Welcome to the Oral Presentation File of
Kyle Saiki

Table of Contents:

• Managing with Heart
• Criticism is Job One
• The Worst Way to Motivate Someone
• The Artful Critique
• Dealing with Diversity
• The Roots of Prejudice
• Zero Tolerance for Intolerance
• Organizational Savvy and the Group IQ

Chapter 10: "Managing with Heart"(pp.148-163)

Chapter 10 is aptly titled "Managing with Heart." The introduction provides us witha a overview of what the term really means. "Managing with Heart" is essentially being mindful of the other person's feelings. It involves understanding what motivates the other person and acting upon that knowledge to increase productivity. Though this type of manergerial skill may seem nothing more than a novelty, consider the example in the introduction when bosses don't manage with heart:

Melburn McBroom was a pilot that cared nothing for those working under him. His domineering manegerial style instilled such a great sense of fear in his co-pilots that in the event where McBroom had made an error on one flight, the co-pilots didn't speak up for fear of retribution and the plane crashed.

Though the example may be somewhat of an overstatement, it does prove a point. Emotional intelligence in management is essential for good business in today's competitive market.

I agree with the author's opinion in that emotional intelligence is cost-effective. I concur that it is important to maintain the emotional well-being of co-workers. In doing so, you motivate them to work harder and reduce the amount of stress in the workplace. If there is disharmony in the chain of command, it creates for a stressful situation and intellignet decisions are less likely to be made. Someone in the book summed it up best with the simple statement: "Stress makes people stupid."

Likewise, being mindful of your actions on the road can reduce the amount of stress that you or another driver may encounter. For example, think about how your action may affect your fellow driver. If I see someone signalling to merge I should let them in and they will not be stressed or upset. If I refuse thedy may become angered and cut me off which could result in an accident due to a poor decision stemming from the stress of the situation.

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Here the author focuses on the importance of constructive criticism in the workplace. It begins with an example of an engineer presenting the results of months of research and development to the vice-president who dismisses the engineer with a cutting remark. The statement crushed the morale of the engineer.

The author focuses on one aspect of criticism: the importance of feedback. Feedback keeps employees informed about tasks they are doing, what they are doing well, and what areas need improvement, what goal they should be working for and anything else that is worthy of critique. The cutting remarks of the vice-president result not only in low morale, but also a sense of confusion because the engineer has no idea where he went wrong. Lack of feedback leaves employees in the dark and under the circumstances, how can one expect them to be productive?

I also agree with the author here. In my work experience, communication is essential to productivity. If everyone assumes that everyone else is doing everything correctly all of the time, when mistakes are made, they are often too far gone to rectify the situation. For example, in one place that I have worked, everyone was expected to do their job correctly and there was little or no feedback. A health inspection was scheduled and everyone knew the refridgerator needed to be cleaned. Management assumed that the workers would take it upon themselves to get it done. The cooks thought it to be the job of the dishwashers and the dishwashers were unaware of the coming inspection. Consequently, we were docked points at the inspection and the company was fined.

Feedback is also very important while driving. As I was browzing through the forums the other day I noticed that many people's pet peeves included drivers who don't hand signal a "thank you" after being allowed to merge. This simple gesture provides feedback and communicates to the other driver that their courtesy is appreciated.

There are two really bad ways to motivate someone. The first is to word criticisms in a way where they may be regarded as personal attacks. Often such criticisms take the form of generalized remarks in a sarcastic tone without providing any real feedback. The result is employees that become angry, defensive, or devastated to the point where all productivity stops. The author compares these types of relationships among workers to that of a couple in a bad marriage where divorce appears to be the only solution. The author provides a possible way to avoid giving personal attacks. He says to provide feedback periodically and do not let it build until it explodes in a rage.

Another bad way to motivate someone is to provide excessive criticism with little or no praise. Like all things in life, there should be a balance. It is imortant to provide positive as well as negative feedback. Praise lets the employee know that they are doing something correct and makes them motivated to continue doing whatever they were doing right.

Again I whole heartedly agree with the author on this point. In another place I have worked the management made repeated personal attacks that made the examples in the book look like mild scoldings:

"What the f*#% do you think you're doing?!! Are you retarded?!! My three-year-old kid could do the same job with his eyes closed!"

Needless to say, employees were angered and demoralized. Some employees chose to vent their frustrations on the customers by spitting in the food that was to go out on the buffet line.

In driving one should also avoid personal attacks. If someone accidentally almost hits you is it really necessary to "give them the bird" or do anything else that may be interpreted as a personal attack?

In this section the author provides steps to giving an artful critique, a perferred alternative to a personal attack.
1. The first rule is to be specific. This works both ways for positive and negative feedback. Providing specific examples lets the employee know exactly what they are doing right or wrong.
2. Second, offer a solution. If not, the employee may feel helpless to be able to find what needs to be fixed. Suggesting an alternative provides the employee with direction.
3. Third, be present. Don't just send e-mail or leave a memo. Communicating in person allows for the employee to voice questions or concerns about the topic.
4. Lastly, be sensitive. Always be attuned to the feelings of the person on the recieving end. If you feel that the reciever is taking the criticism the wrong way, be sure to change your approach to let the reciever know that you are not making a personal attack.
I also agree with everything the author has said here. However, I think another step should include using the word "we" instead of "you" in a critique. As a manager I often ask what "we" can do to improve the situation. It lets the employee know that here we work as a team. It is not only "your" problem; it's "our" problem. It promotes a sense of comrodere and motivates the employee to work harder for the good of the company.

Though it may be impossible to critique the other driver, you can expand upon these steps to be a better driver. Be specific in your intentions. Alway signal well in advance where you intend to go or what you intend to do. Offer a solution for the other driver. Let them pass by moving out of their way. Don't create another problem for them. Be present, mentally and not just physically. Too many of us zone while driving which can result in an accident or unintentionally offending another driver. Be sensitive to the other driver's feelings. Signal "thank you" to let them know that they are appreciated.

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This and subsequent sections involve dealing with diversity. The example in the book shows an unproductive way of dealing with diversity: Denny's management made no efforts to curb the prejudice actions of the waitresses and, in fact, implemented some of their own prejudice policies upon the customers of minority ethnicities. Denny's, in turn, was faced with a multi-million dollar class action suit.

I was appalled by the actions of Denny's employees. I found it difficult to believe that such racism still exists in this day and age and in this country that has depended upon the accomplishments of peoples of various backgrounds. For the amount of injustice that occurred at this restaurant chain, I do not feel that any amount of money can compensate for the victims of this blatant racial discrimination. Racial discrimination on any level is just plain wrong.

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In order to find a solution to prejudice in the workplace, it is necessary to understand what causes prejudice. According to social psychologist, Thomas Pettigrew, a prejudice is an "'emotional learning that occurs early in life.'" No one is born with prejudices, they are learned. Often such a prejudice results from generalized statements that may be reinforced through isolated incidents that are not representative of the entire ethnicity. The author states that the reason a prejudice is so difficult to change is because it is deeply rooted in feelings stemming from childhood.
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The author points out in this section that the root of Denny's problems was that no one in management took measures to reprimand those who were descriminating against the customers. A zero tolerance policy should have been implemented to prevent the situation from becoming out of hand.

Studies have shown that tolerance allows racism to thrive. The more people make racial comments, the easier it is for others to join in and the more difficult it becomes to control. Zero tolerance emphasises that stopping the racism in its early stages is the key.

As with all aspects of managing with heart, be careful how going about preventing racism. Use constructive criticism. If not, the employees may become defensive or they may brush it off and not take the warning seriously. Keep in mind that your objective is to only surpress the racism as it may be impossible to eliminate the prejudices within that person that may have been developing over many, many years.

As a whole, racial discrimination on the road is not a big problem in Hawaii, given our diverse ethnicities sharing the roads. However, there are other noticable prejudices other than those that are race-oriented. An aquaintence of mine continually gripes about "those women drivers" because they "drive too slow" and "don't know what they are doing." Clearly, these are generalized statements based on his limited experiences. Like people, drivers should be judged as individuals and not as part of a stereotype.

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In this section the author coins the term "knowledge worker." Each knowlege worker is an intergral part of a team. It is the team that is the unit of work and not the individual. Within this team a "group emotional IQ" is established as a result of the compilation of all of the intelligence that is contributed by each knowledge worker. The author emphasises group harmony that can supplement the group's emotional IQ and adds that the group cannot be smarter than the sum of the group emotional IQ, but they can be a lot dumber.

One study found that employees that stood apart from the rest ("stars") had a very high emotional IQ. Intellectual IQ did not seem to be necessary to reach "star" status. It was found that stars had higher levels of interpersonal strategies adn often would build interpersonal relationships before they were needed so they could depend on those connections in times of need. When these knowledge workers contributed to the group the group emotional IQ rose significantly.

In high school I was a musician in an orchestra and as a member, the conductor required us to memorize the following to promote better harmony within our group:

Teamwork brings success. High level team performance is only achieved when a clear goal is shared by the right players on the right team at the right time. A group forms its relationships in a delilcate manner; team chemistry is brewed in the vat of shared experiences. Late-comers cannot share the same depth of union as earlier members. Whole-hearted commitment is required for team success.

All successful teams have a leader. If the leader is up to the challenge, the team will prosper. In political and business affairs, just as in basketball, it is hard to win without a strong center.

Accept the restraints of the group to receive its benefits--otherwise go off on your own. In holding together with others, cling to your principles, but be ready to subordinate your personal desires for the good of the group.

I believe that this mantra sums up this section pretty well. I try to implement these values while managing to boost our collective emotional IQ. Perhaps if all drivers come to an understanding that everyone is on the same team of drivers on the road, we can all boost thecollective emotional IQ of all drivers and reduce the conflilcts associated with road rage.

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Dr. LEON JAMES

"Why are motorists impolite or hostile to each other? How do you apply "managing with heart" to "driving with heart"?"
 I think that motorists are impolite or hostile because of the way they interpret responses or cues from the other     driver. Drivers who become defensive immediately interpret any action of the other driver as a direct attack on themselves and in turn are hostile to the other driver.  Driving with heart, as in managing with heart, involves understanding the feelings of the other driver.  Though you may not be able to fully understand the other driver because you aren't communicating in a personal manner, you can provide alternative interpretations that will not make yourself angry and do anything that may be interpreted as hostile by the other driver.
"How can motorists avoid giving personal attacks? What are the channels of communication?"
Motorists should be wary that anything they do could be regarded as a personal attack by the person consumed with road rage.  The best thing to do is to avoid motorists believed to be experiencing road rage.  Your actions are the channels of communication and by not responding to their behavior you essentially take away from their rage that is directed at you.
"Why is a positive outlook superior to negative for motorists?"
A positive outlook allows motorists to provide positive alternatives for another driver's actions, thereby reducing the amount of stress that they themselves will feel.  Having a positive attitude also allows for the driver to be willing to be more courteous and empathic of the other driver's needs and provides for a better, safer driving environment.

"In your opinion, what is the best way to motivate a person(s) driving? What actions or criticisms are helpful for drivers?"
I think common courtesy as positive reinforcements are the best way to motivate others. I always feel good when people let me merge or say "thank you" with a hand signal when I allow others in. This makes me even more motivated to be a considerate driver. I find it amazing that such a small courteous gesture can have such a positive effect on other drivers. This type of action would definitely be helpful for drivers.
"How do you relate prejudices to local driving with our diverse culture?"
An example of a prejudice in loval driving surrounds tourists. Because they are easy to isolate due to their often fancy rental cars, these drivers often fall victim to generalized observations and inaccurate assumptions including "they inconsiderately drive slow without any regard for the people behind them" or are just "stupid F.O.B. drivers." I think that it is important to remember that when we go somewhere unfamiliar, it can be an unpleasaant experience to be lost and have irate local people behind you. It is also important to realize that not all tourists drive in that manner. Some are actually very good defensive drivers. with an economy so heavily reliant on tourism, we should be even more considerate of tourists.

"How do you take negative criticism in driving?"
Unfortunately, in driving it is often unwise to confront the other party as to your feelings as you could in an office setting because driving communication can be very ambiguous and be interpreted in the wrong way. Attempt to comply with the criticism without question in order to ensure your safety and avoid any further altercation.
"How can you prevent a personal attack when a driver demonstrates road rage?"
The best way to prevent displaying anything that may be interpreted as a personal attack or receiving a personal attack to someone clearly in a state of road rage is to get out of their way and let them do what they want. This is the best way to avoid any conflict because you essentially are taking fuel out of the fire by allowing the driver to have his way. Even if this doesn't appease the other driver, at least their anger is not focused at you.

"How does criticism, negative criticism effect the interactions of drivers?"
As with managing, it is important to deliver criticism in a certain manner for it to have positive effects on other drivers. If delivered poorly, two things can happen. One, drivers become defensive and attempt to justify their actions or absolve themselves of the responsibility or two, become offensive and dismiss the criticiser as an ignorant person who doesn't know what they are talking about. Either way the driver is no longer listening to the criticism nor do they understand why they are wrong. Criticism should be delivered in a manner in which it may motivate the driver to want to improve their driving so they will take the criticism to heart.
"What kind of prejudice do you see and how might prejudice on the road be prevented?"
One of the prejudices I have recently observed was an acquaintence's prejudice towards female drivers. He claims that "women drive too slow and can't make up their mind" when making driving decisions on the road. Perhaps the best way to lessen these feelings is to repeatedly point out evidence that contradicts his biased statement. If he becomes aware of how many female drivers don't fit his pattern, he may not be so quick to use that statement in the future.

"People might not know they are doing wrong or didn't aware of his/her fault. How do people avoid making those artful critique?"

"Do you think that drivers who do not wave to the driver who let them cut into a lane is just "misattuned"?Why do people get upset if they are not thanked for their kind gesture? Perhaps the person who let the other car cut in can change their thinking and think that maybe there was a legit reason for the other person's inability to wave. What do you think?"
I feel that these people are either inconsiderate or merely misattuned. However it is the choice of the driver letting them in if they are to become upset about the situation or not. The driver could merely shrug it off or become angered. They may feel angry because they feel as if they have been taken advantage of in their act of kindness. Your suggestion of coming up with an alternative explaination for not waving can effectively reduce the amount of anger the driver will feel. I completely agree.
"What is the difference between prejudice and racism?"
A prejudice is generalized belief that a person has to a certain group of things or people. Racism is a prejudice that involves making generalized statements that are stereotypical of a given ethnicity and it is often derogatory towards that race. A prejudice does not have to be racial in nature. For example one may have a prejudice towards men or older people.
"How may we get rid of prejudice on the road?"
Going back to the discussion of chapter 10 (Zero Tolerance for Intolerance)I think that the strategy is to nip the problem in the bud. If you overhear someone making a comment involving a prejudice contradict them. I think that this may be the best way to combat prejudice on the road.

"You know or have you heard of the saying,"Knowing is half the battle." Starting with yourself is important and driving styles are contagious. How would you deal with driving prejudice you have?"
"Knowing" is oftent he first step to finding any solution to the problem. For example, I sometimes become angry in traffic, yet I do not really know why. By realizing and understanding the cause of my anger I can make an effort to curb it. My anger may be directed at the driver in front of me and I may notice that it is an elder driver and I may find myself thinking "I hate old drivers, they are too slow..." By realizing my train of thought I can understand how irrational this statement is because many elder drivers have more driving experience than me and may actually be the safest drivers out there. Finding this flaw in my statement tends to reduce my anger. Another way to deal with my prejudice is to provide an alternative explaination for the slower driving of the person in front like,"maybe that older person cannot see that well because of the glare from the sun and is driving slower for safety reasons."

No questions.

"If put in the situation of having received negative criticism from a higher authority, would you confront the authorative figure with your feelings or would you talk to co-workers about it and rebel in other ways?"
To be perfectly honest I have done both. Once I got together with a bunch of my co-workers and let the air out of my supervisor's tires. I admit that it felt really good at the time to retaliate, but it did little to rectify the situation in the workplace and it was very immature of us to do such a thing. But I have also confronted my manager about my feelings and this not only felt good but the manager tried to keep that in mind in the future and it became a much more pleasant working environment.

"Do you think there's prejudice on the road besides prejudice against women, elderly drivers etc?(For example. prejudice against motorcyclists, truck drivers, etc.)"
I know there are prejudices against motorcyclists and truck drivers. One of my friends hates motorcyclists because "they speed, weave, and are reckless." This is a generalized statement that is often untrue. The majority of cyclists are good defensive drivers. There are also prejudices against truck drivers. Many complain that they "go to slow." The fact is, due to their weight they must maintain a large safe stopping distance between them and the car in front of them. When people see that large space they cut in front of them and the driver must break again to reestablish that space.

"What could be done to promote driving as a team player?"
I know it may sound silly, but I believe that through posititve feedback people will be more willing to drive as a "team." For example, Jeanna often mentions how amazed she is that people let her merge in here in Hawaii. Public statements like these encourage drivers in Hawaii to maintain their reputation and drive with Aloha. It also makes others feel good about themselves and to feel good about the overall community in Hawaii as a "team." When people feel good they are more likely to pass on the feeling by performing good deeds for others.
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I am quite satisfied that I was able to cover all of the points presented in this chapter. I admit that oral presentations are not my forte and neither are web-pages, but I still feel rather happy with what I have done. Though nervous, I was pleased with the opportunity to voice my opinions in my oral presentation. Although it was difficult to relate everything to driving, I gave it my best shot.. Granted I was not as prepared as I would have hoped to be but considering that I went a week ahead of schedule, it went pretty well. I very much appreciated the input from classmates and the instructor during the times when I found it difficult to relate the topic to driving. Overall it was a positive learning experience.
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As of now, there are two oral reports up on the web: BERNADETTE JAMBARO 'sand Marissa Muraoka's oral reports. Both are very thorough and well written. I was very impressed with both of their reports and hope that my report lives up to the standards that were established by theirs. As far as all of the oral presentations went, I feel that each presenter was very well prepared. I agree with Marissa that handouts were indeed helpful and I wish that I had used some in my presentation as she and Jeanna did.
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Once again I have suffered becuse I procrastinated and procrastinated and ended up having to stay up into the wee hours of the morning to finish this report. My suggestion to future generations: Dont procrastinate. I probably put in the same amount of time as the other people who have done this report but I just put it in all at once. Unless you work the best under pressure of a deadline looming dangerously close (I think that I do...) plan ahead and finish the report early. It really isn't all that much work if you space it out. Good luck, and more importantly, have fun!
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