A632.6.3.RB - The High Cost of Conflict

As you have read, much of Levine’s work depends upon having a keenly developed ability to listen. Often, we are so busy developing our own stories, we fail to listen actively to that which we are being told, intent only on verbalizing our own personal stories. Think about the last time you “really listened” to someone else and gave them time to “get their story out.” How different was that experience from your normal communications? What did you learn? Record your experiences in this RB. If you are unable to recall such a situation, find a time/place this week to practice active listening and report on that.

This weeks reading was very insightful and brought to mind my childhood interactions with my family.  My mother would blame it on being an "emotional Italian" woman but I vividly remember several conversations (turned into debates/fights) where my family failed to listen to each other.  Yelling in my house was the 'norm' as was talking over and interrupting each other.  None of us listened to one another.  As the "quiet one" I listened better than the rest of my family but realized the dysfunctionality.  I understood the importance of listening and clear communication.  

As an adult, I have taken many communication classes and read books on the topic to learn normal communications and have learned a great deal.  I do not allow my children to interrupt or talk over each other. I feel this makes our relationships stronger.  At work, when someone is talking I make a point to turn away from my computer and focus on the person.  A few years ago, I realized even though I had an open door policy people would come in to talk and I would talk but also be working on the computer at the same time.  Once I changed this habit and made a deliberate effort to "really listen", trust was built and communication strengthened.  

When thinking about giving someone time to "get their story out", I am reminded of my middle son, Hayden.  Whether he is telling a story or explaining why he did something, he has to get his story out.  Even if others already know the ending or he has said it several times, he honestly cannot move on without getting out his story.  I try to remind my self to be patient and let him continue as much as possible or explain why he needs to 'cut to the chase'.  While I love listening to his crazy stories, sometimes life does not allow the time and I have to cut him off.  This truly upsets him so I try not to do that often as I appreciate his openness.  Listening to him allows me to see his point of view on different things.  He is extremely smart and thinks through problems differently than most which challenges me and my husband daily.  

 

A632.5.4.RB - How Protected are Your Protected Values?

In the Hoch text, based on Irwin and Baron's discussions on protected Values (pgs.251 ff.), reflect on three of your major protected values, support those values with at least three major beliefs and show the pros and cons of each belief in terms of trade-offs you are willing to make to support or not support that belief. How do these Protected Values potentially affect your own decision making? Do you feel as strongly about them as you did when you began this exercise?

When I initially thought about my own personal values, specifically on the three values that I felt were protected they were my strong beliefs in hard work, family and service.  “Protected values (PVs) are considered absolute and inviolable” (Hoch, Kunreuther & Gunther, 2001, p. 251).   I believe these values are influenced by my upbringing, my husband, kids and my service in the military.   


Hard work is a value instilled at a young age for me.  My dad was a carpenter and roofer.  I remember him working 12- and 14-hour days and coming home tired, hungry and dirty.  He never turned down a job and would let my siblings and join him on jobs sometimes.  I strived to have his work ethic.  At my first duty station as a B-52 crew chief, I was ridiculed and told that a female couldn’t do the job.  I dug my heels in and refused to quit or do less than the males.  The work ethic learned at home came out and I showed the naysayers that I could the job.  I believe in working hard no matter what the job.  That value has been a building block in my career and influenced the success I’ve had.  I also try to instill the same value to my kids by assigning chores and telling them "it's not about getting the job done fast, it's about getting the job done right".    


Family has always been important to me but getting married and having kids has intensified the significance.  I believe family should come first.  One of the Air Force Core Values is Service Before Self, but I explain to my Airmen that does not mean before family.  While I value my family and feel that family should come first, after reflection I realize that maybe it has not been as protected as I initially would hope or want.  For example, at work I often go in early and stay late jeopardizing time with my family.  If family really does come first, I wouldn’t spend so much extra time at work and would prioritize time with my kids.  I realize that my values of hard work and family first can be competing values.  I must find a good balance to ensure I do not sacrifice either.  

 Before joining the military, I never really thought about “serving my country”.  I enjoyed volunteering and helping others, but my sense of service grew when I entered the Air Force.  I enjoy serving others and often tell people how much I enjoy it.  This PV affects my parenting in that I regularly have my kids donate clothes, toys and money to help others.  I also explain the importance of volunteering and serving others.  However, once again after reflecting on this PV, I realize maybe its not as protected as it seems.  Since having kids, I haven’t really volunteered or served others as often as I want.  Although I still fully believe in this value and have a strong urge towards it, I haven’t tried to fulfil it lately.  Understandably, working a full-time job, going to school and raising 3 kids is challenging but I tell my kids all the time that we should volunteer and help others, yet I haven’t followed through lately. 

References:
Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H., & Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton on making decisions (1st ed.). New York: Wiley.

A632.4.4.RB - Deception in Negotiations

During the course of negotiations, people often misrepresent information to gain at least a temporary advantage. For example, a seller may fabricate existence of another interested buyer, or a buyer may misrepresent the price and availability of an item from a different vendor. Reflect on deceptions in negotiations, and describe four ways to reduce your vulnerability to deception during negotiations. Relate an example of a recent negotiation in which you were misled and one in which you may have overstated a claim. In the case of the overstatement, how far would you have gone, or did you actually go, to leverage your position?

Hoch & Kunreuther (2005) stated  there are steps that one can take during negotiations to lessen the possibility of people using deception. Some of those steps are:

Establishing Trust – from the very beginning of the  process, negotiators must strive hard to sustain a foundation of trust where both sides can corroborate that there will be no deception to used on the negotiation table.

Asking direct questions and listening carefully – during the negotiation process, we need first to evaluate the happenstance of our negotiation by asking a direct question with the goal of having the other side of the table work with us and not against us. Asking direct questions is important because it allows verbal, vocal, visual clues and additional ones regarding the question(s). Listening can also indicate the mood of the conversation regarding the level of interest either party has regarding the subject matter and build up better insight of the other individual’s thought process to further explicate his/her justification or rationale.  Listening carefully is a necessity in that it can pick up tone of voice, as well as diversion if some area of interest is being passed over.

Paying attention to nonverbal cues – Hoch & Kunreuther (2005) recommended that as we are listening to the responses of the other individual, it is of utmost importance that we concentrate on the visual clues of the other individual such as respiration changes, increased blinking, etc. In many instances, lack of direct eye contact, diversion to another subject, delays in the response, agitation of body motion and other clues may indicate truth is being avoided.  People who are lying has the tendency to get emotional for fear of being caught and feeling guilty or shameful.

Keeping records and getting things in writing – One of the most important bargaining points is keeping good written records. During the negotiation process, it is essential to maintain records of all claims that the other person(s) are making. Consequential information(s) that has/have significant meaning to the deal must be placed in writing and guarantees have to be in place. Looking for loopholes in any document is best done by utilizing multiple players with checks and balances in mind. Continuous review with experienced like minded people to assure nothing is left out is imperative. Without well written agreements and documented statements, word of mouth can change directions without any notice like an oncoming storm. 

A recent example of when I was misled was in dealing with my property managers and tenants in a rental property.  The tenants contract was scheduled to end 31 October 2019.  The tenants asked to stay an extra 30 days until they moved to their new unit out of state.  My husband and I negotiated the terms of the lease extension through the property managers.  However, the property managers failed to mention that the current tenants recently had a baby and would not allow the property to be shown sooner than 30 days before them moving out.  

I overstated a claim recently when I was negotiating a manning move.  At work, there are rotations to different sections such as support and back shop.  When discussing the members who were eligible to move, I knew I couldn't afford to lose my stronger Airmen or any with too many certifications as that would hurt my qualified manning left in the shop. Therefore, I overstated my claim that the Airman I was moving was harder working than was true.  He is a decent worker but not really one that stands out among his peers.  I didn't have to go far to leverage my position as I had the upper hand.  The section I was negotiating with gave me a short turn around time for a name.  They came to me Wednesday and asked the member to be moved the following Monday.  Also, the member we were getting back in return was also not the hardest working Airman.  

References:
Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H., & Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton on making decisions (1st ed.). New York: Wiley.

A632.3.3.RB - Framing Complex Decisions

Describe the 3 different tools or approaches for dealing with complex, multiple stakeholders, and environmental decision processes in your organization. Reflect on changes or alterations you would consider to ensure the most successful process possible. Describe the elements in detail and make clear the available options and consequences.



Wharton describes three decision-making approaches for dealing with multiple stakeholders within complex environments.  These approaches used when navigating data-rich environments, navigating systemic complexity, and navigating multistakeholder and environmental complexity.  For example, in data-rich environments “managers are using tools such as data mining and data warehousing to harness this avalanche of data in their business decisions” (Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther, 2001, p. 121).  While data is an element driving complexity, “interactions across multiple system boundaries surrounding a particular decision context” (Hoch et al., 2001, p. 122) is another factor increasing complexity.  Computer models are being created to navigate systemic complexity and simulate these interactions.   These models have proven to be invaluable to decision-making within complex environments but are only as good as the information input into them by the decision maker. The final challenge lies within navigating multistakeholder and environmental complexity.  The interactions of multiple stakeholders increase complexity and therefore cooperation amongst competition is a necessary tool required to help operate such a complex environment. There are also three basic ingredient to new approaches to decision-making strategies” (Hoch et al., 2001).  They are:

Building the information base.  Data mining and warehousing combined with evaluation tools provide more precise informational base for decisions.
Identifying constraints.  Assuring that today’s decisions are directed at assuring a rich menu of possibilities for tomorrow’s decisions.
Strengthening organizational capabilities.  Organizations as a whole require new skills and capabilities to design and implement new tools.
While reading this chapter I couldn't help but think of the Air Force's multiple programs and processes for assignments and duty positions.  One must go to several websites to retrieve their personal records and different websites to apply for possible positions.  In a military force of over 300,000 members, the Air Force (in my opinion) is lacking in their informational organizational capabilities.  I believe the Air Force should have a "one-stop shop" informational base with Airmen's records, available assignments/positions and other useful information (skills, experience, aptitude, personality, interests, etc).  For example, if the Air Force combined the current websites of ARMS, PRDA, AMS, VPC this would provide a more convenient process for obtaining records and information.  I also think the Air Force should have each Airmen take a personality, intelligence, aptitude and decision-making analysis that could help leadership match their styles with assignment requirements.  "The ability to effectively match an employee’s skills and personality to a specific job function is a vital component of successful management and leadership. By contrast, trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole can prove costly in terms of employee performance, team dynamics and corporate return on investment" (O'Rourke, 2019).  If the Air Force used available tests and subsequently tested members at regular intervals to compare any changes, they could manage and measure the success of our Airmen.  First the Air Force would have build the infomration base by combining available data and resources along with new personnel analysis data.  Data mining systems could analyze all the information compared with manning positions to provide leaders the best possible "fit" for each job and vice versa for each Airman.  Essentially, this could "put more powerful tools into decision maker's hands for addressing decisions" (Hoch et al, 2001, p. 129).  This proposed solution could benefit several stakeholders; the Airman, leadership and the Air Force by matching capabilities, personalities and interests.  However there are consequences as well.  For instance, it is not realistic to assume each member will be matched with their "best fit" position.  Nor is it accurate to believe that each test will be 100% correct in their assessments.  Nevertheless, I feel a model of this extent could optimize navigating the systematic, multistakeholder and environmental complexity of the Air Force.  


References:
Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H., & Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton on making decisions (1st ed.). New York: Wiley.
O'Rourke, James. (2019, September 17). Putting Your Personality to Work.  Retrieved from https://www.notredameonline.com/resources/business-administration/matching-employee-skills-and-personality/