All posts by: پرهام

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Why do employees remain silent when they see early signs of trouble?

Why Do Employees Keep Silent When They See Early Signs of a Problem?

Hyunsoon Park and Subra Tangirala – April 2025

The threats that organizations face can usually be divided into two categories: explicit threats and implicit threats.

Explicit threats are clear, obvious, and immediate. For example, a dangerous gas leak at a chemical plant is detected by alarm systems. The problem is clear, and the appropriate response is clear: evacuate and plug the leak.

In contrast, implicit threats are more difficult. Imagine that employees in the same plant notice a faint, intermittent odor in some areas. Some suspect there is a small leak; others think it is due to normal operations. Sensors show no problem, and inspections find no signs. There is no immediate danger; but over time, more employees report mild symptoms and discomfort.

Such threats may be ignored, while they can cause serious harm if addressed late. Therefore, it is important to understand how people perceive and react to these ambiguous signals, and to identify the reasons for their silence.

Why are ambiguous threats difficult?

Based on our research findings, ambiguous threats have three characteristics:

High complexity: The origin of these threats is not clear and may be multidimensional. It is difficult to determine whether the problem is real or just a temporary event.

Uncertain consequences: It is not clear what the consequences will be, so it is difficult to prioritize.

Unprecedentedness: The lack of previous experience with the threat makes decision-making more difficult.

In fact, most threats in the real world lie somewhere between clarity and ambiguity. We surveyed 102 employees and managers from a variety of industries and found that people react more quickly when faced with clear threats, while vague threats are more likely to cause hesitation and disagreement.

The Problem of Employee Silence

A survey of 436 people at an oil and gas consulting firm found that employees were more likely to remain silent as the signals became more ambiguous. These findings were confirmed by a series of psychological experiments on more than 1,100 people from a variety of industries.

In one experiment, participants played the role of members of the research and development team for a new cosmetic product. During the pilot phase, customers reported vague symptoms, such as mild skin irritation. The findings showed that in such situations, people tend to remain silent and leave the responsibility for investigation to managers.

There are several reasons for this behavior:

High cognitive load: Analyzing vague threats requires a significant amount of mental energy, so people turn to simpler tasks.

Traditional organizational structures: In many organizations, decision-making is defined as the domain of managers, and employees are considered merely executors.

But this overreliance on managers is dangerous, because they too may ignore ambiguous threats. While employees have key insights through direct contact with products and processes.

How can employee awareness be strengthened? We suggest three levels of action:

1. At the organizational level: Create a culture of awareness Organizations should make “failure prediction” part of their culture. For example, at Toyota, the Endon system allows employees to stop the production line at the push of a button as soon as they see a problem. This is seen as a responsibility, not a nuisance. The result is early identification of risks.

2. At the leadership level: Threat recognition training Leaders should prepare employees to face ambiguous situations. Structured tests such as simulations, stress tests, or controlled exercises can be effective. At Netflix, the concept of “chaos engineering” has been used to enhance employees’ ability to respond to threats by using tools like Chaos Monkey to create intentional disruptions.

3. At the employee level: Challenge leadership Employees should also be prepared to question management decisions when necessary. NVIDIA fosters this culture by emphasizing “intellectual honesty,” asking employees to voice their opinions without fear of backlash.

Ultimately, organizations will be more successful if they act before the threat is fully understood. Vigilance should not be expected only from managers, but should be instilled at all levels. By creating a culture of questioning and timely action, ambiguous threats can become a competitive advantage rather than a hindrance.

Source: https://hbr.org/

 

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OCB organizational citizenship behavior

We all know that one employee who always goes above and beyond for their colleagues and the company. They may not know it themselves, but what they display is known as “organizational citizenship behavior.” In this article, we’ll take a closer look at organizational citizenship behavior, its benefits, its different types, and the best ways to boost it.

Let’s get started!

Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) refers to a set of voluntary employee behaviors that are outside of their official duties but contribute to the improvement of the work environment and the success of the organization. These behaviors include helping colleagues, showing a sense of responsibility in solving organizational problems, and accepting change without coercion. By increasing these types of behaviors, organizations achieve a more positive and dynamic work environment that can improve overall productivity.

Key benefits of organizational citizenship behavior include improved employee relationships, increased job satisfaction, and reduced stress. Employees who voluntarily engage in positive and constructive behaviors are not only more satisfied professionally and personally, but also feel a greater sense of belonging to the organization. Also, by strengthening this culture, organization members will be more willing to participate and cooperate, which creates an empathetic and supportive work environment.

Three effective methods are suggested to encourage organizational citizenship behavior. First, acknowledging and encouraging positive behaviors through various rewards or public recognition of these behaviors, which motivates employees. Second, creating a culture based on cooperation and empathy, so that the organization’s values ​​are aligned with employees’ desire to help others. Third, providing training and personal growth opportunities that encourage employees to care about their own development and helping others.

By implementing these methods, organizations can make citizenship behavior a fundamental part of their organizational culture and achieve improved internal relations and increased productivity in the organization.

Conclusion:

Organizational citizenship behavior is one of the important factors in the success and continuous improvement of organizations. By encouraging employees to engage in voluntary behaviors that go beyond their official duties, the workplace can be transformed into a supportive and dynamic space that has a positive impact on both productivity and job satisfaction. When organizations pay attention to the benefits and principles of promoting these types of behaviors, they not only strengthen the organizational culture, but also can create greater cohesion and cooperation among team members in the long run and achieve more sustainable success.

Source: Organizational Citizenship Behavior: Benefits and 3 Best Practices

Written by: Neelie Verlinde

The role and importance of deadlines in improving the efficiency of teams, project management and product development

Deadlines are one of the most debated topics in technology project management and product development. Many people believe that deadlines are unnecessary and are only set by those who do not have a deep understanding of technical challenges. But are deadlines really necessary? In this tutorial, we will examine the importance of deadlines and how to use them effectively.

How to use deadlines effectively?

In projects, we usually encounter two types of deadlines:

Critical deadlines

These deadlines are usually related to short-term opportunities or the survival of the company. For example, if a startup company is losing funding, a specific time to raise capital can be considered a critical deadline.

Non-critical deadlines

Although these deadlines may not be very important in terms of time, they can still help increase team efficiency and motivation. For example, a deadline to launch a product at a public event or conference can force a team to complete a project, even if the delay in the date ultimately has little impact on the outcome.

Key points for using deadlines

Deadlines can have negative results if not used correctly. Here are some important points for using deadlines effectively:

Don’t release an unfinished product

Releasing an unfinished product just to meet a deadline can do more harm to the company. Deadlines should serve the purpose of producing a quality product.

Don’t punish teams for missing deadlines

If the team has worked hard and missed a deadline, it’s better to acknowledge their efforts rather than punish them. Deadlines are set to improve the overall performance of the team.

Celebrate Success

If the team meets a deadline, even if it’s an artificial one, you should recognize and celebrate their accomplishment. This will increase the team’s motivation for future projects.

Summary: Why Are Deadlines Important?

By imposing time constraints, deadlines stimulate teams’ creativity and resources, ultimately leading to better products. Of course, deadlines should serve the purpose of producing a quality product and help teams deliver the best possible version.

The Psychological Importance of Deadlines in Team Behavior

Research in cognitive psychology has shown that time constraints lead to increased focus and improved decision-making processes. One reason for this is Parkinson’s Law, which states: “Work expands as the time is allocated for it.” In other words, when there is a limited time to complete tasks, people tend to get things done faster and more efficiently.

The Impact of Deadlines on Prioritization and Productivity

According to studies in the field of project management, deadlines force teams to prioritize their tasks more precisely. This is because the limited time resources force teams to focus only on the most important and urgent parts of the project. As a result, unnecessary work is discarded and productivity increases.

Deadlines and Evaluating Project Progress

Another important benefit of deadlines is that they create a framework for evaluating project progress. Teams that work without deadlines may experience uncertainty in measuring progress. However, setting a specific deadline provides a benchmark against which to compare team performance and identify strengths and weaknesses.

Deadlines as a tool to combat team inertia

Many teams tend to deliver the final product in a perfect and flawless form. However, this approach can lead to delays in delivering the product. By creating a controlled time pressure, deadlines prevent teams from creating inertia and encourage them to deliver the product on time.

Scientific and effective use of deadlines

To better utilize deadlines in scientific and technological projects, the following strategies can be used:

Set realistic deadlines: Research has shown that deadlines that are set according to the team’s resources and capacities are more effective. Unrealistic deadlines may lead to reduced motivation and even project failure.
Flexibility in deadlines: Although deadlines are used as a tool to create positive pressure on teams, flexibility in deadlines can help maintain project standards when product quality is at stake.
Use deadlines to boost creativity: Time constraints can stimulate creativity. Research shows that people are more likely to find innovative solutions when they are under time constraints.

Conclusion

Deadlines, whether real or artificial, can be a powerful tool to improve the performance of product development teams. By creating time constraints, deadlines can increase creativity, focus, and productivity in teams. Scientifically, this tool not only helps improve project efficiency, but also makes teams move towards their goals faster and more accurately. However, using deadlines wisely and avoiding excessive pressure is the key to successful project management.

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    Andishe Pazhohan Adib Institute of Thought Consultants was founded in 2014 with a simple but strategic idea: training and development of human resources, in order to improve the performance of organizations and industries. What initially started as a set of educational services, with the passage of time turned into a wide set of collaborations and innovative projects.

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