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HUMAN RELATIONS AT
WORK

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OBJECTIVES
At the end of the chapter, the students will be
able to:
 Explain what effective interaction with others
at work means
 Describe appropriate responses in handling
conflict at work
 Assess your ability to work with others

 Identify some of the basic laws and regulations

that apply to the workplace
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HUMAN RELATIONS AT WORK

 Working effectively with others requires an
understanding of human behaviour. Employees
must be willing to participate with people in a
cooperative, business-oriented manner.
 Few people work totally alone or independently.
Regardless of the position a person hold, he or
she will be reporting to someone. As an
Example: even key executives report to Board of
Directors or to Owners.
 Effective interaction at the work place has an
impact on the vision and mission of an
organization.
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Our Vision
Our vision serves as the framework for our Roadmap and guides every
aspect of our business by describing what we need to accomplish in
order to continue achieving sustainable, quality growth. People: Be a
great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can
be.
 Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that
anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs.
 Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers,
together we create mutual, enduring value.
 Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build
and support sustainable communities.
 Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of
our overall responsibilities.
 Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization.
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EXAMPLE OF MISSION AND VISION

Our Mission
 Our Roadmap starts with our mission, which is
enduring. It declares our purpose as a company
and serves as the standard against which we weigh
our actions and decisions.
 To refresh the world...
 To inspire moments of optimism and happiness...
 To create value and make a difference.
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Our Vision
 To be a Regional Financial Services Leader

Our Mission
 Humanising Financial Services across Asia

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Vision & Mission

 Our vision is to develop and deliver acknowledged world class
broadcast-based content, relevant for local and international markets.
 Our mission is to sustain the leadership position as Ghana's number one
TV channel by providing high quality and comprehensive content
relevant to the values of our customers and delivering profitability and
growth to our shareholders. We will achieve this through:
- Responding to viewer's needs
- Customer centric business practices
- Innovative media solutions for advertisers
- Adopting progressive technology
- Value added partnership with suppliers
- Transparent and ethical business conduct
- Nurturing a culture of creativity and organizational excellence
- Rewarding employee enterprise
- Benchmarked quality system

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 Vision
To be the leading integrated food services
group in the Asia Pacific region based on
consistent quality products and exceptional
customer-focused service.
 Mission

To maximise profitability, improve shareholder

value and deliver sustainable growth year after
year.
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 TNB Vision
"To Be Among the Leading Corporations in
Energy and Related Businesses Globally"
 TNB Mission

"We Are Committed to Excellence in Our

Products and Services"

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WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM YOUR

SUPERVISOR
 Effective managers want employees to be successful.
 Style of managers carrying out their tasks vary from
one to the other.
 Understanding your supervisor’s management style
will be helpful to you in meeting his or her
expectations.

 personality
 nature of his or her work
 their expectation
 their like or dislike

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WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM YOUR

SUPERVISOR (CONT’D)
 Some managers explain clearly how they
will communicate and what they expect
from employees.
 Others expects employees to determine
from observations and comments what
the manager expects.

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WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM YOUR

SUPERVISOR (CONT’D)
 Some managers have meetings frequently
 Some seldom hold meetings
 Some send e-mail or memos
 Some carefully plan schedules and projects and share the plans
with all staff members.
 Others make decisions and communicate information on as needed
basis.

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WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM YOUR

SUPERVISOR (CONT’D)
AS CLASS DISCUSSION:

What kind of Supervisor would you like to have

OR to work for?

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POSITIVE TRAITS OF SUPERVISORS

 Leadership skill
 Provide clear guidelines and direction

 Co-operative

 Vision

 Hardworking

 Approachable

 Courteous and polite

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POSITIVE TRAITS OF SUPERVISORS

 Understand the needs of staff

 Professional – set clear distinction between
personal and official matters
 Fair in decision making/problem solving

 Do not practice double standard

 Who treats staff fair respectedly

 Knowledgeable

 Listens to others

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POSITIVE TRAITS OF SUPERVISORS

 Organized and systematic

 Flexible

 Prejudiced and objective in decision making

 Tolerance

 NOT Racist and practice discrimination

 Caring and looks into welfare of staff

 Trustworthy

 punctual

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POSITIVE TRAITS OF SUPERVISORS

 Honest
 Loyal

 Responsible/sensitive to datelines

 Friendly

 Innovative, creative

 Disciplined

 Highly motivated

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POSITIVE TRAITS OF SUPERVISORS – CONTD.

 Intellectual support: Your supervisor would probably have

experience at both supervising and examining PhD
students. This means he or she knows what standard your
thesis should meet and can assess the feasibility of your
plans. Your supervisor can also play the role of sounding
board for your ideas. In initial stages this involves helping
you find your way through the literature, guidance in topic
formulation, help with research design, and robust comment
on appropriate writing style. In later stages this support can
change to become more of a discussion of your ideas,
results, and theoretical framework.

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POSITIVE TRAITS OF SUPERVISORS – CONTD.

 Emotional support: It is reasonable to expect that, while

taking a needed critical approach to your work, your
supervisor would nevertheless encourage you in your
endeavours. A good supervisor would be expected to create
an atmosphere where you are not frightened of asking
questions, where you don't feel you have to be brilliant all
the time, and in which you can even occasionally expose
your ignorance. You need to feel safe. It is useful to
remember that, at this stage of your academic life, your
supervisor is not your assessor but someone who is in your
corner. Your success is his or her success.

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NEGATIVE TRAITS OF SUPERVISORS

 Lazy
 Moody/temperamental/mood swings

 Dominant

 Not polite and not courteous

 Who likes to gossip

 Who share with others (those not in authority)

some confidential matters
 selfish

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NEGATIVE TRAITS OF SUPERVISORS

 Temperamental
 Arrogant

 Not polite and not courteous

 Not loyal

 Condesending

 Egoistic

 Corrupted

 Sexually harassed staff

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WHAT YOUR MANAGER EXPECTS

FROM YOU
 Managers expect employees:
- to focus on their tasks even though
there is no direct, immediate
supervision throughout the workday.
- to have work completed on schedule
- to keep them informed of unexpected
work development or problems with
meeting deadlines.

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(CONT’D)
- to evaluate their own work and take needed
steps to ensure a high quality of work.

- to continue to improve skills and gain

knowledge as needed to be proficient in
their jobs.
- HOW COULD THIS BE
ACHIEVED?

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(CONT’D)
- to be willing to handle unplanned situations.

- To be flexible and willingness of staff to

respond to new demands in a busy work
environment.

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(CONT’D)

- to be loyal to the company and to their

workgroup or department.

- to be honest and behave in an ethical

manner.

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EMPLOYERS EXPECTATION OF THEIR EMPLOYEES

- to show respect for others

- be willing to listen others
- be committed to helping meet the goals of the
organization
- DISCUSS MORE WITH THE CLASS!!!

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INTERACTING WITH COWORKERS

 Even though much of your work may be done
independently, at times you will need to
interact with others.
 You will interact because you have common
needs for information, tasks that overlap, or
joint responsibility for some common task.

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COOPERATION
 Teamwork involves combining the efforts of two or
more people to accomplish a task or achieve a goal.
 For a team to function effectively, each team member
must understand the purpose or goals of the team.
 Each member of the team must accept responsibility
for completing his or her duties and communicate
clearly with other team members.
 Team members need not necessarily come from a
single department.

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CONFIDENTIALITY
 As an office worker, you may come into contact
with confidential information as you process the
mail, prepare documents, or handle records.
 Revealing confidential information may cause
harm to the company or its employees or
customers.
 In some cases, information is confidential only
for a period of time. Later, when decisions are
firm, information that was earlier restricted may
be wisely distributed.

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GUIDELINES FOR PROTECTING CONFIDENTIAL

INFORMATION
The following guidelines will help you keep
business information confidential:
1.Know your supervisor’s preferences
Know what information you SHOULD and
SHOULD NOT give to visitors or callers. When
your supervisor is not in the office, know who is
to be allowed in your supervisor’s office or who
can use your supervisor’s computer.

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GUIDELINES FOR PROTECTING CONFIDENTIAL

INFORMATION (CONT’D)

2. Follow your company’s mail procedures.

Place confidential mail in a folder or in a secure
location where it will be seen only by the
intended recipient. Do not send confidential
information by fax or e-mail. Use overnight mail
services if speed is a consideration.

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GUIDELINES FOR PROTECTING CONFIDENTIAL

INFORMATION (CONT’D)

3. Secure your workstation

Take precautions to keep others from reading
confidential information from your computer screen.
Turn over confidential mail or papers or place them in
a drawer when you leave your desk- even for a few
moments. At the end of the day, secure papers in a
locked desk or file cabinet. Shred confidential
documents rather than placing them in your
wastebasket.
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GUIDELINES FOR PROTECTING CONFIDENTIAL

INFORMATION (CONT’D)

4. Protect written documents

Use a folder or an envelope to conceal
documents if you carry documents to another
office. If you transport confidential documents
outside the office, lock them in a briefcase or in
the trunk of your car. If you use a briefcase,
always keep it in your possession.

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GUIDELINES FOR PROTECTING CONFIDENTIAL

INFORMATION (CONT’D)

5. Reduce electronic information loss

Use password sign-on and sign-off procedures
and change your password frequently. Be alert
to remove printouts from the printers when you
finish the print job, particularly if the printer is
shared with others or even from the copier
machine. Make backup copies of confidential
files and place them in a secure location.
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AVOIDING GOSSIP
 Informal communications are common in an
organization.
 The informal network by which employees
communicate in an unofficial manner is
sometimes called the “grapevine”.
 Unfortunately, rumors and gossips are often
spread by employees .

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(CONT’D)
 Rumours and gossip may be harmful to the
company or its employees.
 Use discretion in your informal
communication with others.
 Do not discuss personal issues or affairs of
fellow employees.
 Think carefully about the information to be
shared with others.

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(CONT’D)

SOME INFORMAL COMMUNICATION CAN BE

GOOD.

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ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY FOR

MISTAKES
 When you make a mistake, accept
responsibility for the error as soon as you
realize it was made.
 Take steps to correct the error immediately so
that coworkers will not make decisions or plans
based on incorrect information.

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(CONT’D)
 Learn from mistakes whenever possible to help
avoid making a similar error in the future.

 Never blame others for your mistakes.

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FACING CONFLICTS AT WORK

 A conflict is a disagreement, quarrel or
controversy.

 Responsible employees take steps to deal with

conflicts in a mature and constructive way.

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THE FOLLOWING STRATEGIES CAN BE

HELPFUL IN RESOLVING CONFLICTS AT
WORK:
 Communicate – Listen and talk with your
coworkers to be sure you all have the same
understanding of the situation.
 Analyze the situation – Determine the real
or underlying problems that may be leading
to the conflict.

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(CONT’D)

 Be objective – Focus on the issue not

the person. Do not let your personal
feeling for the people involved stand in
the way of resolving the problem.
 Look inward – Objectively examine your
role in the situation. Be willing to admit
your mistakes and apologize when your
behaviour or comments hurt others.

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(CONT’D)
 Look for solutions – Brainstorm with
coworkers to find ways to resolve the
conflict.
 Be diplomatic – Explain how resolving the
conflict is of benefit to others. Focus on
finding a solution rather than placing a
blame.
 Compromise – When appropriate, be
willing to compromise to resolve a conflict.

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CONFLICT WITH YOUR MANAGER

 You hope to have what is commonly

referred to as a “good working
relationship” with the person to whom you
report.
 A misunderstanding about job
assignments, insensitivity to
unreasonable demands and failure to
communicate how one feels about
performance can lead to conflicts.

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(CONT’D)
 This difference of opinion will be revealed
at some point and may lead to conflict
between the employee and a manager.
 To avoid such a situation, actively seek
feedback on your work from your manager
regularly.
 Ask specific questions to determine
whether the quality and quantity of your
work meet your manager’s expectations.

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(CONT’D)
 If problems develop with your work that will
cause missed deadlines or results different
from what your manager expects, keep your
manager informed as events happen.
 This will help avoid conflicts between you and
your manager.

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CONFLICT RELATED TO ETHICAL

BEHAVIOUR
 As an individual, you have a code of ethics
– a system of moral values that help you
decide what behaviour is appropriate and
what is not.
 Your sense of what is morally right may
come into conflict with the behaviour of
coworkers or duties related to your job.
 (For example, coworkers may make discriminatory remarks about other
employees that you find offensive or your company may ask you to work on
a religious holiday.

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UNDERSTANDING RELEVANT LAWS

AND REGULATIONS
 There are laws and regulations that relate to
employment and maintaining a safe work
environment.

 If you have a problem related to an employment

law or a regulation, generally the company has
someone to whom you can direct the problem. If
the problem is not resolved, report to the closest
office responsible for enforcing the particular law.

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FAIR LABOR STANDARDS

 The Equal Pay Act makes it unlawful to pay
different wages to men and women where jobs
are equal in skills require, effort, responsibility,
and working conditions. The Equal Pay Act and
other laws are enforced by the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

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RACIAL DISCRIMINATION - CONTD.

 TITLE VII OF CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964:

- “Illegal to discriminate in employment

on the basis of a person’s race, color,
religion, sex or national origin”.

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RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
 Racial discrimination is based on prejudice,
and prejudice is often the result of ignorance,
fear or cultural patterns.

 There are laws that protect individuals from

racial discrimination.

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT

 Sexual harassment is defined by Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission as
harassment arising from sexual conduct that is
unwelcome by the recipient and that may be
either physical or verbal in nature.

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT-CONT’D
 Three criteria for sexual harassment are set
forth:
1. Submission to the sexual conduct is made
either implicitly or explicitly as a condition of
employment.
2. Employment decisions affecting the
recipient are made on the basis of the
recipient’s acceptance or rejection of the
sexual conduct.
3. The conduct has the intent or effect of
substantially interfering with an
individual’s work performance.
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SEXUAL HARASSMENT-CONT’D
 When sexual harassment is based on the
first two criteria, it is referred to as quid
pro quo sexual harassment.
 Quid pro quo is Latin for “this for that”. It
is a TRADE.
 The other criterion is referred to as hostile
environment sexual harassment. It is the
creation of an uncomfortable working
environment.

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DO’S AND DON’T’S FOR SUPERVISOR IN PREVENTING

SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

 Do’s
 Educate management and employees as to
what sexual harassment is. Let everyone
know that sexual harassment will not be
tolerated.
 Designate a person or office where
employees can bring concerns and
complaints about sexual harassment.

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT-CONT’D

 Publish options available to employees

who feel they are victims of sexual
harassment.
 Promptly and thoroughly investigate every
complaint.
 Provide leadership by example in applying
and promoting help standards of integrity,
conduct and concern for all employees.

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT-CONT’D
 Be observant of language and behaviour of
fellow supervisors and managers.
 Maintain an environment free of retaliation or
punitive actions against a complainant.

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT-DONT’S
 Permit sexual jokes, teasing to become a
routine part of the work environment.
 Allow employment decisions to be made on the
bases of any reasons other than merit.
 Allow social behavior to become confused with
behavior in the workplace.

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SAFE AND HEALTHY WORKPLACE

 The Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA)
Act of 1970 was enacted to assure safe and
healthful working conditions for working men
and women.
 OSHA provides research, information,
education and training in the field of
occupational safety and health.
 DISCUSS EXAMPLES OF OSHA WITH THE
CLASS!!!
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THANK YOU

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