You Have Recently Been Appointed as Head of the Nine-Person

question 279

Essay

You have recently been appointed as head of the nine-person accounting department in a large oil company. The accounting offices are located on the 6th and 3rd floors of head office. The three accounting employees on the 3rd floor use extra office space in the purchasing department. Two accounting employees were hired a few months before you took over the unit; one was offered a job at the time she submitted her application form (i.e. hired without an interview or careful review). The employees possess the skills and resources (e.g. new computer systems) to perform effectively if they work together as a team. However, you sense that this department lacks the necessary esprit de corps that would help it achieve the highest performance. Describe four distinct strategies you would use to build the accounting department into a more cohesive unit and explain how these strategies would increase cohesiveness.

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Definitions:

Decentering Stage

A cognitive development stage in which children start to understand perspectives and feelings of others, moving beyond self-centered thought.

Abstract Operational Stage

A stage of cognitive development in Jean Piaget's theory, typically occurring from around age 12 and up, when individuals gain the ability to think abstractly and logically.

Centration

A cognitive limitation in early childhood, where the focus is on one salient aspect of a situation, neglecting other possible factors.

Symbolic Functioning

The ability to use symbols, signs, or objects to represent something else, a milestone in cognitive development allowing for complex thought.