I would like to start off with a few definitions I've learned recently in my Organizational Behavior class.
Groupthink... "a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in group, when members' striving for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative course of action... Groupthink refers to the deterioration of mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment that results from in-group pressures" (I.L. Janis, Groupthink)(Ibid)
Devil's advocacy: simply put... the role of a critic.
"Some of the strongest, most courageous people are on the minority side of a decision. It doesn't mean they're wrong. It means they have the courage to speak..." A.G. Lafley CEO of Procter & Gamble
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You know where I'm going with this... It's quite simple. Lets say you're a manager and your employees are having a problem with your management style. First step is to find out what the problem is, discuss solutions, then implement. Your employees are your number one asset and their happiness should be high on you list.
As an employee if you're having a problem you go directly to your boss, if that doesn't work you go to their boss. If Groupthink is ingrained into the corporate culture there's no hope in finding a solution. The best course of action is leaving the organization for your own sanity.
Hence... I'm still on the club, just not racing.
9 comments:
"As an employee if you're having a problem you go directly to your boss"
But you did not do this initially. Instead, you chose to go the route of publicly making the MSU cycling team look bad before attempting to solve the problem discretley. Therefore, it has been assumed that your personal interests do not lie in pursuing the best interests for the club before your own.
Who said anything about MSU cycling team?
Anonymous,
First of all, use spell check before trying to save face for MSU Cycling. You do represent a liberal arts university, after all. Maybe the prerequisite of having at least a bachelor's should have been enforced...
Which leads me to my second point: MSU Cycling should be renamed "Amateur Hour Cycling". I've never seen such a pathetic, half-assed attempt at running such a club in my life. An Appalachian (or Fairview Heights) peepshow is definitely run better than this botched, sorry excuse of a club.
College students could be, and should be, running the club. As of now, an incompetent fool is at the helm, "running" the team (into the ground, I might add) with nepotism, unprofessionalism and just plain back-woods, nonsensical,dogmatic mismanagement.
This bungling has been the best lesson I've learned in college thus far. I've seen what a college education and real-world work experience will do in a supposed professional setting. Here we have an GED-equivalent imbecilic fool presenting the fruits of her labor, and, let me tell you, this team is malnourished and hungry.
Now, go back to Bumfuck Heights, Little Appalachia, stick to what you know, which is nothing, and squeeze out a couple dozen more towheads while you continue with your feeble pursuit of getting your never-has-been husband on a "pro" team. At least you have provided us with a good laugh, you fucking joker.
Sincerely,
The Almighty Poodle Creator
Please... lets keep it productive Anonymous posers.
I feel bad for the guys like Mike that do put a lot of effort into racing and representing the school. The riders at MSU are expected to have a "Gee, I'm lucky to be here!" attitude, regardless of how hard they are working to represent the team. Good riders are turned away by favoritism, nepotism, ignorance, whatever you want to call it. Then, said riders are said to have a "sense of entitlement", or that they're "making the team look bad", etcetera, etcetera.
As far as I'm concerned, there shouldn't even be a team director involved in collegiate cycling. It sets a double standard (at least when incompetent people are involved). It seems that from the director's viewpoint, the riders shouldn't expect professional conduct or treatment because it's "just collegiate racing"--"just be happy to be here, you're not a PRO!". Yet the "director" gets compensation for their "professional" services.
See what I mean? It's a two way street. If you're getting paid to do a job, people are going to expect you to do certain things and to do your job WELL.
I think the current (and previous) coach at MSU tends to forget that.
Alex
What kind of rice was that.. MMM spicy rice, ever heard of it?
Better. Spicy, dirty rice.
I think Alex covered it well.
1st Anonymous person, if you would like to see the hundreds of emails sent over summer, fall and spring I can forward them to you. Only if I knew who you were... To see beyond the brick wall you must have a ladder. I’m the ladder; do you want to take that first step?
The team is what matters to me the most. That's why I set up a scholarship fund (which will hopefully grow) and turned mine down to retain current riders. The only personal gain I have from starting “flack” is that maybe someday riders who come here for cycling won't regret it. Please, if you have any doubts of the last sentence ask any of the long term scholarship riders and ask them if they are having fun.
Dear spell checker… Don’t check my stuff.
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