Unit Three

To me, one of the most interesting things we talked about this unit was leadership. During our class discussions, I've been able to fit bosses I've had with leadership styles and theories, which lets me see them in completely different ways than I did before. It's not that I think they sit down and consciously decide how which leadership theory they're going to use; but, I do think they type of people they are and the types of personalities they have directly influences their leadership style.

I also really enjoyed conducting our team interview with Marriot employees. Honestly, before we did the interviews, I wasn't expecting much. But after talking with the general manager of the Lexington branch, it was clear that the organizational structure works more like a family. Even Jordan, the group member who works there, said the motivation he and most other employees carry with them is not wanting to disappoint their superiors, which is something I think applies to children not wanting to disappoint their parents. It seems to be working for the company, because they are doing very well financially and the employees we spoke with have nothing bad to say about the company.

It's always helpful for me to see the concepts we're talking about in class applied in the real world. I feel I learn more about the concepts through this method than through any other means, especially when you have someone on the inside explaining the way their company operates. So, interviewing Marriot employees really was interesting and helped me better understand organizational leadership, politics, structure and culture.

Another aspect of this unit that interested me was conflict. Breaking down how organizations and leaders deal with conflict adds perspective to my understanding of conflict, both within a work setting and in a personal setting. I've always been one to try and avoid conflict, so to learn about actual strategies used to mitigate it was of interest to me.