3. Career Activity: Assign each of the organization models to a small group of three to five members whose responsibility will be to gather and condense information about the model in preparation for a later interview. Follow these steps as a guide:

a. Begin by getting two volunteers from your group.

b. It will be the group’s duty to coach your volunteers in exactly how a manager from your organization model would behave—allow 15 to 20 minutes.

c. During this time, compile a basic list of characteristics including at least four things people who follow your model could be expected to do or say and four things they probably would not do or say.

d. If time allows, consider what your volunteers would think about such things as structure and control, motivation of others, trust, productivity, employee feedback, personal problems, and technology.

e. When time is up, a volunteer from at least three different models will move to the front of the room as though they are attending a press conference and being asked questions by employees.

Each volunteer should have a place card stating his or her name and organization model. Make sure to ask opinion questions and have all volunteers answer each question. Sample questions might be, “I hear through the grapevine that headquarters is planning on implementing a team approach when the new plant is completed.

How do you think this will affect productively?”

or “Do you really think that employees can be trusted enough to make important decisions that will affect the company?” The point of these questions is to see how managers from different organization models respond differently. In addition to asking questions, group members should make sure that their volunteers are answering questions true to their organization model.

f. Change volunteers every 7 minutes until time is over or until all volunteers have participated.