Best Workplace

Review the most current results of FORTUNE Magazine’s annual ranking of America’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.” Explore the website of at least three of the companies noted. Develop a two- to four page paper that addresses the following:

• When reviewing the descriptions of the work environments, identify elements that appear to foster employee motivation and group cohesion among employees.
• Relate your analysis to the material presented in the chapters assigned for reading this week. For example, there may be elements that support George Homans’ theory, or another theory of exchange in groups.

In Chapter 5, we will be investigating the following topics:

• What makes a group work most efficiently?
• What techniques are available to make group members feel more as if they are part of the team?
• How can managers avoid making members of an organization feel excluded?
• What are the challenges of measuring how cohesive a group really is?

In Chapter 6, we will be investigating the following topics:

• What are some of the ways members of groups identify with each other?
• What helps foster the effectiveness of the teams?
• What are some of the obstacles to groups working well together?
• What specific differences are there between a mere group and a genuine team?

The rewards of joining a group or beginning a relationship are diverse and can consist of:

• Group resources can include, among many other things, the feelings of self-satisfaction that the status and prestige of membership can bestow.
• Socioemotional benefits include the alleviation of loneliness through group interaction, a sense of belonging, and contributions to one’s social or collective identity.
• Rewards can also be more tangible, such as access to Internet technology at a good university or higher interest rates on savings at a particular bank.
• Advancement goals may be more easily achieved in a group than individually, such as the opportunity to work with exceptional students or pay lower rates for health insurance for workers at a particular company.

  However, the costs of joining a group or starting a new relationship also can be plenty:

• Financial. Financial investments of various kinds, from initiation fees for a fraternity, sorority, or country club to more expensive clothing for the job to nursery school costs for employed parents.
• Time. The time required, especially at the beginning of the relationship or group membership, in addition to time spent in meetings and routine group activities.
• Effort. The amount of effort involved such as typing meeting minutes, setting up a new store display, or studying for the state legal bar exam.
• Regret. Less obvious costs include forgone opportunities. Generally you can only attend one university at a time, marry one person at a time, or work for one company at a time. “Buyer’s remorse” refers to the feelings of sadness involved after a purchase that involved a choice among alternatives.
• Social. Costs can also be social. For example, in the course of working with other members to set goals or create a course of action, you may experience unpleasant confrontations with others. Ultimately such disputes may even become important enough to split the group

  Use at least three resources in addition to the course text and the FORTUNE Magazine article. The paper is to follow APA guidelines as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.