Explain how you will use networking to help your career.

INSTRUCTIONS: I would like you to read and respond to the labeled discussion 1-4. Use outsides citations/sources to help support your argument on whether you agree or disagree with classmates discussions.if you agree why and if not why not. Separate each discussion. Below are RESPONSES OF 4 CLASSMATES.

discussions responses from the student is based on this below:

Topic #2: Scenario

You are the manager of a production department. Some of the sales staff has been scheduling delivery dates for your product that your department can’t meet. Customers are blaming you for the late delivery. This situation is not good for the company, so you decide to talk to the sales staff manager about it over lunch.

a.) Which influencing tactic(s) would you use?

b.) How would you handle the situation (behavior)?

Topic #3: Explain how you will use networking to help your career. Name one external organization that you will network with and why.

discussion 1 from Jenny: I will use networking to help my career in that it would help me to navigate and move up the corporate ladder. I would do this by fostering relationships with past and present co-workers, and people I have met that are in the same field as me. Because I want to transition into the role of Human Resources, I eventually plan to subscribe to a membership with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). SHRM is reportedly the world’s largest HR professional society, representing 300,000+ HR professionals (SHRM, 2021). The membership offers assistance with the role as an HR professional in that they provide support with compliance resources through policy updates and how-to guides (SHRM, 2021). SHRM provides customizable templates for job descriptions, toolkits, policies and forms, and they have an advisor service that gives HR professionals guidance on concerns one may have on the job (SHRM, 2021). This would be beneficial to me in that I am just starting my career in HR and I anticipate it would be a supportive organization that encourages relationships among professionals that are just starting their career and those that have expertise in the field of Human Resources.

discussion 2 from caitlin: The scenario given is something that I imagine is incredibly common in manufacturing and production companies. A sales team is going full force in trying to appease and sell a client on their products by feeding them the information that they want to hear. For instance, short deadlines or product amendments that are not feasible. When both sales and production are not on the same page, the company suffers. Communication is needed to resolve issues such as these.

As the production manager I want to ensure that quality of what is being produced is meeting expectations. Rushing orders to meet deadlines focuses on quantity versus what is output. I am a firm believer that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. I would initiate this conversation through ingratiation or praising the sales manager on his team’s sales numbers. Recognizing the accomplishment despite it being a hardship on the department will likely start the conversation off more casually.

I would then use rational persuasion to explain how the sales deadlines are impacting production and company image. I would want to create a win-win situation where production and sales exceed expectations, however that requires an open dialogue. A salesperson claiming orders can be sent out at unrealistic deadlines negatively reflects on all involved, not just production. This also impacts a salesperson’s credibility if they are not living up to their promises with the clients or if the product is subpar.

I would want to establish a better relationship and rapport with the sales manager for going forward. Together it would be possible to organize and determine action plans for scheduling and meeting project deadlines. I would frame it as an “all in this together” mentality and that the team-based approach will be mutually beneficial, in other words coalition building. While there may be some pushback, maintaining business etiquette and keeping calm is a must for this to be effective.

discussion 3 from Kim: Scenario

a.) Which influencing tactic(s) would you use?

I find that I am best when I am my authentic self, so I would use Rational Persuasion. This style includes “logical arguments with factual evidence…” (Lussier, 2019). I would also use some Ingratiation and make sure to praise the sales department.

b.) How would you handle the situation (behavior)?

I would start the conversation on how well the sales department is going in selling the products. I would praise their hard work and commitment to the organization. I would then ask the sales manager to help me with a problem I am having. Make it clear that I would like to collaborate on a solution. I would show the figures for the late deliveries, the production time of the products, and the promised delivery dates. I would have some customer testimonies to back up the numbers. I would then talk about the benefits of customer satisfaction while acknowledging that the sales manager probably has more knowledge on this topic. I would highlight that it is better for the customer to get a more realistic delivery date, even if it takes longer, than promise one that cannot be made. I would ask the manager why the salespeople are picking these particular delivery dates. Once we both have all the information, we can develop a plan that works for both departments and satisfies the customer.

Lussier, R. N. (2019). Human relations in organizations applications and skill building. McGraw Hill.

discussion # 4 from Natalie: Explain how you will use networking to help your career. Name one external organization that you will network with and why.
In my opinion, networking is vital to success and career growth. It creates an avenue for me in particular to create long term relationships with individuals in my career. “Success in a career is largely attributed to the pool of information or ideas you have garnered over the past. When networks have been created, it fosters a trade of ideas to sustain long-term relationships and mutual trust. When you are receiving ideas, it helps both in your place of work and out, in addition to instilling best practices that soothe your career” (Cole, 2019). While the recent pandemic has slowed down the opportunity for networking, I have continued to utilize platforms such as LinkedIn in order to maintain relationships with individuals I have met in the past. For example, on Monday, someone who I networked with at a conference years ago reached out to me with a link to a webinar that pertained to our area of expertise. Without her sending me that, I would have not known it was occurring. One external organization that I will network with is the Society for Human Resources Management. Also known as SHRM. Especially in today’s world, SHRM provides access to key tools and resources to support my day to day role. Aside from this, the platform provides a global community with local connections to over 300,000 members. This provides endless opportunities to build my network with exclusive interaction with peers. The COVID-19 pandemic left a lot of us clueless when it came to policies and procedures and SHRM had all of the answers to my questions. In fact, I was even able to pull policy templates from their website in order to execute a formcixal policy for our company.

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