Question 1.

You are a manager in an organization. Despite pandemic

Covid-19, discuss about TWO (2) ways on how do you control the
situation during uncertain times

answer

Uncertainty is scary. The unknown is scary. Leaders will always face uncertainty and
the future will always be unknown.

Here are some recommendations on how managers should control during uncertain
times :

 Your team is a reflection of you – as the leader you can’t be fearful. Emotions
are contagious. If you’re freaking out, revving up, snowballing catastrophe, so
will your team. Guaranteed. Watch your language – what are you saying about
the future? You should acknowledge the fear, you just don’t want to feed it.
Acknowledging the fear lets your team know that you “get it” – you’re not
clueless or in denial. This is part of sharing your humanity as a leader. Stay
positive, not pessimistic or Pollyanna. If you need to unabashedly “release”
your own worries, share your concerns with a comforting friend outside of
your workplace.

 Remember: What you and your team are up to in the world TODAY is bigger
than this fear. You can’t let the fear become a scapegoat for not getting the
work done. There is work to be done today. You have clients who need you to
show up 100% today. Focus on the top three strategic action items your team
can accomplish this week towards your quarterly goals. Celebrate completion.
In other words, heed the words of Corrie ten Boom, whose family helped
many Jewish people escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II:
“Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its
strengths.”
  Focus on what you can control. You can always control your response,
attitude, behavior, words and actions. You can always choose to be proactive
rather than paralyzed. In times of uncertainty, step up ownership of your
authority. When the fog is thick, they want the leader to lead.

Don’t let uncertainty undermine you or your team’s efforts. Stay on course. Focus and
finish on what needs to be accomplished now.

Acknowledge the fear, but don’t feed it.

Question 2.
Justify TWO (2) benefits of Freezing in Management
answer
1. It’s relatively easy to implement
How successfully an organization manages change can vary tremendously. It often
depends on the nature of the business—along with the scope of change and the people
involved. Much of this is contingent on how well everyone understands the change
process from start to finish.

Given its relative simplicity and basic three-step approach, Lewin’s change theory is
easy to implement. The transition period between the Unfreeze and Change steps
makes change more palatable to new hires and seasoned employees—two groups
whose shared acceptance and understanding is critical when it comes to the success of
your proposed organizational change.
Lewin’s change theory framework also naturally lends itself to the process diagram
treatment.
Building a chart to visually outline your organization’s change process can help you
gain buy-in from employees and leadership. Lucidchart offers the ideal solution to
map out the as-is and to-be states of your organization—while helping you identify
any roadblocks you may encounter along the way.
Business Process Flow Template
Lucidchart allows you to verify the current processes with the employees and teams
directly involved. By analyzing your diagram, your organization can clearly identify
and address points of friction, waste, or weakness. You can also use layers to make
adjustments as needed.
As is and to be processes for change management
Best of all, you can share your optimized processes with critical stakeholders from
anywhere at any time—helping you gain approval or feedback to expedite
improvement implementations. These documents can be used to keep employees
updated and accelerate new hiring training.
2. It helps encourages lasting change
Corporate organizational transformations don’t always have the best success rate.
In today’s complex, fast-moving business environment, the combination of flawed
implementation and the misdiagnosis of what really needs to be changed can result in
negative performance. They cite Ron Johnson’s takeover of J.C. Penney as CEO and
his rush to overhaul store design and pricing to attract younger, trendier customers—
all while ignoring the store’s older, coupon-savvy fanbase—as an example of when
change management goes wrong.

However, in Lewin’s change theory, the Unfreeze stage allows for a more substantial
transition period before Change is enacted—allowing people time to overcome their
natural reaction to resist change then embrace the idea of transformation. This period
also gives leaders time to reflect on their desired outcomes and make adjustments as
needed to achieve their goals.
Q.3. As a leader in your organization, elaborate TWO (2) ways on
how to resist the impulse to adopt a defensive pose in a different
environment.

Embrace the Discomfort of Not Knowing

Throughout our careers, we are conditioned to come up with the answer — as in a
single, definitive, correct answer. Given that our brains are hardwired to see
uncertainty as a risk or threat, it’s physiologically normal to feel stress when faced
with unfamiliar situations. This is especially true for high achievers who have built
their career on knowing or finding the “right” answer. Although avoiding these
unpleasant feelings is a natural human tendency, it can become a significant barrier to
learning, future growth, and ultimately performance.

Rather than avoid these feelings, we must learn to acknowledge and embrace the
discomfort as an expected and normal part of the learning process. As described by
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, leaders must shift from a “know it all” to “learn it
all” mindset. This shift in mindset can, itself, help ease the discomfort by taking the
pressure off of you to have all the answers.

Distinguish Between Complicated and Complex

Most of us use the terms complex and complicated interchangeably when, in fact,
they represent critically different circumstances. For example, tax law is complicated,
meaning it is highly technical in nature and difficult to understand, but you can break
the problem down into discreet parts, consult with an expert (or several), and
generally find a solution.

Conversely, complex challenges contain many interdependent elements, some of

which may be unknown and may change over time in unpredictable ways. In addition,
an action or change in one dimension can result in disproportionate and unforeseen
outcomes. As an example, foreign policy and climate change are complex challenges.
While there may be no shortage of opinions on these topics, there are no clear
solutions. As a result, solutions to complex challenges typically emerge through trial
and error and require the willingness, humility, and ability to act, learn, and adapt.

Let Go of Perfectionism
In a complex environment, the context is continually shifting; thus, aiming for
perfection is futile. Instead, aim for progress, expect mistakes and recognize that you
have the ability to continually course correct as needed. For high-achievers, prone to
perfectionism, egos and desired identities (e.g., of being successful or being “the
expert”) can get in the way. To let go of perfectionism, identify, and acknowledge
your specific core fears that are triggered — such as “I’ll fail,” “I’ll look bad,” or “I’ll
make the wrong decision.” Underlying these fears is an often implicit and
unexamined assumption that “if any of these fears come to fruition, I wouldn’t be able
to recover from it.”

We’ve worked with several clients over the years to help them actively debunk these
assumptions by having them talk with others they respect about the role of mistakes or
failure in their careers. They hear a lot about learning, new opportunities, and
professional growth that emerged as a result, but never the career-ending catastrophes
that they imagine. Loosening the grip of these assumptions over time can allow you to
let go of perfectionism and accept that mistakes and failure are to be expected along
the way.
Q.4. Discuss TWO (2) strategies that your company can do to
sustain in the business industry during the Pandemic Covid-19

 Start with health and security

Covid-19 is a human problem—a human response is in order—so let’s take care of
our people first. Here are some important questions you can ask.

Have you implemented best practices to keep employees safe?

For those of you who are still in operation, identify the health and safety practices you
must take to prevent further transmission. Institute the necessary safe distance
practices and incorporate the use of gloves, plexiglass barriers, and so on.

Can your people work remotely?

As much as possible, allow your employees to work from home to minimize contact
and maintain social distance. Can you start selling online? Can your services be
delivered remotely? Are you able to quickly launch a delivery service? Do your best
to implement solutions that can maintain a portion of your revenues while keeping
employees and customers safe.

Do you have a contingency plan for quarantined employees?

What will you do if one or more of your employees is quarantined and can no longer
come into work? Can someone else take their place? It can be an idea, for instance, to
create different work teams to minimize the risk of your entire crew being forced to
isolate.

Is paperwork being expedited to reduce financial distress of laid-off employees?

Be sensitive to the financial distress personnel may be experiencing especially look
for options to alleviate this the best way you can. This will go a long way toward
building employee loyalty.

 3. Reach out to customers

As you start to make changes in the way you do business over the short term, there
will be a corresponding effect on your cash flow. And with changes to your plan, you
need to take the time to understand the financial impact of these changes and develop
a cash flow forecast that reflects these changes.
Confirm that orders are still on track
The first thing to do is to contact your customers. For those of you continuing
operations, call your main customers and confirm that existing and planned orders are
still on track.
You do not necessarily need to renegotiate payment terms, but you may have to defer
production or loosen repayment terms, which will slow down cash intake.
Do your best to understand how these changes will impact the timing and value of
payment milestones.
Ask for receivables
Second, start calling customers that owe you money. You need to understand whether
they have the ability to pay and the timing of payments.
By being proactive, you can get clarity about when the money may come in. Over the
next six to twelve weeks, keep an eye on this regularly—if a customer promises to
pay in two weeks, follow up with a gentle reminder one week in advance and invite
them to be open with you if they are still experiencing difficulty.
This should be one of the top three things you review every morning from hereon.

Propose additional services

Finally, as you reach out your customers, be courageous and ask them if they need
anything else—its possible another supplier has let them down, maybe you can fill the
gap. Look at this as an opportunity to explore other options that could bring in
additional cash.