Discussion Questions - Question 4

IV. Plan a solutions how you’re going to deal with the motivation problems identified in people Group B

Here are some of the solutions to deal with the motivation problems identified in people Group B.

• Decentralization and Delegation – If firms decentralize control and reduce the number of level management, each manager will have more subcordinates and consequently will be forced to delegate some responsibility and decision to them.
• Job Enlargement – Broadening the scope of an employee’s job adds variety and opportunities to satisfy ego needs.
• Participative Management – Consulting employees in the decision making process taps their creative and provides them with some control over their work environment.
• Performance Appraisals – Having the employee set objectives and participate in the process of evaluating how well they were met.

Discussion Questions - Question 3

III. Plan a solutions how you’re going to deal with the motivation problems identified in people Group A

Here are some of the solutions to deal with the motivation problems identified in people

Group A:

• Manager tries to motivate through fear.
• Employees must be rewarded, intimidated and punished.
• Constant supervision.
• Maintain tight control over employee.
• Make decisions and provide directions for employees.

Discussion Questions - Question 2

II. Identify the motivation problems of Group B and indicate which theory you are using.

By referring to Douglas Mc Gregor theory of motivation, Group B belongs to Theory Y.

Theory Y is based on modern or progressive or professional approach. Here, the assumptions about people e.g. employees are quite different:

• Work is as natural as play, provided the work environment is favorable.
• People can be self directed and creative at work if they are motivated properly.
• People have capacity to exercise imagination and creativity.
• People are not by nature passive or resistant to organizational needs. They have become so as a result of experience in organizations.
• An average human beings under proper conditions. He is also willing to accept responsibility.
• The intellectual capacity of an average human being is utilized partially under the conditions of modern industrial life.

Discussion Questions - Question 1

I. Identify the motivation problems of Group A and indicate which theory you are

using.

By referring to Douglas McGregor theory of motivation, Group A belongs to Theory X.

Theory X is based on traditional assumptions about people (employees). Here, the conventional approach of management is used as a base. It suggests the following features of an average human being/employee:

• The average human being is inherently lazy by nature and desires to work as little as possible. He dislikes the work and will like to avoid it, if he can.
• He avoids accepting responsibility and prefers to be led or directed by some other.
•  He is self-centered and indifferent to organizational needs.
• He has little ambition, dislikes responsibility, prefers to be led but wants security.
• He is not very intelligent and lacks creativity in solving organizational problems.
• He by nature resists to change of any type.

Case Study 3 - Question 4

4) As based on the example in the case study, in your opinion should the government have the right to force a legal business to take an action that might damage its relationship with its customers? What does this say about the action of the government? Do you support this and do you think that citizens will support this action?

Each of these businesses has a corporate responsibility to the public, its shareholders and the world it trades in.

In its most basic terms, corporate responsibility can come down to the ethics of a business. Each company has its own set of core values, but the company’s values also touch everyone that the business deals with. Years ago, a company’s corporate responsibility was dictated by its government. There were set laws that had to be adhered to regarding financial and social responsibility. Today, however, corporate responsibility has to take into account the world that we live in on a much wider scale.

The public has become much more globally aware, and there are a number of groups that monitor corporations closely. These groups have the conditions of the world in mind.

Corporations are now held accountable not just by the government, but also by the public. Corporate responsibility must now take into account how dealings with customers, shareholders and employees are seen by the world. Large global corporations know that people are watching them and that any wrongdoing will not go unnoticed.

Many corporations have been forced into taking corporate responsibility. They know that it does not make good business sense to be seen as a company that is damaging the world that we live in. Huge penalties and fines also await corporations that break ethical and environmental laws.

Corporate responsibility has a huge impact not only on the local community, but also on the world. Its affects are social, economic and environmental. Bad and good corporate responsibility has effects that reach from the worker in the third world country to the air that we breathe.

Reference:

Conjecture Corporation (2012)

Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-corporate-responsibility.htm

Case Study 3 - Question 3

3) Do you feel Google was supporting or obstructing justice in its refusal to give up private information to its government? Why?

Google has refused to comply with a Justice Department subpoena filed last year, which the agency hopes to use to resurrect the 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which the Supreme Court struck down in 2004.

The subpoena requested that Google provide a random sample of 1 million Web addresses and “the text of each search string entered into Google’s search engine over a one-week period (absent any information identifying the person who entered such query),” according to the motion filed Wednesday in San Jose, Calif., by Justice Department lawyers..

“It’s a bit odd that the government feels the need to conduct a fishing expedition with Google if it wants to test the filtering technology,” said Sherwin Siy, staff counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, which joined the ACLU as a plaintiff in the original case.

“Though the law may be on the government’s side here, I can appreciate Google’s reluctance to turn over this information, which, presumably, contains some sensitive personal information pertaining to its customers, including e-mail addresses, without any control over how it’s treated after the fact,” he said.

“They wouldn’t have to fight if they didn’t keep this information in the first place,” he said.

Google said the government requests would put an undue burden on the company. But the motion offered to “compensate Google for its reasonable expenses,” and noted that other companies did not report any compliance difficulties.

“We did not provide any personal information in response to the Department of Justice’s subpoena,” Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako wrote in an e-mail yesterday. “In our opinion, this is not a privacy issue. We complied on a limited basis and did not provide any personally identifiable information.”

 Reference:

The Washington Times (2006)

Available at: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2006/jan/19/20060119-105801-2649r/?page=al

Case Study 3 - Question 2

 2) What risk did Google take in not initially complying with

government requests?

Government censor requests for the removal of online content are alarming as such moves put free expression at risk, Google said.

Google, the world's most popular search engine, said on Monday confirmed that it had released data showing government requests for the removal of blog posts and videos, and requests for handing over user data from July to December last year.

Raising concerns over government's demands for removal of online content and revelation of user information, Google said, "We've been asked to take down political speech. It's alarming not only because free expression is at risk, but because some of these requests come from countries you might not suspect."

The Internet search giant some western governments, which are not typically associated with censorship, have also started making such requests.

Rounding out Google's top 10 government request list is Germany, Argentine, Turkey, Italy, Spain, France, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

Google started documenting government data requests in September 2010, when it first released its Transparency Report.

Reference:

FrenchTribune (06/19/2012)

Available at:  http://irishtribune.com/content/12347-government-censor-requests-put-free-expression-risk-google