MGMT 453 Winter 2025 - Ryan Sandidge

Based on the results, what did you learn about yourself? What steps can you take as you progress through your professional career to help you manage stress? Conduct internet research on stress and other health conditions of current concern to organizations. What are organizations doing to help their employees manage their health and cope with stress? 

Based on my test results, I’m a generally relaxed individual (as expected). I generally “go with the flow.”

Comprehensive mental health efforts that go beyond traditional stress management courses are being adopted by organizations today. They provide organized Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) that give private assistance and counseling. These initiatives foster an atmosphere where mental health is valued by connecting staff members with experts in treating stress, anxiety, and depression.  

As remote work becomes more common, businesses are collaborating with digital health platforms, such as Headspace, Calm, or teletherapy services, to provide prompt and easily available assistance. Employees may participate in guided meditations, mindfulness exercises, and virtual therapy sessions from the comfort of their homes thanks to this digital partnership, which guarantees that assistance is always available. 

Many companies now set aside specific “mental health days,” which adds another level of care for their employees. These days, in contrast to regular sick or vacation leave, are intended especially for relaxing and rejuvenating without any shame attached. Simultaneously, flexible work arrangements have become an essential component of contemporary stress reduction. Employees may select work settings that better fit their requirements thanks to remote and hybrid work models, which greatly lessen the stress associated with commuting and enhance work-life balance in general.  

By providing flexible start and finish hours, employers are also reconsidering work schedules. These programs relieve the strain of strict schedules while assisting employees in juggling personal obligations. Additionally, tactics like planned “digital detox” intervals or “No Meeting Days” shield employees from constant connectedness and the ensuing fatigue.  

Many firms reinforce their support with wellness initiatives and gym subsidies because they understand the complex relationship between mental and physical health. Ergonomic workspace investments help reduce physical strain even further, while seminars on nutrition and lifestyle—from healthy cooking lessons to on-site snack options—promote a balanced way of living.  

Examining these programs further reveals a vibrant trend: businesses are combining physical and mental wellness techniques more frequently, promoting a comprehensive approach to employee health that may boost happiness and productivity.  

Think of a situation where you (or someone you know) engaged in a set of behaviors and compensation may have been a motivating factor. Some examples – accepted or declined a job offer, left a job, or decreased effort. Why do you think compensation motivated that behavior? What was it about the compensation that led you (or the other person) to behave that way?   

The best example that comes to mind is simple day-to-day attitude and effort put toward responsibilities. In my (albeit limited) work experience I’ve noticed that more often than not, employees who exhibit behaviors comprising an “ideal employee” are motivated by the prospect of compensation to some degree. There are plenty of people who “attack the day” and give a genuine 100% effort toward their responsibilities because they either enjoy what they do or take pride in their work; But these very same individuals are likely also motivated by compensation. I attribute this behavior/attitude to the idea of how much someone values their time spent associated with their responsibilities along with their competency to effectively tend to said responsibilities. In simpler terms, I think individuals seek compensation for their work because it is work (this and income=compensation, income is needed to live). On the flip side of things, unmotivated employees aren’t (or at least shouldn’t) expecting compensation to the same extent that a motivated employee would be. So I suppose I’d break it down as: 

Ideally, compensation and work effort (motivation) have a positive correlation. 

Reflect on a training (or a class you’ve taken) that you found especially beneficial and one that you didn’t find beneficial. Drawing on this week’s material, what made the one training (or class) effective and the other not so much?

Onboarding is one of the more difficult hurdles new-hires may face when working for a new employer. Different organizations do their onboarding a variety of ways! The more common technique being a mentor/buddy system, allowing the new employee to get acquainted with the work environment and direct access to a resource for questions. In the shoes of a new employee, I typically inquire about main tasks/objectives associated with the position I’m being hired for (as any good employee should). The second major thing I’m looking for is where information pertaining to my tasks/objectives should and would be stored and/or found. In my experience, onboarding ideally covers those two main uncertainties should they exist. Effective and successful onboarding establishes duties, objectives, standard operating procedures, and best practice, etc. It’s essentially invaluable to an organization’s success in not just retaining talented employees, but also actively giving them the tools and ‘map’ or ‘layout’ to develop in their field. Poor onboarding procedures can largely stem from misunderstanding the role being filled by either the new hire, the employer, or even both! Much like job descriptions, if there’s discrepancy between what’s expected from the position and what’s being taught to the new position, there’s little to gain from both parties.

Resources

Complete employee onboarding guide. Complete Employee Onboarding Guide. (n.d.). https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/topics/onboarding

Corkery, M. (2017, August 8). At Walmart Academy, Training Better Managers. but with a better future?. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/business/walmart-academy-employee-training.html

Ellis, A. M., Nifadkar, S. S., Bauer, T. N., & Erdogan, B. (2020, November 3). Your new hires won’t succeed unless you onboard them properly. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2017/06/your-new-hires-wont-succeed-unless-you-onboard-them-properly

Reflect on your experience in the interviews you’ve participated in. Drawing on the readings and lectures from this week, what made those interviews effective and possibly ineffective, especially when you think about reliability, validity, and utility? If you could go back and advise those employers on how to improve the effectiveness of their interviews, what would you tell them? 
 
My experience with interviews is admittedly very little. The interviews I’ve participated in have been for internships through the MECOP program here at OSU. Due to the nature of the intern position and the goal of the program itself: “Enhance and expand an industry driven work experience cooperative program through university partnerships, which is of the highest quality and meets the needs of Pacific Northwest industries by providing excellent real-world experience for students. We value our partnerships with participating schools and recognize the importance of work experience as a part of the educational process.” These interviews had very little to do with technical assessment, and much to do with interpersonal skills, professionality, interests, hobbies, and preference regarding work environment. Understandably, as an intern is typically relatively new to the work force with little technical expertise in the industry, and most of those enrolled in the MECOP program have taken similar courses, there would be little benefit from screening technical competencies because it would be going against the nature of the program itself. What these interviews did do a good job of was extracting needs and desires from both the interviewer and the interviewee. Internships aren’t a one-way street as I’m sure we all know at this point. The interviewers have a responsibility to acquire potential talent that fits within their company culture and aligns with the ‘direction’ the organization is headed. The interviewees are looking to gain quality work experience indicative of career possibilities following graduation along with technical experience with new software, machines, and overall skills applicable to a variety of instances. Because ultimately, “Your degree is not a proxy for your ability to do any job. The world only cares about — and pays off on — what you can do with what you know (and it doesn’t care how you learned it). And in an age when innovation is increasingly a group endeavor, it also cares about a lot of soft skills — leadership, humility, collaboration, adaptability and loving to learn and re-learn.” (Friedman, 2014) 

Resources 

“About Us.” MECOP, www.mecopinc.org/about#the-mecop-mission. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.  

Friedman, Thomas L. “How to Get a Job at Google.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Feb. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html. 

To be effective in terms of clarity and consistency of job descriptions, an organization must employ a variety of methods/techniques. For example, including various stakeholders in the process, such as HR professionals, managers, and employees, can result in more accurate and comprehensive job descriptions. This collaboration ensures that all aspects of the function are handled, and that the description appropriately reflects the duties and responsibilities. Another approach for improving clarity and consistency is to use standardized templates to speed up the process while maintaining uniformity across all job descriptions. These templates should include important information such as the job title, synopsis, tasks, qualifications, and talents. Ideally, job descriptions should be dynamic documents that are reviewed and updated on a regular basis to reflect changes in jobs and duties.

Conducting frequent evaluations to ensure job descriptions stay relevant and consistent with company goals is a critical aspect of maintaining accurate job descriptions. Regular evaluations, possibly yearly or biannually, can help keep job descriptions current and accurate.

A less demanding task that aids in maintaining job descriptions is simply integrating clear and detailed wording to avoid uncertainty and make job descriptions easier to understand. Clear, succinct, and detailed phrasing aids in effectively communicating the role’s criteria and duties (as with any body of text).

Incorporating skills and competencies in job descriptions helps offer a more complete picture of what is necessary and expected for success in the position. Competencies might comprise both technical skills and behavioral characteristics necessary for the profession.

Thanks to advancements made in the last decade or two, technology may help ease the creation and management of job descriptions. Tools like job description software and HRIS (Human Resource Information Systems) help simplify the process while also providing templates and recommendations. Adopting technology to manage job descriptions may improve accuracy, minimize time spent on administrative chores, and maintain consistency.

Ultimately, implementing some or all these tactics can help organizations overcome the obstacles of writing and maintaining job descriptions, resulting in more successful hiring, clearer performance standards, and greater alignment with company goals and expectations.

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