BEGINNING THE WORK JOURNEY

Start each day with vigor and excitement and hope that others will be energized by your positive spirit.

Everyone who attended Jason's college graduation ceremony witnessed the excitement on his face when his parents proudly announced that he had accepted a job with a Fortune 500 company in New York City. Jason smiled from ear to ear, but it made him wonder about the journey ahead. Would he be able to take his classroom theory and put it into practical application? Would he get clear direction from management in order to perform at a level exceeding departmental expectations? Should he be concerned about the company's vision, mission, goals, and values or should he just go to work, do his job, and figure out how to move to the next level internally or externally?

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Jason's thoughts seem quite normal because beginning a job of any kind can be overwhelming. As one enters the workforce, statistics show that employees want to perform competitively, contribute collaboratively, and develop intellectually for heightened job satisfaction. Therefore, Jason is not alone in this thinking process. Many employers wonder what type of people will actually show up for work and become employees. Peter Drucker, the Father of Modern Management, once said that employees are hired but people report to work. It is expected that these people will enter organizations and actually become committed to the goals and objectives outlined in the companies' strategic plans. Since the Industrial Revolution, companies have hired skillful workers, and getting these companies to focus on human resource management has been challenging. If companies want to survive, they must empower these people to transition from being workers to becoming employees who are engaged in all aspects of the work environment.

Figure 1 above shows how employees can be an integral part of the company once they understand the strategic plan and know how the goals and objectives of the company affect their department and/or workgroup. Management has an obligation to get buy-in from the employees by helping them identify with the goals and objectives.

To accomplish this, employees need to be influenced. This can be molded by involving the employees in the decision-making process. For this effort to be successful, employers must grant employees authority to make decisions. Depending on the preference, some support a five-step decision-making process; some prefer a six-step decision-making process; and others choose an eight-step decision-making process. Regardless of which one is used, the end result is the same - action. It is obvious that action can be defined as a process in which information is interpreted and acted upon based on facts, emotions, and perceptions in order to make logical and reasonable decisions. Influencing skills can be ignited by the employer but fueled by employees who see the importance in an employee building confidence in being responsible and accountable for the decision.

Empowerment is necessary to implement goals and objectives. Knowing that companies are genuinely concerned about employees' decisions, thoughts, competences, and satisfaction, Jason and other employees can feel "empowered". They can be motivated to seek maximum performance to do their very best. It has been said that motivation creates empowerment. Chris Musselwhite stated in his article entitled "Motivation = Empowerment" that workplace empowerment generates and equates to workplace motivation. Early in Jason's career, he appreciated the extrinsic rewards, like bonuses, vacation, and the day off for his birthday, but he has benefited in other ways by having the empowerment to achieve productive and meaningful work. Jason also believed that his exposure in the workplace added value because he was seen by his co-workers as a responsible, committed team player, who accomplished his tasks from beginning to end. Jason reflected on the theoretical application by recalling what he learned in his business classes about Frederick Herzberg, the Father of Modern Motivation. Herzberg's emphasis on job satisfaction caused Jason to get excited about gaining self-accountability and especially self-motivation.

He was taught the Hierarchy of Needs Theory created by Abraham Maslow. This theory helped Jason to understand the order of importance in satisfying one's needs to fulfill the desired level of potential. See the Figure 2:

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Additionally, this theory is based on Theory X and Theory Y, which are theories of motivation developed by Douglas McGregor. Theory X assumes that individuals need much supervision; they lack ambition; and they avoid work, responsibility, and commitment. Theory Y characterizes individuals as ambitious, task-oriented, responsible, problem-solvers, and self-directive. When Jason analyzed the Maslow's Hierarchy Needs with the Theory X and Theory Y, he concluded that one has to evolve into these levels based on personal growth, achievement, affiliations, and attitude.

Jason had to really grasp the concept of his responsibility in the workplace to energize himself. He sought the recognition of his management and co-workers to give him that extra boost, but at the end of the day, this energy had to come from within; yes, this was an attitude adjustment! Employees can breed a contagious attitude among themselves – positively or negatively. Just like companies utilize the situational analysis, also called the SWOT Analysis to help determine their revenue and economies of scale, employees can analyze their Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats to decide on areas of self-improvement. As demand increases, it is the desire of the business for supply to increase as well. In order for that to happen, employees must be in a place to produce the widget for all parts of the puzzle to fit. This is where Jason and other employees fit in the puzzle using the SWOT Analysis. Consequently, these companies can look at the SWOT Analysis on an individual basis; the advantages of this scrutiny can be the following:

• Identify one's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

• Align goals and objectives to the company's strategic plan

• Train internally and externally to ensure work functions can be performed at their maximal level

Table 1 shows how the individual SWOT Analysis can be interpreted to help determine how employees rank themselves to understand their own effectiveness.

To solve the puzzle, Jason and others can use the SWOT Analysis outcome to influence other co-workers in the business. Knowing oneself can be instrumental when businesses are assigning personnel, determining projects, and when deciding to transfer or even resign. Thus, energizing employees bring excitement and enthusiasm into the workplace!

Maybe the company can empower Jason and his co-workers by reengineering quality circles, affinity programs, and formal and informal training. Quality circles can be re-engineered in the workplace to give employees that burst of energy to do work on their own, so what is a quality circle? It is formed when employees voluntarily identify problems, work together to solve them without management guidance, and are given authority to perform these tasks. As employees become more and more involved in quality circles, management views them as self-managed because they can become cost effective and productive. Employees feel empowered through quality circles because these volunteer work-related efforts eliminate the feeling of being narrowly scoped and compartmentalized. The history of quality circles span to Japan, but it was originated by Kaoru Ishikawa in 1960. Others like Edwards Deming and Juran were instrumental in helping employers understand that human management is essential. Empowerment can certainly be gained through quality circles because employees can select their problems (not salary related), and through this empowerment, individuals become engaged!

Another form of empowerment is the company's agreement to establish affinity groups. These groups can help individuals understand the different cultures and races within the organization. Jason and others in the workplace became familiar with these groups and used the following concepts shown in Table 2 to enhance their understanding.

Each of the above concepts can aid the affinity groups with ways of training and explaining empowerment through the Five Ws (Who? What? Where? When? and Why?).

With formal and informal training, one can gain skills and competencies that enhance the productivity in the workplace. Jason and others like him should not wait for the company to suggest or offer training, but they should have personal developmental plans to gain additional skills. It has been known that training can be gained everyday by observing co-workers and learning from them. Once this development plan has been originated, skills also can be enhanced through community-based training, public libraries, YouTubes, etc.

Consequently, as Jason gets energized to become engaged in the workplace, employees now have the upper hand and possess unyielding resilience that can be positive for the employers and all employees. As Baby Boomers began to exit the workforce, employers have begun to develop strategies to find qualified, committed workers to ensure that the companies thrive, especially in a global market. Therefore, to energize, reflect on the following Bible verse that reads as follows:

"6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Jason and his co-workers can use the as a fruit of inspiration.

VALUING DIFFERENT CULTURES

As we value various cultures and accept differences as well as similarities, we can cultivate the talents and expertise of the disenchanted, inspire the disengaged, and strive for inclusiveness in the world.

Jason can now concentrate on his job and begin to adjust to the workplace. He has to get to know everyone on his team. He has to reach back to reflect on the lessons learned from Chapter 1. He is now energized and engaged. Can his employer engage him? Jason, like any new employee, must feel valued. How does that happen? He wants to embrace diversity and its importance. Jason is determined to become engaged with his team members; he wants to be a team player!

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While in college, Jason was surrounded by more and more people of different cultures. He learned how to appreciate the differences as well as the similarities. In order to do that, one must know his or her value systems. Usually value systems are learned from childhood and previous environments. Therefore, if companies have value systems that they state in their mission statements, then individuals should determine whether their personal value systems align. Jason had to examine his company's mission statement to assess if it used words like diverse, inclusiveness, values, cultures, global community, etc. He also began to review mission statements of companies that appealed to him. He observed that after the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; many companies updated their mission statements to reflect ethical business practices and to emphasize their commitment to business integrity. Effective mission statements convey why a company exists; in other words, the purpose is stated for all stakeholders to hopefully embrace. In creating mission statements, Jason realized that stakeholders like inclusiveness and a sense of building and strengthening community partnerships.

Some companies take the time and involve its employees to revise the mission statements, when needed. This approach has proven to work successfully to get input, participation, and most importantly, buy-in from employees. Jason was quick to learn that companies ensure that their mission statements are posted on the intranet and internet and other media, but the real marketing comes from those individuals who believe in the companies' core principles. So, it is obvious that people, namely employees, are the essential to a company's success. Jason took another look at different companies' mission statements and concluded that it takes valuing different cultures to create an effective and meaningful mission statement. Oftentimes, the mission statement is confused with the vision statement. They are very different. As Jason has stated that an effective mission statement conveys why a company exists to include its stakeholders' values and principles, a vision statement emphasizes where the company is going. From this observation, Jason concludes that a vision statement should focus on the importance of cultivating the talents and expertise of all cultures. Thus, companies should be encouraged to emphasize their way of showing inclusiveness to highlight the importance of the guiding principles of value systems. As companies state their values, personal value systems can guide behaviors and beliefs of individuals.

Note that an individual's value system should define character, diversity, and innovation. Character is a component of having a solid value system. Jason learned early in his career that character is an offspring of one's environment. Therefore, to nurture character, Jason reflects on the Word from the Book of Romans; it reads as follows:

"3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us" (Romans 5:3-5).

He is encouraged by this scripture because its meaning reminds him of growing up in a culture where patience was considered a virtue. Having this moral or ethical status can carry him through the difficult times in life, especially when he is on the job.

Realizing that Jason and his co-workers may all have different backgrounds and customs, this diversity makes agreeableness a challenge when everyone wants to dictate how to accomplish the work or agree on the global branding strategies. Diversity revolves around more than race, creed, and color; one must embrace ethnicity and demographics. As Jason's work journey continues, he has travelled to different parts of the United States and other countries. Doing so, he had to be sensitive to rituals, dress appearances, gestures, etc. He has to show perseverance and tenacity as he demonstrates his support for different cultures in the workplace. Statistics show that America has become a melting pot that the dictionary defines as the gathering of different races and cultures in one central region that have somewhat similar goals and aspirations. Consequently, it is logical to think that people should get along, learn to work together, and, most importantly, learn from one another. Even though this heterogeneous union of cultures coming together has increased the company's bottom line by producing more quality and variety of output, this integration of cultures can create a harmonious environment where people can live, work, and play to provide a better place in which families thrive together.

Jason took all of this mindset beyond professionalism, looked at diversity from the usual dimensions and included physical abilities and disabilities. While in the workplace, he became a member of a community organization that sought to place individuals back in the workforce after having been injured which had created a personal disability. These individuals were a part of a computer programming training program. Once the intense training was completed, they were equipped to be hired by companies that were seeking programmer analysts.

As manager of programmer training, Jason hired several of these graduates, but he realized very quickly that the company's facility was not in compliance with the American Disabilities Act of 1990. He presented a thorough proposal to his management about the current department and company's floor plans. He noted that an employer generally does not have to provide reasonable accommodations unless the individual requests changes due to the disability, but Jason proactively identified the problem areas and proposed appropriate solutions. Upper management gave approval to correct the proposed violations! Therefore, to nurture diversity, Jason is inspired by the following verses:

"11 For God does not show favoritism" (Romans 2:11).