Fall 2011
By Jody Hoffer Gittell, Brandeis University
Relational coordination (RC) is a mutually reinforcing process of communicating and relating for the purpose of task integration. More simply, it is the coordination of work through relationships of shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect. The mission of the newly formed Relational Coordination Research Collaborative is to bring academics and practitioners together to develop and test relational approaches to organizational change, informed by the theory of relational coordination.
Like other fundamental process improvements, relational coordination enables organizations to shift out their production-possibilities frontier to achieve higher levels of quality, while simultaneously achieving greater efficiencies.
POS Research with Impact
The New Handbook of POS Marks a Decade of POS Research And Sets a Course For The Future
By Kim Cameron & Gretchen Spreitzer, University of Michigan
The Oxford Handbook of Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS) (Oxford University Press 2012) is the culmination of several years of hard work by more than 150 contributors to 79 chapters who represent the thought leaders in research on positive organizations. The authors of each chapter had two aims: (1) to review the body of literature on their topic, and (2) to offer directions for future research.
How do People Attempt To Promote Good Behavior and Deter Bad Behavior?
By Cynthia S. Wang, University of Michigan and National University of Singapore
Understanding how people react to honesty and deception can provide some of the answers. Research on this topic has a variety of implications, including increasing our understanding of how to encourage ethical behavior.
Research suggests that negative stimuli consistently affect us more than positive ones. However, our research finds that people do not punish deception (a negative stimulus) more than they reward honesty (a positive stimulus). We analyze this topic using a multi-level lens, from the individual, to the collective, to the societal structural level.
POS Teaching with Impact
Gaining More Power and Influence
By Shawn Quinn, University of Michigan
When influencing others and leading change, it is extremely important to manage your own emotional and psychological state, and then begin to manage the state of those around you. We often discuss this in Positive Leadership, a course offered by Ross School of Business Executive Education at the University of Michigan. The concept may sound simple, but it is not what we are used to doing inside organizations. Most people spend the majority of time managing professional competence which, while important, already gets plenty of attention.
Not Your Average Working Joe: A tool to cultivate calling and develop talent
By Valerie Myers, University of Michigan
"In the field of its highest development, in the United States, the pursuit of wealth, stripped of its religious and ethical meaning, tends to become associated with purely mundane passions, which often actually give it the character of sport."
—Max Weber, Management Scholar
Are you living your calling? Today, the term ‘calling’ is casually used as shorthand for “my ideal job.” It is seldom thought of as a work ethic. Among management scholars, calling has been disconnected from its original ethical and religious meaning, despite the fact that 80% of people worldwide adhere to some religious or philosophical tradition—all of which describe work ethics. Max Weber predicted that this disconnect would happen as capitalism gained momentum and contaminated calling, resulting in a society of “specialists without spirit” who treat business as “sport,” in pursuit of “bigness” and more, more, more.
Center for POS News & Activities
2011 POS Summer Fellows: Reflections of Participants
Edited by Janet Max
The POS Summer Fellows Program is available for University of Michigan undergraduates to gain research experience and to deepen their knowledge of the field of POS and its application in organizations. The POS Summer Fellows assist in research projects of Center for POS faculty members. Information on the 2012 program will be available on our website in the Spring.
Below, each participant in the 2011 program reflects on his or her experience and the benefits of the program. Program Coordinator Emily Plews noted that the group members shared their appreciation for a close-up view of their professors’ contagious passion for their research, and the benefits of the weekly lunches, featuring discussions of POS topics by both Center for POS faculty members and, for one special lunch, visiting executive Dean Eisner, Ross MBA, ’82. She also described how they had come to see work in a new way: "All have broadened their understanding of what is possible in management. One fellow even said we were 'reframing the (dated) 90’s version of management.'"
Positive Links — Fall 2011 — Revealing Generative Resources
By Janet Max, University of Michigan
The Fall 2011 slate for our Positive Links Speaker Series features three powerful presentations on Revealing Generative Resources: psychiatrist Larry Dewey spoke in September on his experiences treating combat veterans, who face incredible an challenge to reveal generative resources. Dr. Dewey noted, "The most successful post-war combatants surround themselves in a network of love," which includes strong personal bonds with friends and family, productive work and service, and spiritual vitality. In October, innovation guru Jeff DeGraff explored the connection between failure and innovation, and argued that failure is an engine for innovation.
A Gathering at the Intersection of POS and Sustainability
By Emily Plews, University of Oregon
At the Academy of Management (AOM) Annual Meeting 2011, nearly 200 academics assembled early in the morning of August 14th for the eighth Gathering of POS Scholars. The goal: exchange information about happenings in the community, seed conversations about research, and give space and time for fostering high-quality connections among scholars with similar interests. A tall order for a short amount of time so early in the morning, but this community pulled it off. The room was buzzing with energy well after the 9:00 a.m. end time.
