Health SciTech – One ‘Bad Apple’ Really Can Kill the Company – Jeanna Bryner
Business research now shows that in fact one “bad apple” can in fact “spoil the entire barrel.”¬ Bad apple behavior would include:
- dodging work;
- dumping responsibilities on others;
- persistently pessimistic, irritable, or consistently unhappy; and
- bullying coworkers.
Bullying can include inappropriate remarks, cursing, pranks, or rude and embarrassing behavior.
ÄúAlmost all of us have either had the personal experience of working with someone who displayed bad apple behaviors or had a friend, coworker, or spouse who has shared such stories with us,Äù Felps and Mitchell wrote in a report of their research detailed in the current issue of Research in Organizational Behavior.
Teams with a “bad apple” will spend an inordinate amount of time, energy, and resources dealing with this issue.¬ They will more then likely have conflict, lack of communication, and cooperation breakdowns resulting in poor performance.¬ Team members may not have the means to over come this issue since they may be dealing with peers.
Management must be aware and take direct steps.¬ They should be careful who they hire and in forming teams.¬ Perhaps more important, when a “bad apple” is discovered they have to get it out of the barrel as quickly as possible.
Technorati Tags: behavior, management
What happens when it is the management, and I mean at the executive level, that is the bad apple?
Where I am currently there are 2 very bad apples at the VP level. They are mean and abusive. It is compounded by this being a public institution.
I will be departing in a month, but if any of you have tactics that can be used by the little guy to dethrone a bad apple I would like to pass them on to my co-workers.
Cheers,
John
John:
That’s a tough situation. I’ll share my opinion, but it may not be that helpful.
First, I’ve seen executives appear to be bad apples not because they were but because they were given tough assignments by their boss and not allowed to divulge the why of the what they were doing. I’ll assume this is not your case.
In the situation where they’re really bad apples and you can’t put up with it I see two choices.
1. You can try to use the chain of command and honestly push the issue. How this is done is very dependent upon the culture in your company. You’ve got to be careful and ready for the consequences. They may see you as a trouble maker and your career could take a decided downward turn.
2. Or you can decide that this company will not change and that it does not harbor the values you respect. It this case you’re best to leave it on your own terms. Last year I left a company that I had been at for 17 years for a similar reason. I haven’t been sorry a day since.
I hope someone else has better suggestions.