Reading Response - Week Two
I am writing in response to the email in which the CEO chewed out his employees in an email and then his stock plummeted by more than thirty-three percent. First of all, I would like to comment on his style of management. He quoted in an interview that “he attributed his blunt management style to growing up on a farm in Oklahoma. He told the New York Times: "You can take the boy off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy,” (www.commondreams.org). I disagree with this statement because even though working on a farm requires tons of hard work, this style of management does not exist on every farm, and most decisions should not be made with an attitude like this. Also, this style management is more of a dictatorship, and most adults do not respond well to this style of management. If the CEO wanted to get through to his employees, he would of tried to form a more personal bond with his employees and worked with them to create a plan for improvement.
Secondly, the CEO of this company needs to realize the advances in technology and the precautions necessary to write a professional email. Since emails have become such a popular and widely used method of communication, one must exercise extreme caution when writing an email. Before writing an email, one must fully understand email etiquette so that they do not accidentally offend someone. One must also realize that due to the popularity of emails, they can now be used in court as a credible source of evidence. This being said, this CEO should of thought about the repercussions of his actions before he pressed the send button on his browser. I feel that the CEO got what was coming to him for this intimidating and unprofessional email that he composed.
Comments
Reply
Our response to this reading was similar. It was interesting to hear what sounds like someone who is experienced with managements opinion on the CEO's actions. What you said ,"Also, this style management is more of a dictatorship, and most adults do not respond well to this style of management. If the CEO wanted to get through to his employees, he would of tried to form a more personal bond with his employees and worked with them to create a plan for improvement. " is nearly exactly what I thought after reading his e-mail and the articles. I can't help but wonder how often this is true in the management world. As someone of faith I strugle with humbleness and unfortunately in our society money and power make people loss that sense of humility and equality. I liked how the CEO said that you have to push your employees, it was always like he was using a scare tactic. I also thought it was interesting that he said that kind of push had worked in the past and that his employees knew he meant well. I wish they would have interviewed an employee of the company who that e-mail was being written about!
Farming and Managing
This is a great point about the CEO's attitude regarding the email. The quote about taking the "farm out of the boy" is troubling for many reasons. First, you're right that not all farms run with this kind of harsh, blunt management. Secondly, while working on a farm can instill plenty of great characteristics for future corporate employees and CEOs, a Fortune 100 company is not a farm, and should not be run like one. If a manager cannot adapt his style to the needs and environment of the corporation, he may not be fit to do his job. Lastly, the manager should not beligerently defend his choice - just say it was a momentary error in judgment and move on.
Farming and Management
I agree with your comment. There does need to be a management change from the farm to the corporate world. From my experience of working on a farm, we still do not make decisions in this matter. I believe the way to make decisions unless in emergency situations is to stay level headed and use common sense to make the best decision. Also, a manager should never defend their decision in such a personal way. Since this is a business situation, managers should present themselves in the up most professional way.
Reply
I agree with what you said about the CEO's style of management. Decisions should not be made with such a blunt attitude. Not to mention, the CEO didn't take the time to investigate where the problem specifically existed. Instead, he attacked all of the employees as a whole. I think the proper route would have been to find the source of the problem and speak individually with employees to find a solution to the problem. Most people don't like to be called out for something they may have had nothing to do with. The CEO definitely got what he deserved for his unprofessional behavior.