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Doing the Right Thing - If we know what is right, can we do it?
Week 3 Discussion
Instructions
Discussion #1: Doing the Right Thing - If we know what is right, can we do it?
After watching the Doing the Right Thing video, "If we know what is right, can we do it?" respond to the following questions.. The Discussion Forum Rubric will be used to assess your postings.
C.S. Lewis said that the mind can only govern the heart through the chest. By this he meant that once moral convictions have been learned and internalized, these convictions can reinforce our reason to enable us to control the passions.
Do you think that proper moral formation can assist reason in overcoming the passions and our capacity to rationalize our behavior, or is something more needed?
Have you experienced knowing the right thing to do, but not doing it? Or knowing the right thing to do, and doing it?
As you reflect on your past experience(s) with doing the right thing, what conclusions can you draw?
After watching the video and thinking about our ability to do what we know is right, what have you learned?
Describe at least one specific way in which you can apply what you have learned about doing the right thing.
Discussion #2: Leadership Traits
Read the following case taken from Chapter 6 of the Hughes et. al (2015) text, "Lessons on Leadership from Ann Fudge." Use the end-of-case questions to help frame your response posts.
Post a substantive response to end-of-case questions by 11:59 pm Thursday night. Include information from the weekly readings to support your response.
Post a substantive response to two peers by 11:59 pm Saturday night.
Please see the Online Discussion Forums section of the course syllabus for complete instructions. The Discussion Forum Rubric will be used to assess your postings.
Lessons on Leadership from Ann Fudge
How do you rescue one of the largest advertising and media services firms in the world from a downward spiral? That is the question Martin Sorrell faced when his London-based WPP Group acquired Young & Rubicam (Y&R) in 2000. After many years on top, Y&R was starting to lose momentum—and clients. Kentucky Fried Chicken, United Airlines, and Burger King all decided to take their advertising dollars elsewhere. Sorrell needed to stop the exodus, but how? Sorrell decided a fresh face was needed and started a search for a dynamic new CEO to revitalize Y&R. He found such a leader in Ann Fudge.
Ann Fudge was formerly president of Kraft Foods. At Kraft she had been responsible for the success of the $5 billion division that included well-known brands such as Maxwell House, Grape Nuts, Shredded Wheat, and General Foods International Coffees. Fudge’s reputation as a charismatic leader who listens was a major issue for Sorrell when he went looking for a new CEO for Y&R. Among the talents Fudge had to offer was an ability to interact effectively with all constituencies of a consumer business. Mattel chairman and CEO Bob Eckert was Fudge’s boss when he was president and CEO of Kraft. Of Fudge, Eckert says, “She is equally comfortable with consumers at the ballpark, factory workers on a production line, and executives in the boardroom. She could engage all three constituents in the same day and be comfortable. She is very comfortable with herself, and she’s not pretending to be someone else. That’s what makes her such an effective leader.”
Fudge’s commitment to her work and to the people she works with is evident in the lessons she offers to other leaders:
1. Be yourself; do not feign behavior that you think will make you “successful.”
2. Always remember it’s the people, not you. A leader cannot be a leader if he or she has no followers. Be honest with people. Give them feedback. Put the right people in the right jobs. Surround yourself with the smartest people you can find—people who will offer differing perspectives and diversity of experience, age, gender, and race.
3. Touch your organization. It’s easy to get stuck behind your desk. Fight the burden of paperwork and get out in the field. Don’t be a remote leader. You cannot create a dynamic culture if people can’t see, hear, and touch you. Let them know you as a person.
4. Steer the wheel with a strategic focus, yet maintain a wide peripheral vision. Know when to stop, speed up, slow down, brake quickly, swerve, or even gun it!
Fudge had a difficult decision to make when she was approached by Sorrell about the position at Y&R. She was in the midst of a two-year break—after 24 years working for corporate America, Fudge had decided to take some time for herself. She had left her position as president of Kraft Foods in 2001 based not on her dissatisfaction with her job, but on a desire to define herself by more than her career. “It was definitely not satisfaction, it was more about life,” says Fudge about her sabbatical. During her two-year break she traveled, cycling around Sardinia and Corsica; she took up yoga; and she wrote a book called The Artist’s Way at Work—a manual for improving creativity and innovation on the job.
Fudge took on the challenge and has not looked back. In her tenure at Y&R she has worked hard to get Y&R back on top. She has traveled the globe to visit Y&R employees. She frequently puts in 15-hour days pushing her strategy to focus on clients, encouraging teamwork, and improving creativity. A major undertaking for Fudge is to bring together the various business entities under the Y&R umbrella to better meet client needs. She’s also trying to institute a Six Sigma method for creativity— looking for ways to increase productivity so employees have more time to be creative. Fudge’s hard work is paying off. Y&R has recently added Microsoft and Toys R Us to its client list, and if Fudge has her way, the list will continue to grow until Y&R is back on top.
1. Where would Ann Fudge be placed in each of the Five Factor Model (FFM) categories?
2. Consider the components of creative intelligence from Table 6.3. Identify the key components that have affected Ann Fudge’s success.
3. Ann Fudge decided to take a sabbatical to focus on her personal life. Based on her experience, what are the benefits of such a break? What might be some drawbacks?
References
Diane Brady, “Act Two: Ann Fudge’s Two-Year Break from Work Changed Her Life. Will Those Lessons Help Her Fix Young & Rubicam?” BusinessWeek, March 29, 2004, p. 72, http://www.internet-marketing-brandin.com/News/african_american.htm
http://www .brandweek.com/brandweek/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id1000506747
Discussion #3: Psychological Dimensions
In this exercise, you will assess two different aspects of personality. The first is a Myers-Briggs type test (the Jung Typology Test), which assesses you on four different continua. The second is based on the Big 5 traits of the Five Factor Model of personality. First, assess your personality type as defined by the Myers-Briggs instrument, and examine the leadership implications of what you have learned. If you have not previously taken a Myers-Briggs inventory, one is available online (the Jung Typology Test) at no cost b (Links to an external site.)y clicking on the following link: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes1.htm (Links to an external site.). Second, assess your personality type as defined by the Five Factor Model. The attached document provides instructions and an explanation of the instrument. After you have taken both assessment, use the following questions to guide your discussion:
What were the biggest surprises (both positive and negative)?
What traits were you the highest on? Lowest on? What are the implications for your current job? Career goals? Leadership potential?
Do you think the scores reflect who you are? Are they accurate? If not, why not?
Your initial posting (due by midnight Thursday) should report your results and reflect on the above questions. You should then respond to at least two of your colleagues' postings by midnight on Saturday. The Discussion Forum Rubric will be used to assess your postings.
IPIP Assessment.docxPreview the document
