Question

PART XIII: EMOTIONS: POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, AND IRRATIONAL from Manager's Bookshelf, 10th Edition by Pierce & Newstrom

• Reading 1: Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Victor Frankl’s Principles at Work, by
Alex Pattakos
• Reading 2: Toxic Emotions at Work: How Compassionate Managers Handle Pain
and Conflict, by Peter J. Frost
• Reading 3: The Upside of Irrationality and Predictably Irrational, by Dan Ariely

Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Victor Frankl’s Principles at Work
1. Victor Frankl contended that people are always free to choose their responses to the
circumstances in which they find themselves (or place themselves). Do you agree or
disagree with this rather provocative statement? Why or why not?
2. Some organizational employees seem to have negative attitudes toward their work.
Does this imply that they have chosen to be dissatisfied? If so, why would they
(consciously or unconsciously) choose to be unhappy?
3. What steps could a manager take to help instill meaning into the lives of employees?
4. What concrete suggestions does Pattakos make (drawing on Frankl’s work) to help
employees become dedicated to a cause or purpose greater than themselves?
5. Overall, what is your assessment of the significance and relevance of Frankl’s ideas in
the workplace? Are they appropriate and useful?
6. Frankl (and Pattakos) seem to be suggesting that managers are not responsible for the
attitudes of their employees, but that only the employees are. Is this true? What are the
implications of such an suggestion?

Toxic Emotions at Work: How Compassionate Managers Handle Pain and Conflict
1. What is your experience with painful experiences at work—situations where you
experienced pain or you where you were in conversation with someone who
experienced pain?
2. Using the model of the professional athlete, how do you build up your reserves? How
would you coach a usually high performer who appears to be in pain?
3. Frost suggests that “There is always pain in the room.” Do you agree? If so, how can
you tell? In other words, how does pain occur and what behaviors or speech patterns
are indicators that pain is present?
4. Is the value of Toxin Handlers viewed differently by various generations? Explain.
5. Frost cites the link between employee satisfaction and the relationship with the staff’s
immediate supervisor. If you agree with this assertion, what three things can be
implemented in an organization that would support the supervisors of the staff in their
efforts to effectively manage pain in the organization?
6. How would you measure the impact of these three interventions? Would you link this
to pay?
7. How does the CEO impact the viability of the toxin handlers in the organization?
8. How would you develop professional intimacy as a practice?
9. Is it a taboo to talk about organizational pain? If so, why?

The Upside of Irrationality and Predictably Irrational
1. What is the field of behavioral economics? How can some of the concepts from the
discipline be applied to business and everyday life?
2. Explain the Yerkes-Dodson law and how it can be used to better understand the
relationship between incentives and performance.
3. What is the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance? How can it be applied to help
understand the attitudes that people possess and the behaviors they exhibit?
4. Dan Ariely, the author of the two books on irrationality, makes reference to “hotness,”
which is a contemporary term used to describe the physical attractiveness of
individuals. What do we know about the behavior of men when it comes to their self-
perceived “hotness” and their behavior towards women who are far more attractive or
“hot” in comparison to themselves?
5. What is the “egg theory”? What are the implications of this simple concept for
managers of business organizations?
6. What lessons does the “bandage question” have for managers who are trying to
understand and apply principles from behavioral economics?

Answer 1

1. Agreed.

Man is capable of making his decisions based on the theories he has come across, the experience he has had, the learnings he has received from elders, the circumstance he was brought up in, his cultural background and his observations. It is completely upon himself to choose the way he responds to a situation. No action is deemed correct unless it is politically and legally mentioned to be one. If circumstances come to be more emotional and realistic, the manner in which he responds to the situation will be completely left upon him. But of course, in no way should it be damaging any life or property or anything of value to others and self.