Social Engineering Blogs

An Aggregator for Blogs About Social Engineering and Related Fields

Keep Your Boss Ignorantly Happy?

CNN Money has just reported that managers that encourage loyal opposition can better avoid corporate disaster.

Nowadays, especially with the state of our economy, it is easy to fall into a yes-man culture, especially since many more workers feel insecure about their jobs.

Many employees are afraid to give their bosses bad news.  They would be saying no to their superior and many feel like they could be risking their job.

The dilemma they face is do they divulge particular information to their bosses even if it is undesirable to do so.  The answer according to Menlo CEO Rich Sheridan is yes.

Sheridan suggests that companies that foster this new type of “open” relationship enjoy better decision-making, more ethical behavior and the ability to truly harness the collective brainpower of the workforce.

“My job is to say, ‘Thank you for letting me know’ not ‘I need you to work an extra 10 hours tonight, ‘” affirms Lisa Ho, 26, a Menlo project manager.  “Sometimes it’s hard to do because we have this deadline we’re trying to meet.  But I respect them for telling me and as long as we’re very transparent…I can call the client.”

An example of how other companies are beginning to implement this type of “open” environment can be seen through Grand Circle Corps a travel and cruise company.    Their employees are graded on their open communication.  During a monthly meeting, executives answer staff questions for half an hour, and the people who ask outstanding questions are recognized in the company’s newsletter.

Alan Lewis, Grand Circle CEO, confirms, “The reason you want your employees to raise hot issues is that’s where you’ll learn about bottlenecks…You’ll see where you have organizational issues.

Do you think your company encourages this type of “open” environment ?

Do You Believe Lance Armstrong?

Lance Armstrong, who is the 7-Time Tour de France Champion in cycling, has long been accused of using performance enhancing drugs.

Most recently, one of his former US Postal Service teammates, Tyler Hamilton claimed on 60 minutes that he had seen Armstrong inject himself with steroids on multiple occasions.

Armstrong has long maintained his innocence. He was on Larry King Live back in 2005 denying the allegations against him. A short clip of his interview from 6 years ago is below.

Repressed Emotions lead to Depression?

A new study, co-authored by Jamie Jackson, a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University,  suggests that women with congenitive heart failure who repress their emotions (esp. anger) are more likely to experience symptoms of depression.

About.com reported that when researchers, who studied 35 women, factored in how much women knew about their illness, they found that the women who repressed their anger were more likely to feel depressed than those who were open to talking about their feelings.

Jackson explains, “I think the reason we’re seeing this pattern is that if you’re scared about your health condition, and you’re confronted with more and more information, that makes it more real to you.  If you’re somebody who doesn’t like to acknowledge the emotion around the situation, it may result in reacting with greater negative emotion.”

The researchers note that this information could help physicians to find ways to educate patients about their illness that would be more compatible with their coping styles.