NASA Cultural Changes

Recently NASA has gone through a very traumatic situation which it is hard for any agency to cope with, on February 1^st 2003 space shuttle Columbia and the seven crew members were lost. Before that happened NASA had almost a magical presence and its reputation was flawless. No one could have ever seen something like this happening, everything was running so smooth and then before anyone working for NASA knew what hit them this accident occurred. NASA jumped into action after a short grieving period, they began to assess how something like this could happen and what they could do to prevent this from ever happening again.

Sean O’Keefe the leader of NASA needed to address his employees at of all of the proposed changes which would eventually be implemented. A diagnosis of NASA was done and there was a very obvious need for a change in the way they did work and the way their leadership handled the issues at hand. After carefully studying many of the surveys which were conducted the leadership at NASA was able to recognize certain problems with the culture that had been at NASA for a long time.

The results were that this study made it obvious that the general consensus is that employees do not have enough professional respect for one another. This was one of the major problems at NASA, behavior like this can have huge implications on an organization like NASA. If employees do not have enough respect for each other and their professional opinions, it might be harder for someone to come forward with a safety issue in fear of getting disrespected or mocked. Among some other big issues is that there is very little upward communication and perceived organization support, these issues also go along with my theory of employees being scared to speak their minds. I think that Mr. O’Keefe recognizes that this is an important issue and this is why he choose to speak publicly about it rather than just pass the new agenda on to his leadership.

I think Mr. O’Keefe was very believable in his address to the employees of NASA, he was very sincere about wanting to bring a change to the culture of NASA and recognized that in part this incident was also his fault. They always say that the first step to recovery is to admit you have a problem, in this video Sean O’Keefe does just that. He tells the world that the leadership at NASA including himself had failed, he talked about an email which he received that day and said that it was suggested to him for leadership to just get out of their office and go interact with all of the employees. I think that since Mr. O’Keefe reflects on himself and his leadership at NASA so that they can improve; these statements make him sound very believable. He recognizes that no one is perfect including himself, this brings out a very human characteristic in him and it shows that he does want to change NASA’s culture for the better.

Mr. O’Keefe talks about NASA’s values because an organizations looking to improve needs to take into consideration their ethical, value, and goal considerations if they are to improve. By taking this into consideration Mr. O’Keefe can “understand the old culture, encourage change in employees, involve employees, and lead with a vision” (OD, pg. 70). Sean O’ Keefe recognizes that large-scale change takes time and this why I do feel that they are on the correct path.

There are many lessons to be learned from this whole ordeal, I know that I will definitely take a page out of Mr. O’Keefe’s book when I look to becoming a better leader. I see that it is imperative to not make anyone feel as though their opinion does not matter for this person could save a tragedy from happening. If we do not let our employees be free and respect each other’s professional opinions a lot of important information can be lost. It is important that every voice in an organization be heard and that every voice have a channel for them to be heard. I think that this incident at NASA could have been avoided had the culture been different. I will remember this exercise and use it to propel myself to ensure that my work place culture has a much more open atmosphere; I will also make it a point to “live in the new culture”(OD, pg. 70) and not regress back to the old way of doing things.     

Reference:

Brown, D. R. (2011). An Experiential Approach to Organization Development (Eighth ed.). Prentice Hall.

C-SPAN (NASA). (2004). NASA Cultural Changes [Video]. Available from http://www.c-span.org/video/?181348-1/nasa-cultural-changes

Decide and Deliver

• Marcia Blenko argues that decision effectiveness correlates positively with employee engagement and organizational performance. How do you think that employee engagement relates to decision effectiveness?

This is an interesting concept and I think that I completely agree, I feel that this is why it is so important to focus on the employer to employee relationship. Employee engagement is what can make or break a company, I think we have to realize that an employee is a direct representation of management and the company itself. If the employee is not engaged in the well-being and growth of an organization it will show in the organizational performance; a company’s employees are on the front line and generally the first point of contact between a customer and an organization. If the employee is fully engaged and enthusiastic about the decisions being made for change in a company then the quality of their devotion will show in how effective a company’s progress is.

• What are some impediments to good decision making?

Some of the impediments which were mentioned by Marcia Blenko from Bain and Company were not having the right information, leadership behavior, and perhaps not having the right talent. Leadership behavior is essential when it comes to making all of the right decisions, without a strong and confident leader that makes good decisions it is hard for a company to excel. Certain leaders just might not have the right experience or open minded enough to take an organization to the next level; this is where not having the right talent can come into factor. A mixture of these impediments to good decision making can have a negative effect on an organization and it is up to management to seek the right people for the job.  

• Blenko suggests that there are four elements of good decisions: quality, speed, yield, and effort. In your opinion, is there anything missing from this list?

Experience, I think that having someone with a background that is filled with experience is essential when we think about what are key elements to good decision making. At the age of thirty I know that I am no longer the same person that I was a decade ago, I have learned so much and gained so much leadership experience. Without this experience I do not think that I can make the same decisions that I am able to make today, with age and different challenges I feel that so much has changed. I think that if a company is serious about good decision making they need to find someone that has been through a good amount of difficult situations, rather they have succeeded or failed I think that all experiences can be good.

• What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?

I can take away a better understanding of what goes into good decision making and what an organization might be looking for in a leader. I think that this exercise offers a good insight into what companies are looking for when they hire a leader. I also think that this exercise has helped me think about what does make a good leader and good decision making. Among those elements I do believe that quality and effort have to be at the top of that list. I have always been a firm believer that hard work and dedication can transform an organization or a person and help them reach the next level of success.  

Questions:

How can you measure how many good decisions an organization has made over the course of a year?

Is there a way to test someone’s leadership skills prior to hiring them?

If you were to bring in an organization to help you make better decisions how quickly would those results show? Is it worth the investment?

Culture Commitee

• Is the Culture Committee at Southwest effective in establishing cultural norms?

 Cultural norms, these are behaviors that are carried out by employees on a daily basis because they are used to doing things a certain way and this is what is acceptable. To establish cultural norms we first have to “understand corporate culture; corporate culture is a system of shared values and beliefs that interact with an organization’s people, structure, and systems to produce behavioral norms (OD pg.64)”. I think that the culture committee for southwest airlines understands the culture of a flight attendant and they understand how hard it can sometimes be to finish a long flight and then have to clean the airplane with perhaps an empty stomach. The life a flight attendant can be a thankless job, I think that the culture committee understands that and makes it a point to change the culture from being an underappreciated employee to someone that feels valued.

In many organizations there are a lot of employees that feel like they are just another number, when people from management show them that they are also important, that gesture can go a long way. Employee’s that feel appreciated in an organizations culture can prove to be an important step in creating a better company environment.

• From what you can tell, what is the purpose of the culture committee at Southwest?

The purpose of the culture committee is to improve employee morale, having strong and positive moral at work can have a lasting effect on any business. In my studies of business I have always been made aware of the fact that it is your employees which have the most contact with your customers. If your employees hate their jobs and are very negative at work than this will have a direct effect on a company’s revenue. If you have happy employees which enjoy their jobs than I believe that you will see sales improve as that positive attitude will be transferred through the employee to the customer.

• What would you see as a viable mission for a culture committee in your place of work (or your last place of work if you are not currently working)?

My job at the railroad as management causes me to have a nice and comfortable atmosphere where we occasionally get fed lunch on the companies dime, I have a heated or air-conditioned office, and I have a break room where I can access all different sorts of food and complimentary coffee. My biggest concern are the people who are out there in the field moving our trains in -30 degree temperatures, they work in the heat, rain, sleet or snow. These people are the employees which I could see needing a visit from some sort of culture committee. The culture amongst these employees is very negative and they always feel as if the company is doing them wrong. I believe that there should be a mission to reach out to our field employees much more often.

I think that it would be nice to create a more positive environment amongst field workers and change that corporate culture. The company needs to show that they care about their most valuable employees which are doing the grunt work. It might be as simple as a fresh box of donuts and coffee at the terminal, or perhaps a bigger bonus at the end of the year. I do believe that there is a lot that can be done to improve our company culture on the railroad.

• What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?

From this exercise I will take with me the compassion which is put on display by southwest airlines. In this video they are letting the employees kick their feet up and relax for just a second while on the job, this is an important message which is being put on display. As managers we do not want to have an impression or a corporate culture of being known as slave drivers or ruling the company with an iron fist. It is important that we show compassion for those which are below us and understand that we were once in their shoes also. Most people which are at the top of an establishment for the most part must remember what it was like to be the person that is working out in the cold or extreme heat. We cannot forget our humble beginnings and the hard work that was put in to climb the ladder of success.

I will try to be as understanding as possible with my crews which are out on the field working their hardest to make my organization the best. When I do climb higher in management I will make it a point to show my employees that I have been in their shoes and I know how they feel. This will be an outlook which I will try my hardest to stay true to as I climb to higher positions in my company.  

Question:

Why would a manager not try to bring company morale to a higher level?

Reference

·         Brown, D. R. (2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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21st Century Enlightenment

• Why do you think the talk is titled 21st Century Enlightenment?

This was an extremely detailed video with so many thoughts that I would have to watch it about ten more times to truly understand everything that was said. This was also an amazingly talented person which created this video and all of the art work that went along with this production. With that being said I feel that the producer of this video is trying to bring truth to the 21^st century in a world where the truth is often ignored.

To many times I notice in life that people are living in their own worlds unaware of their surroundings. Many people live in a tiny bubble and are satisfied with their bubble as long as they have their comforts, technology and money. The creator of this video was looking for a way to enlighten his public by talking about what is wrong with the world, teach us about our history and talk about his opinion on how we can fix this world. The creator gives us a proposal of what he thinks the world should be like without directly pointing fingers at everyone around him. The creator of this video recognizes that we are in a whole new world in the 21^st century and he feels that maybe he can enlighten us to our own behaviors.

• What does Matthew Taylor mean when he says "to live differently, you have to think differently"?

“Seeing the world in ourselves as a new entity (Matthew Taylor)”, this is what is required of us so that we can live differently. Thinking differently than anyone has ever thought in the past requires us to see that we are living in a new world, we cannot refer to the way things were done in the past too often. Although we must always learn from history we have to understand that in today’s world science has altered many beliefs which our ancestors believed was the truth.

When I think about living differently I know that I have to reflect on myself and correct some of my behaviors which are imbedded into my conscious. I can see myself doing this many times with my children, many times before I council my children I will stop myself and think “Am I being too old fashioned”? This is something which we all must do as adults in the 21^st century if we are to rise to a new sense of enlightenment. This new way of thinking is what will propel us as a human race to reach a new way of living and I think that this is what Matthew Taylor had in mind as he created this production.

• At one point in the video (4:10), Taylor argues that we need "to resist our tendencies to make right or true that which is merely familiar and wrong or false that which is only strange". What is he talking about? Can you think of an example within your company or your life that supports this point?

This is a very similar example to what I stated in my last answer, resisting the temptation to conform to what is imbedded into our brains as children and carry them out as adults only because they feel right. Something that is strange is not always wrong and it is important to stop and analyze what is new to progress in life.

I will revert to my family again for this question because I feel that I can make a big difference with them if I can break my habits of conforming to what I think is right “just because”. Many times I am guilty of scolding my children on things which I think are not right without reasoning. I do it just because I was taught as a child on how certain situations are to be handled by a father. This video has caused me to reflect on who I am as a person and why I do the things that I do on an everyday basis, reflecting on ourselves is what Matthew Taylor was talking about.

• Taylor argues that our society should eschew elements of pop culture that degrade people and that we should spend more time looking into what develops empathetic citizens. Would this be possible?

When I think about this question I believe that a large portion of pop culture in today’s society is developing empathetic citizens. Sometimes I feel that we are becoming a society which is too empathetic causing us to foster an entitlement based society which is far too dependent upon others and government to get them through life. I do feel that even though we are becoming much more enlightened in the 21^st century we are also losing our basic instincts like survival because of a much more empathetic society. Our instincts of survival do not always depend on rather or not we can hunt for game but rather a human can survive in a modern world. I feel that the will to strive and be the best is lost when you have others who will always be there to catch you when you fall. Sometimes not having a safety net can bring out a humans raw instincts and force them to become someone amazing.

To answer the question I do believe that we are currently creating a society which is full of empathetic citizens. It is not wrong but I do believe that there needs to be a balance and there should be a way in which every citizen which wants to participate in our society must hold their own one day and contribute to society.

   

• At the end of the video, Taylor talks about atomizing people from collaborative environments and the destructive effect on their growth. What is the implication of these comments for organizational change efforts?

In organizational development change is a key factor and if we are to stump change within an organization than we are stumping the growth of an organization. Change is key to the success of any organization and those which cannot allow themselves to change might very well be left in the past.

• What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?

This exercise has enlightened me in a way that I never thought a way of thinking could be altered in a matter of ten minutes. The challenge now will be to fight my instincts and put down my pride so that I can continue to grow as a person. If I get stuck to think that life must only follow one course and everything must be done a certain way that it will be hard for me to keep up in the 21^st century. I will take this thought with me to work today and see what I can open my eyes to, as a manager I must especially keep my mind open to many different ideas. I do feel that this could be a life changing moment, my only obstacle will be myself.

Questions-

Does empathy towards mankind always make us better?

Are we living life the right way?

Will we as humans reach a new form of being eventually?

Reference:

21st century Enlightenment [Motion picture]. (2015). You tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC7ANGMy0yo&feature=youtu.be

    

Looking Beyond

            Vision and power, two powerful words which have guided me through life. Without vision are we just wondering aimlessly through life? It might feel that way if we are content in staying where we are and remaining the same person because it is easier. Power is what will give you the strength to follow that vision and push through any obstacle which you may encounter. When you put power and vision together you will develop a following which will only add to your strength.

            These are some of the beliefs which I live by and I appreciate the way that it is presented in the video called “Vision and Power” by Sally Kohn. Pessimist and pragmatists will only slow down the process of success, not only will people like this slow down progress of a company but the progress of mankind.

            I have been lucky enough to work for a company which has been in this country for well over a century. The company which I work for is called BNSF railroad, this is a company which is the product of many mergers but the base from which it all started is still present. I am proud to be a part of an organization like this because I know that my railroad is a product of vision and power. Something which is done on such a large scale can only be accomplished by people who had a vision and did whatever it took to reach their goals.

            I see how this video can relate to my organization in many ways because recently BNSF has gone above and beyond by investing billions of dollars into infrastructure, development and employee growth. It is easy for a company like this to just sit back and continue to make profit, what is impressive is that we are not content with just sitting back and letting change come on its own. BNSF has invested in America’s latest oil boom in the Bakken Shale and is now enjoying the fruits of their labor. BNSF continues to face challenges head on and has not let minor obstacles stop them from their vision of being able to transport the majority of oil from this location.

            Vision and power are two of the most important keys to mankind which have transformed us from the people of the Stone Age to the advanced civilizations which we are a part of today. Without having a vision and believing in it I nor my organization nor the world would be who and what we are. Pioneers have paved the way all throughout history and I feel that these traits are imbedded in all humans who can look past a challenge. Being able to look past these minor challenges are what create great leaders and further organizational development.

 

Reference

Kohn, S. (2007, November 7). Vision and Power. Retrieved January 15, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZVIWZGheXY

Confidence

            In this video Prof. Baba Shiv goes over the importance of confidence and the effect that it can have on a leader and his or her followers. When a leader is put in charge of a group of people it is important that they act like a leader. People look at a leader for guidance, when in charge of a group Prof. Baba makes it a point to show us that we must transfer our own confidence to those below us.

            I think that Prof. Baba gives a good example of when having confidence is crucial. When he talks about a military commander be shows us the importance of confidence, someone like a military commander will have the lives of others in their hands so it is important that they do not fail to portray confidence. I often knew this when I was in the military but sometimes did not follow through, it was always hard for me to tell those which were older than me what to do and how to act. My military experience was in an air traffic control facility and not a battle field.

            Although an air traffic control facility can feel like a battle field it can be very different in some aspects. Overall the concept was still the same, we all had responsibilities and we all had the lives of others in our hands. I can recall a situation when I was new to working in the tower, on this day I was working ground control which consisted of controlling the aircraft which were taxiing through the airfield. I was still relatively new, I was bit nervous but I tried to sound as confident as possible. I remember having to ask a group of pilots to park their aircraft in a location which they usually do not for a temporary amount of time because we had a lot of foreign traffic in route. One pilot questioned why I was doing things differently on that day and I did not convey enough confidence so this pilot wanted to verify with their supervisor on what the issue was. This pilot slowed traffic down enough to where it became a snowball effect which caused the air field to get severely backed up.

            This is an example of what lack of confidence can do, when your troops no longer want to follow you mass delays can occur and people can be scared for their own safety to follow your lead. During this situation there were many emotional reactions which came with it but it seemed as though they all revolved around fear. During this situation I felt worried, stressed and inadequate, I felt at that young age that I was not good enough to be able to hold these types of responsibilities. This is a constant fear that comes with not having confidence, the feeling of not knowing rather you are good enough can take its toll on a leader and then be reflected through the performance of the group.

            As time went on I feel that I have grown as a person, confidence is something which I am much more comfortable with. Confidence is not always automatic but it is much easier to convey when I am an expert on the subject matter. As a T-ball coach I am tasked with the job of teaching my four year olds and transcending my own confidence to my team so that they want to get up and play. In this situation my job is to teach the kids they are capable of completing any task which they put their minds to. Many times I will instruct the kids on their task and for them to complete it I must sound confident and assure them that I am confident in them. Every age group is very different and you must learn how to push them in the right direction.

            I can recall my first game with my team, we had spent the last two months training them and assuring that they will be able to play well. Before the game started I looked at my team and told them to just have fun out there on the field, this game was all about fun and learning to love the sport. Throughout the season I made sure to never scold any of the children, I knew that it was my job to build their confidence in themselves first. In this situation confidence transcended into fun for my whole team and I could not have been happier with the result. During this time my confidence and my teams confidence brought out some special emotion in me which I had felt during other leadership roles. I had a feeling of honor, pride and most of all I felt very accomplished. It was important for me to feel this way because this last year coaching t-ball had to be one of the most rewarding things that I had ever done in my life.  

Collaborative-Decision Making

            Stewart Levine gives a road map towards resolution in our text, in this book we talk about the craft of resolution and different ways that we can work towards making a decision that everyone will be satisfied with. One of the seven steps of resolution is called “listening for a vision of resolution”, in this step we are taught to listen so that everyone’s concerns may be heard. When we are getting stake holders involved we are now listening to everyone that is part of the team and working towards the best decision possible. When we are listening for a resolution that benefits everyone, one of the questions which we have to ask is if the “preliminary vision fits everyone’s view of the outcome” (Getting to Resolution pg. 137)? This is an important question to ask because as stated before we want to make everyone a part of the team. It is important to get the opinion of everyone who has a stake in the organization because they have a different point of view than you might have and diversity has been known to create good decisions.

            At my job I am constantly faced with many different situations, the job of a Rail Traffic Controller requires someone to move trains in the fastest way possible across America while still favoring priority trains. I have had situations in the past where I have needed to collaborate with many different people that had a stake in the mission. I was faced with a scenario where pushing a priority train would help us make this particular trains scheduled goal; the only down fall was that it would put into jeopardy making goal on about 8 non-priority trains. I gathered a team of individuals who all had a say in the matter and we began to discuss the issue at hand. Eventually we came to the conclusion that laying down the whole railroad for one train was not the most practical solution and decided we could make up some time on our priority train later on. This was an important decision because we saved the company some money and we increased all of the stakeholder’s bonuses in this instance. As a team we made a decision and stuck to it, we took a risk but it was a risk that we all agreed upon which made our resolution much better in the long run. Since we all came to the decision together there was no bad blood between our groups.

            There were many ways that including the stakeholders helped us out in this situation. As I think about it I realized that

-          We were not worried about any repercussions because everyone was on board with the decision.

-          We had the investors on our side and happy to comply with the situation.

 

-          We were given more leeway because all of the stakeholders knew what we were trying to accomplish at the moment.

 

-          We were much more efficient because we had a workable agreement, a shared vision and minimized conflict.

 

-          We were able to be much more creative with our options now that we had the blessings of the stake holders.

In the long run, throughout this whole ordeal I knew that our team work and collaboration helped us achieve our objective. When we brought in everyone that would be involved we all felt a weight come off of our shoulders, we no longer felt the pressure of making the decision on our own and having to face the repercussions later on. We were able to focus and make the best decision possible. The only other person I feel that could have added to the strength of our team was our liaison between the company who’s product we were shipping and our company, unfortunately he was not available on this day. Being able to keep everyone informed is a key part of the resolution process.

This resolution process has shed light on many ways that I have done business in the past. It has taught me many things I like to think that I will use it in the future when working towards a resolution; I will make it a point to have a positive attitude, listen to everyone and also include all members. Sometimes taking on all the decisions yourself can be very stressful and hurt everyone in the long run.  

 

  Reference:

Levine, S. (2009). Getting to resolution: Turning conflict into collaboration (2^nd Ed.).San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.