required to carry one of the four acceptable forms of the Financial Responsibility --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Never insist on your right of way, even if you...

Words: 837 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

No Judgment + No Discretion = Zero Tolerance

...“Zero-tolerance” is the policy of applying laws or penalties to even minor infringements of a code in order to reinforce its overall importance and enhance deterrence. In the reading “Zero Tolerance”, Shawn Hubler stands on the opposite side about “zero-tolerance” on campus and even in our society. “Zero-tolerance” is a blind rule that is focusing on punishment only. There is no judgment and no discretion about the offenders and the cases. “Zero-tolerance” may cause bad influence on the offenders’ future. I strongly agree with her position about against “zero-tolerance”. First, zero-tolerance is conflict with my cognition about “rules”. There is not just “black-and-white” in our judging measurement. Grey areas exist. There are some special circumstances that the offenders are naïve or lured to make the mistakes, especially teenagers. Zero-tolerance is too extreme for teenagers. Hubler mentioned an example in her article, which is about a poor little kid who just pretend to have a sip on a vodka-and-orange juice. He was so innocent to admit he drank. Can we say he really did something wrong? However, zero-tolerance policies will never give him any chance other than punishment. Therefore, zero-tolerance has no consideration about the content of the cases. It only focuses on punishment. In addition, zero-tolerance may push the offenders to an abyss for their careers. Hubler wrote, “ So every kid suspected of wrongdoing-drunk or sober, troubled or just uncharacteristically stupid-face...

Words: 466 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Out School Suspension

...Help with out school suspension Through the years, public and private schools alike find ways to innovate and improve their discipline policies. However, in some schools the inflicting of suspension upon students is abused. Although the law permits schools to suspend a student due to possession of deadly weapons in school grounds some schools suspend its students for minor violations. In California Alone more than 400000 students were suspended in one year. Even though out-of-school suspension may be beneficial, it shouldn’t be used for minor offenses because it will cause the student to miss in-class lessons and projects blemish upon a student’s reputation and may promote discrimination among different races in the school. Prohibiting...

Words: 355 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Ethical Dilemma

...a week and we are ready to head home. All three of us are at the airport getting ready to board our plane, when an armed officer comes around with a sniffer dog. I have all my bags on a trolley, and the dog sniffs at me and my mom’s bag, and passes over it, however when he gets to my little brother’s bag, he begins to get a bit more active. I look over at my brother and he’s looking a little nervous. I know he’s smoked a little marijuana in his time, but generally, he’s a good kid, and I am certainly didn’t think he’d actually be stupid enough to bring it back on the plane with him. At first I feel angry that he would do such a thing and start planning my responsibility lecture, but then I realize that I am in Dubai, and they have a zero tolerance policy on drugs, meaning my brother could be jailed for life, or worse, executed, if he does have some illicit materials in his bag. I look at my mom and realize she has come to the same conclusion and has gone pale with fear. The armed officer accompanying the dog is beginning to look more sterner with every sniff the dog takes and looks directly at me and asks me to open to the bag. I do, and as the officer begins to take things out of the bag, I see that there is a small quantity of marijuana stashed in with my brother’s belongings. The officer looks at me and asks “whose bag is this? “I realize I have to answer, but the answer won’t be easy. I see my mom in the corner of my eye, and she is about to step forward and claim it as...

Words: 332 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Ethical and Socially Responsive Business

...excellence in our business.” Without our customers, we cannot survive. Without our customers, we cannot be successful. This is why we invest in our people. This means our employees as well as our community. This is why a code of conduct was constructed. Our desire is for these principles to not only be shared in our restaurants, but across the world. We not only teach these principles, we live them as well. We teach and live these principles beginning with the onboarding process on through until the employee leaves the organization. Our mission is for all employees to continue the push of these principles throughout their entire lives. We accomplish this through two key principles; I. We do this through our company culture. II. We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to not following this code of conduct. III. We have a compliance department that handles all disputes, violations of the code of conduct, and investigations regarding violations of the code of conduct. There must be a specific department, designated employees that govern the entire company’s employees and handle any issues that arise. Another step that we take to ensure the employees follow the code of conduct is to have each employee sign the code of conduct...

Words: 572 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Prohibition and Harm Reduction

...Harm Reduction Bryon Wilson BEHS 364 August 5th 2014 There have been two different strategies of society dealing with alcohol; harm reduction and zero tolerance. The method of harm reduction is focused primarily on reducing the negative effect of alcohol society and the people who drink. This is usually implemented by our government. They create policies and social programs that can treat those afflicted with alcoholism. There are several ways that this can be accomplished, such as limiting access, and taxing the substance to reduce demand. There are also social programs put in place that can help educate, rehabilitate and help recover. This a strategy compared to zero tolerance carries a unique ability to be tailored to suit individual needs as opposed to a one size fits all blanket policy. The harm reduction policy stands on a principle that alcoholism will not be completely eliminated so it would be more benefit to address the negative harms. For instance as alcoholism can be a major problem at work, some companies provide someone as an advocate and counsel. These counselors can work with them to modify behavior and reduce alcohol related incidents and further harm to their self on the job and in their personal life. That is something prohibition policies cannot do for an individual person. The proponents of zero tolerance see the alcoholic epidemic as a disease and therefore cannot allow continued usage if the person is to be treated and recover. It is not looked at as...

Words: 902 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

School Master Plan for Discipline

...Referrals by Time Referrals by Student Referrals by Staff Individual Student Report by Month and by Year Referrals by Grade Level Other: Other: C. Type “Yes” or “No” in the box as applicable to the following. 1. School consistently and uniformly utilizes the two BESE-approved forms. If no, explain: _____________________________________________________________________________ 2. School has addendum to two BESE-approved forms to assist with data collection. If yes, attach a copy of the addendum with worksheet. 3. School has a Zero Tolerance Policy. If Yes, go to #4. If no, go to # 6. 4. Leadership Team has reviewed the Zero Tolerance Policy to ensure compliance with R.S. 17:416.15, including R.S. 17:416 (H) which prohibits disciplinary action against any pupil reasonably acting in self-defense. 5. Leadership Team has revised the Zero Tolerance Policy to comply with R.S. 17:416.15. 6. Leadership Team has reviewed policies for handling suspensions and expulsions to ensure compliance with R.S. 17:416. 7. Leadership Team has reviewed procedures for handling suspensions and expulsion to ensure consistent and fair execution and to ensure that alternative interventions are used. 8....

Words: 780 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

No Tolerance and No Bulling Policies

...No Tolerance and No Bulling Policies: Why They Do Not Work "Zero Tolerance Policies" were first instated into schools, to enforce suspension and expulsion, in response to students; violating; weapons, drugs and violent act policies that were already in place. Shortly after, schools began to instate “No Bulling Policies” partly to a high suicide rate among teenagers due to bulling. The consequences for violating these policies can now go beyond expulsion, and have legal implications. In theory these policies are a great idea. Unfortunately, these policies are rarely implemented and carried out correctly, causing them to not just be ineffective; but causing them to have adverse effects. We have tried these policies in our schools , it has been proven that they have done more harm than good; it is now time to remove these policies from our schools. The “school to prison pipeline," is a recent national trend where children are pushed out of public schools, and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Many of these children have learning disabilities, histories of poverty, and histories of abuse and neglect. There students would benefit from additional educational and counseling services. Instead, they are isolated, punished and pushed out. Many "Zero-tolerance" policies criminalize minor infractions of school rules. Cops in schools are criminalizing behavior that should be handled inside the school. Students of color are especially vulnerable to push-out trends and the...

Words: 1610 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Zero Tolerance in Schools

...Title: Not on Our Watch! By Glading, Randall article tells how the administration at Yorktown High School, in Yorktown Heights enforced a zero tolerance policy. It was brought to one of the administrators’ attention that some of the student in the school had been drinking at football games. A zero tolerance policy was enforced immediately. Yorktown High administrators and staff came together to monitor the students more closely at the foot games. The first game after the policy was enforced. Two students were found to be under the influence. Those student were suspended immediately for three day. When the students returned to school they had to do mandatory meetings with the school counselor. I agree with the zero tolerance policy when it is not being abused. Teachers should not have to tolerate extreme miss behavior. I do believe with this issues of alcoholism the zero tolerance policy was the right thing for this school. There is nothing wrong with setting rules and following through with consequences. Biblical insight on zero tolerance took me to 2 John 1:10-11“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. As Christian we have the right to say we cannot and will not tolerate sin. Glading, Randall. Principal Leadership, High School ed.8.7 (Mar 2008): 7-8. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into...

Words: 280 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Zero Tolerance

...Zero Tolerance By Purple Team Grand Canyon University: EDA 555 Instructor: Norman Hale February 25, 2015 Zero tolerance policies began in 1994 following the passage of the Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA). It was generated in response to numerous school shootings that had taken place across the United States (US). The Gun-Free Schools Act entail policy that forces schools to expel students who possess or carry a gun(s) while they are on school campuses and/or property. Zero tolerance policies are in schools all across the United States and are coined “Zero-Tolerance Schools”. Zero-tolerance policies are found in schools ranging from elementary through universities/colleges. The court rulings, laws and policies of zero-tolerance are designed to create a safe learning environment by keeping drugs and weapons off of school property. Punishment relinquished in zero tolerance schools range from detention to expulsion from the school. Some individuals believe that zero tolerance policies go too far, as the punishment is swift and unyielding for various types of inappropriate behaviors enacted by students (Lawyer.com, 2015). This paper examines the effects of zero tolerance policies as it relate to David Silverstein, 13, was inspired to build a model rocket after seeing the movie October Sky, a biography of NASA rocket scientist, Homer Hickam. The boy took his rocket, made out of a potato chip canister and fueled with three...

Words: 503 - Pages: 3